The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) runs the U.S. National Weather Service (NWS), and both agencies have great value to the United States: In 2022, the NWS budget was only $1.3 billion, but it provided more than $102 billion in estimated public value—a return of investment of about 79 to 1. NOAA’s $717 million of direct grant spending on its coastal and fisheries management funding programs from 2022 and 2023 is expected to generate $1.4 billion in economic output and create more than 7,800 jobs. The federal government even placed NOAA and the NWS under the Department of Commerce to provide services that support economic vitality. From broadcasters to weather apps, meteorologists nationwide depend on the NWS’s data collection to provide accurate forecasts that all Americans rely upon. Now, current and future mass layoffs incited by the recently formed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) threaten the fundamental work NOAA and NWS provide to U.S. communities and will damage public safety, economic interests, and research efforts to learn more about weather and climate.
Please join the Center for American Progress for the first in a series of virtual events highlighting the impact that DOGE’s cuts are having on the lives of everyday Americans. Register to hear from meteorologist, former broadcaster, and Covering Climate Now’s TV Engagement Coordinator David Dickson; Professor of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and former Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Environmental Observation and Prediction at NOAA Dr. Michael Morgan; and the Hospitality House of Northwest North Carolina’s Chief Development Director Todd Carter about how cuts to NOAA will harm your weather forecast and safety.
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