1. United States
2. Hawaii
3. Letter

The mass firings at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Weather Service are deeply concerning. These crucial agencies play a vital role in protecting public safety by providing accurate weather forecasts, severe storm warnings, and monitoring for environmental emergencies like hurricanes and tsunamis. Gutting their workforce could have disastrous consequences, putting American lives and communities at risk. NOAA's data and expertise are invaluable resources relied upon by first responders, businesses, farmers, mariners, and the general public. Crippling these agencies' ability to carry out their critical missions of weather prediction, climate research, and environmental monitoring would be incredibly short-sighted and irresponsible. The private sector simply cannot fill the void left by dismantling NOAA's well-established infrastructure and depleting its highly skilled personnel. We urge you to take immediate action to halt these reckless job cuts and restore full funding and staffing for NOAA and the National Weather Service. Protecting the American people from the escalating threats of extreme weather events and climate change impacts must be a top priority. Ensuring NOAA can continue its essential work safeguarding public safety, national security, and environmental resilience is of paramount importance. Please act swiftly to preserve these indispensable agencies and the invaluable services they provide.