Video above: ex-noaa employee says layoffs could make predictions more accurate
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) – The Democrats representing Florida in Congress signed a letter urging the federal government to reconsider staffing at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Weather Service (NWS) ahead of hurricane season.
This comes amid reports that hundreds of jobs are expected to be cut at agencies and that they will acquire up to 10% of the workforce.
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In a letter to the Director of Management and Budget Russell Vert, eight Congressional Democrats warned of the potential negative impacts of workforce reductions at NOAA as part of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) initiative.
“These cuts, especially those affecting meteorologists and weather forecasters, pose immediate and serious threats to hurricane preparations and responses across Florida and the nation,” the letter said.
Less than three months before the official start of hurricane season, lawmakers warned that job cuts at NOAA “can make our state more vulnerable to extreme weather and take greater risks while increasing the costs of disaster response and recovery.”
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Florida is still shaking from the devastation caused by three deadly storms in 2024.
“A significant reduction in the workforce in the NWS and NOAA will cripple our ability to risk, alert and protect millions of Americans, especially Americans in coastal and storm-prone regions like the Tampa Bay area.” “These cuts are not merely irresponsible. They are dangerous to death and make us vulnerable to hurricanes and other disasters.”
The letter was signed by Caster, representing Hillsboro and Pinellas counties. Rep. Darren Soto, representing Orange, Osceola and Polk Counties. Rep. Maxwell Frost, representing Orange County. Rep. Lois Frankel, representing Palm Beach County. Rep. Jared Moskowitz, representing parts of Palm Beach and Broward County. Rep. Sheila Shelffils McCormick, representing parts of Palm Beach and Broward counties. Rep. Frederica Wilson, representing parts of Broward and Miami-Dade counties. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who represents Broward County.
Rep. Frankel called the situation “a catastrophe waiting for it to happen.” Rep. Wasserman Schultz criticized Florida Republicans who had not joined Democrats when signing the letter.
The National Hurricane Center will “change into the Gulf of Mexico and the Gulf of America.”
“I created this letter to protect NOAA and the NWS without partisan rhetoric, so my Republican colleagues were able to join forces comfortably with us,” Senator Wasserman Schultz said in a statement. I hope they will make this reckless effort and speak to the President personally. If they don’t, I pray that none of them have any reason to regret not talking to me. ”
When asked about the cuts last week, a NOAA spokesperson told WFLA that the agency had not discussed internal HR and management issues “according to years of practice.”
The 2025 hurricane season begins on June 1st.
