1. United States
2. Calif.
3. Letter

Ocean temperatures just hit a record-breaking high, and Congress needs to act — starting by fully restoring funding to ocean monitoring programs that the administration has gutted. The Ocean Observatory Initiative survived only because of Congressional pushback, but dozens of other observation programs have already been cut. Without this data, scientists lose the ability to predict what happens to our climate over the next 50 to 100 years. The stakes here are not abstract. Oceans absorb 90% of the extra heat generated by greenhouse gases, and temperatures in the tropical Pacific are currently running 6 degrees above normal. Fish are migrating toward the poles across every ocean basin, disrupting food chains that billions of people depend on. The current super El Niño is already reshaping agricultural conditions across the U.S. and beyond. These are not future risks — they are happening now. Congress has the power to reverse these monitoring cuts and push for serious climate action. I expect you to use it.