Urgent: Restore NOAA & FEMA Funding to Protect Americans from Extreme Weather

As catastrophic floods continue to inundate Texas—killing at least 90 people and leaving millions under flash-flood warnings as of July 7 2025—I urge Congress to restore and protect the federal programs that keep Americans safe from extreme weather. Since January, the Trump administration has terminated roughly 1,300 employees at the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)—about 10 percent of its 13,000-person workforce. The FY 2026 budget blueprint goes further, proposing a 17 percent additional cut (≈ 2,200 jobs) and the elimination of $2.2 billion in weather and climate research, including every national weather laboratory. These scientists run the forecast models and warning systems that give communities precious hours to evacuate. Meanwhile, at least 2,000 of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) 6,100 permanent employees—nearly one-third—have been lost to layoffs and forced retirements, just as hurricane and wildfire seasons begin. An internal memo shows FEMA also pausing or canceling billions of dollars in disaster-mitigation grants, leaving states without critical prevention funds. President Trump has publicly called for “weaning off FEMA,” signaling an eventual dissolution of the agency. Fewer forecasters mean degraded warnings; fewer emergency managers mean slower relief once disaster strikes. The tragic losses in Texas demonstrate how every minute counts when rivers rise. Therefore, I respectfully ask that you: 1. Restore NOAA’s workforce and fully fund its weather and climate-research programs in the FY 2026 appropriations bills. 2. Re-staff FEMA to at least its pre-2025 levels and lift all freezes on its Disaster Relief Fund and mitigation grants. 3. Reject any proposal to eliminate or privatize FEMA or to strip NOAA of its core scientific mission. Americans expect—and deserve—a federal government capable of predicting, preparing for, and responding to disasters. I urge you to act swiftly before the next storm arrives.