Members of the Florida Democratic Congress wrote to the director of the Federal Administration and Budget Office, urging Russell to rethink the novel federal work held by weather scientists and hurricane experts.
Congress members expressed concern over job cuts at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Weather Service.
The letter comes a week after billionaire Elon Musk’s government efficiency began cutting jobs within federal agencies.
“Florida is no stranger to the devastating effects of hurricanes. Our community relies on NOAA’s accurate and timely predictions to make life-saving decisions,” the letter said.
Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who represents Broward County, said he wrote a letter “without partisan rhetoric” to encourage Republicans to sign.
“Sadly, they refused to unite around the safety of our residents,” Wasserman Schultz said in a statement in the Tampa Bay Times.
The federal cut comes shortly after Tampa Bay’s historic hurricane season, after Hurricane Helen and Milton deal with consecutive punishing blows to the area.
A report from the Associated Press predicted that around 10% of NOAA’s workforce would be reduced.
In the letter, members of the Congress said the workforce will cut workforce to affect weather and hurricane forecasts, as well as reduce safety and emergency preparedness.
“A significant reduction in workforce in the NWS and NOAA has the capacity to put millions of Americans at risk, especially those in coastal and storm-prone areas like the Tampa Bay area.
Representative who signed the letter: Wasserman Schultz. Caster; Maxwell Alejandro Frost, representing Orange County. Darren Soto is a representative of Orange, Osceola and parts of Pork County. Lois Frankel is the representative of Palm Beach County. Jared Moskowitz, representing parts of Broward and Palm Beach counties. Sheila Shelffils McCormick, representing parts of Broward and Palm Beach counties. Frederica S. Wilson, representing parts of Broward and Miami-Dade counties.
