With the national debt topping $14 trillion and the government facing a $1.3 trillion deficit, Congress is working to cut federal spending and reign in debt. A proposed 30% cut to the National Weather Service’s budget however has many questioning the sanity of slashing funds from an agency that is proven to save lives.
The Full Year Continuing Resolution Act now being considered in the U.S. House of Representatives would cut the National Weather Service budget by $126 million. The 30% cut in funding would have an immediate, and some say disastrous, effect.
The National Weather Service is the sole source for issuing weather related watches and warnings and its forecasts are used every day by citizens and industry. Its various groups including the National Hurricane Center and the Storm Prediction Center are responsible for helping to keep Americans safe from a variety of natural hazards.
With severe weather season getting ready to start and hurricane season just around the corner, lives may be on the line with these budget cuts. The head of the National Weather Service Employees Organization (NWSEO), Dan Sobien, says that the cuts are far too drastic.
“In the next hurricane, flood, tornado or wildfire, lives will be lost and people will ask what went wrong. Congress’s cuts and the devastation to the wellbeing of our nation’s citizens are dangerously wrong,” Sobien said.
Some have proposed the privatization of the weather service saying that industry could do the job. This however avoids the fact that no company has the resources and manpower to do it, nor is there sufficient profit in such an endeavor.
The technology infrastructure and systems built by the National Weather Service over the years like radars and data collecting buoys and aircraft cost a great deal of money. It is hard to fathom what company would have the resources to deploy similar resources.
The services provided now are widely and freely available to citizens and private industry. To many it is wrong to think that Americans would need to pay a company just to provide information that keeps them and their families safe. Protecting lives is after all one of the primary functions of government.
Budget cuts like those that are proposed could lead to shut downs of local weather forecasting offices – ones that are intimately familiar with their area’s weather. Hurricane hunter aircraft may be grounded and no longer able to provide critical data on approaching storms.
Atmospheric observations critical to generating accurate weather forecasts could be cut back in frequency thus limiting their effectiveness. Without accurate forecasts, everything from air travel to agriculture is impacted.
Virtually every bit of data related to the weather originates from the National Weather Service. The computer models that are used for forecasting, the temperature readings you see on the news, and the ever critical radar systems are all operated by the government.
There is certainly a cost to Americans for the National Weather Service and citizens pay for this service through taxes. However the price is but a pittance when compared to the number of lives that are saved every day when a flood warning sends someone to higher ground or a tornado warning causes people to seek shelter in their basement.
The National Weather Service’s mission statement discusses their providing information “for the protection of life and property and the enhancement of the national economy.” The agency's track record is clear and the information it provides is critical to our nation. It is hard to see how these budget cuts won’t cost lives.
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