Let's Save The Weather Service: The Responses

Hey, remember when I wrote my elected officials about the potential cuts to NOAA and the National Weather Service? Remember when the cuts went ahead anyway, and there are now delightful tweets like this one floating around? I want to say again: I'm not against cuts. I'm not against shrinking the size of the government, but what I am against is cutting off your own nose to spite your face. I am against this delusional idea that absolutely everything of value must go regardless of its good or not.

This is not good. Don't believe me? Go talk to any meteorologist, and they will tell you that these cuts are a terrible, terrible idea. 

(The interesting thing-- if such things could be called interesting-- is going to be how people react to this when the cuts are felt in a real way. I do not think we will be frogs in boiling water that's turned up slowly-- I think we're going to be frogs in suddenly boiling water and we're going to be pissed off. At least I hope so.)

Anyway, I wrote them. I got responses from the two Senators-- nothing from my Congresscritter and their responses (inconsistent font sizes and all) are below-- I am glad they bothered to respond even if... you know. It's not that great.

Senator Ernst's response:

 Dear Mr. Nixon,

Thank you for contacting me about the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). It is important for me to hear from folks in Iowa on matters such as this.

As you know, the mission of NOAA is to understand and predict changes in our environment and conserve and manage coastal and marine resources to meet our nation's economic, social, and environmental needs. 

The President and Secretary of the Department of Commerce are currently evaluating and reviewing NOAA programs and department operations. I understand your concerns and the importance of forecasting natural disasters. As the administration continues its review, and should there be any legislation come before the Senate on this matter, I will be sure to keep your thoughts and comments in mind. 

Thank you again for contacting my office. Please feel free to reach out with any further information, as I always enjoy hearing from Iowans.

Sincerely,

Senator Grassley's response:

Dear Thomas:

Thank you for taking the time to contact me regarding the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). As your senator, it is important that I hear from you.

I appreciate hearing of your support for the National Weather Service (NWS) and your opposition to protentional funding cuts. It may interest you to know that I voted in favor of appropriations for the 2024 Fiscal Year, which included $4.9 billion for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). This funding will enable NOAA's mission to better understand and track weather changes and the solar system, in addition to other initiatives to carry out the mission of NOAA. I will be sure to keep your thoughts in mind as Congress considers FY 2025 funding levels. When it comes to keeping Iowans safe from severe weather and tornadoes, every second counts. I will continue to support the funding and proper support needed to keep the mission of NOAA and the NWS moving forward.   

In your message to me you also expressed your concerns for staff layoffs at NOAA. On February 11, 2025, President Trump signed an Executive Order entitled “Reforming the Federal Workforce to Better Serve Americans”, which was designed to reduce the number of federal employees across executive agencies. Under the order, each agency is responsible for submitting a plan to carry out the reduction in federal employees, including identifying probationary employees.

According to reports, on February 12, 2025, OPM advised federal agency heads to fire probationary employees, which are typically employees who have served for less than one or two years at their respective agency. On February 13, OPM probationary employees were terminated from their respective positions, and many other departments followed suit in issuing terminations.

There are several exemptions to this executive order, namely in regard to public safety positions, military personnel, immigration enforcement and law enforcement roles. Another exemption is for mission-critical employees of the VA. Upon the expiration of the hiring freeze, each agency can hire no more than one employee for every four that depart.

I certainly can understand how these executive orders can cause anxiety for federal employees and those who use their services. You can rest assured that I am continuing to engage with the various agencies to receive more information on this situation as it unfolds. That said, I cannot guarantee those impacted by these executive orders will be able to resume federal employment for the positions they previously held.

Again, thank you for taking the time to contact me. Please keep in touch.