1. United States
2. Calif.
3. Letter

Understanding the weather and helping people in emergencies are nonpartisan, human goods. Please do everything you can to restore full funding for NOAA and FEMA. The recent flash floods in Texas that tragically claimed 78 lives exposed concerning gaps in warning systems and staffing at the National Weather Service. The proposed FY2026 budget decimates funding across federal science agencies, attacking the best services our government has to offer. The National Science Foundation faces a 55% cut, NASA's Earth science division a 52% cut, and NOAA an alarming 39% cut that entirely eliminates its research division OAR. The USGS and EPA also face crippling cuts of 31% and 53% respectively. Nearly all staff behind NOAA's vital Climate.gov website have already been fired. This is absurd. The point of taxation is to fund the common good, not build Gestapos and concentration camps. How can farmers plan ahead without science and research? How can cities keep people safe? These cuts abandon people to unmitigated disaster. I urge you to fight to restore full funding and staffing at NOAA, NASA, NSF, EPA, USGS, DOE and other agencies critical to forecasting and mitigating extreme weather and climate change impacts. The safety and economic security of our nation depend on robust investment in these scientific capabilities.