Casten Urges NOAA to Disregard Political Pressure by the Administration When Reporting Natural Disasters
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Representative Sean Casten (IL-06), wrote a letter to Dr. Neil Jacobs, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Environmental Observation and Prediction at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), urging NOAA and the National Weather Service (NWS) to continue to report accurate information during national disasters, following the Trump Administration's political interference that resulted in reports of false forecasting on Hurricane Dorian earlier this year. Casten met with Jacobs yesterday and had a productive conversation about his ongoing concerns with the Administration's interference on reporting natural disasters as well as to deliver the letter. Casten also expressed his continued concerns over the proposed cuts to the NWS in the FY2020 budget.
"I am writing you to express my growing concern about political interference, the erosion of protections for scientific integrity, and the independence of the critical work done by forecasters at the NWS and the NOAA," wrote Casten, who is a member of the Science, Space and Technology Committee. "…recent events have left me increasingly concerned that under this Administration, NOAA, and NWS are failing to live up to their core mission in that they are putting political interests ahead of the interests of communities threatened by extreme weather… Despite all of this, I hope that we can work together...The mission of the NWS and NOAA are important to keeping the public safe and the science they provide us about our weather, oceans, atmosphere, and climate are invaluable public goods that must be protected. Weather forecasting should not be partisan, and science cannot be up for debate."
In the letter, Casten highlighted President Trump's repeated claims that Hurricane Dorian could impact the city of Birmingham, Alabama and the surrounding communities, despite no evidence to support the claim from the official forecasts issued by the NWS. He also cited United States Secretary of Commerce, Wilbur Ross' threats to fire NOAA officials when they contradicted President Trump's claim that Hurricane Dorian could impact Alabama. Earlier this year, Casten called for Secretary Ross to resign. While Casten continues to hold these concerns, he appreciates Jacobs' willingness to meet with him and his commitment to continue working constructively moving forward.
At a Science, Space, and Technology hearing in May, Casten questioned Jacobs on the FY2020 Budget, that called for cutting 110 full- time employees in forecasting at the NWS. In the letter, Casten urged NOAA to further clarify the position on these cuts while providing the SST Committee a clearer account of how this decision was initially made.
Text of the letter is copied below and available here:
November 12, 2019
Dear Dr. Jacobs,
I am writing you to express my growing concern about political interference, the erosion of protections for scientific integrity, and the independence of the critical work done by forecasters at the National Weather Service (NWS) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). As you are aware, the American public relies on the NWS for accurate, factual information in times of natural disasters, like Hurricane Dorian. This information is critical so Americans can make life-saving decisions about what precautions they need to take to ensure they are safe in natural disaster including if they must evacuate. Public trust in this information is vital. The only factor in issuing weather predictions should be science, not the political whims of a President or of his Administration. This must be the understanding of all those involved in federal weather forecasting.
However, recent events have left me increasingly concerned that under this Administration NOAA and NWS are failing to live up to their core mission in that they are putting political interests ahead of the interests of communities threatened by extreme weather that will only continue to intensify as the impacts of the climate crisis grows.
While there have been a number of individual incidents that have caused consternation over the agency's direction under this Administration, none have been as truly alarming as the events surrounding the forecasting of Hurricane Dorian earlier this year. As noted by the New York Times, following the President's repeated claims that Hurricane Dorian could impact the city of Birmingham, Alabama and the surrounding communities, despite no evidence to support the claim from official forecasts issued by the NWS, the NWS forecasters located in Birmingham rightly took steps to reassure their community that they were not expected to be impacted by the storm.
I want to be clear. These forecasters did their job. They took the best available science and communicated factual information to a public that was relying on them. They did what Congress, the law, and the American people expected of them.
Yet, instead of supporting the work of these forecasters, NOAA actively undermined the integrity of these forecasters and the NWS by issuing a statement contradicting local forecasters stating that "Birmingham National Weather Service's Sunday morning tweet spoke in absolute terms that were inconsistent with probabilities from the best forecast products available at the time." In addition, it was later revealed in reporting by the New York Times that Secretary Ross had intervened on behalf of the President prior to the issuing of the statement, threatening the firing of political staff if the agency's perceived contradiction of the President was not "fixed."
People gather their loved ones and flee their homes in fear when they hear about these storms, and it is extremely concerning that Secretary Ross would threaten to fire scientists for simply stating the facts. Knowingly issuing false weather forecasts is a crime punishable by law and it is outrageous that Secretary Ross would pressure his own staff to break that law. But perhaps more concerning is how these actions threaten the continued integrity and independence of the NWS and NOAA. Americans must be able to rely on these agencies for accurate information that they know is not tarnished by the political whims of the current Administration. If storms and natural disasters become partisan facts, the impacts could be devastating.
Would local evacuation orders be followed if the NOAA and the President insist a storm is not threatening a community when it clearly is? How can the public be assured that the forecasts of the NWS, if NOAA and the Administration refuse to stand by them? These are important questions and they must be addressed.
To that end, I applaud the decision of the Commerce Department's Office of Inspector General to investigate these events including the statement released by NOAA on September 6, 2019. Yet more must be done to restore faith and public trust in the integrity of the work done by the NWS and NOAA moving forward.
I would be remiss if I did not mention the continued uncertainty surrounding NOAA's FY20 Budget Request which calls for cutting 110 full time equivalents (248 positions) in forecasting at the NWS. These cuts would effectively eliminate about 20% of forecasters from the nation's 122 Weather Forecast Offices which the agency's Budget Justification concedes would result in the reduction of "operation times at various offices" and would present a "potential risk to the public and partners."
I am alarmed at how these cuts would impact the capabilities of the NWS not just to provide accurate localized weather forecasting services, but in building critical relationships necessary to maintain the trust of communities in times of extreme weather events. While it is possible that these cuts could be justified by improvements in weather modeling, I am alarmed that the House Science Committee has not been presented with these findings despite repeated requests for information regarding the facts that informed the decision-making process that led to these cuts. I was also concerned that when pressed on these issues at the Science Committee hearing on May 16, 2019, you made statements that seemingly contradicted the Agency's Budget Justification, including that "we're not making any cuts to our operating capability," and indicating that "we are not planning to cut any staff or personnel there" in reference to a question about NWS personnel.
These seeming contradictions and general unwillingness to provide detailed accounting of the decision-making process which informed the requested cuts to the NWS, further undermine the integrity of the agency in a way that damages public trust. I'd like to urge you and your staff to further clarify your position on these cuts while providing committee a clearer account of how this decision was initially made.
As we see more and more severe weather as a result of the climate crisis, we cannot afford to have an NWS that the public cannot trust. The American public must have confidence in NWS forecasts and the integrity of the agency and leaders that oversee this process. Thus far, I am afraid this Administration has fallen short of that standard.
Despite all of this, I hope that we can work together, and I hope that we can rebuild that trust. The mission of the NWS and NOAA are important to keeping the public safe and the science they provide us about our weather, oceans, atmosphere, and climate are invaluable public goods that must be protected. Weather forecasting should not be partisan, and science cannot be up for debate. I know that the NWS and NOAA are staffed with lifetime public servants committed to the mission of these great agencies. I admire this mission immensely and I will stand ready to work with you to uphold it.
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