Noaa Contributes to Our Economy and Well-Being

Floor Speech

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Ms. BONAMICI. Mr. Speaker, Oregonians at home and colleagues in the House often hear me talk about NOAA, but I want to use this time to explain how this agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, contributes to the economy and to our well-being.

NOAA is not just a four-letter acronym or a Federal building in Maryland, it is the backbone of this Nation's environmental safety and resilience, which support better health and a thriving economy. When the Earth shakes the coastline of my district in the Pacific Northwest, as it inevitably will, it will put the lives and safety of thousands of coastal residents at risk from a devastating tsunami. The first lifesaving alert they will hear is because of NOAA.

As a seismologist at the Alaska Earthquake Center said: NOAA creates the information needed by emergency managers, mariners, and everyday citizens: Where is the safe zone in my town? How long will I have? Where should boats go? How do I stay informed?

When someone fishing in Astoria, Oregon, sets her catch limits for Dungeness crab or pink shrimp and when she checks the marine weather forecast to decide whether to put her crew out on the water or to keep them safe at shore, that is because of the workers at NOAA.

At a recent Oregon fisheries roundtable, one fisherman made the stakes clear: NOAA's forecasts of sea state and weather save lives.

Last year, blooms of toxic algae shut down beaches, contaminated shellfish, and put about 40 Oregonians in the hospital with a paralytic shellfish poisoning. States, hospitals, and families deserve accurate information about what they are exposed to and what they consume. This should not be a luxury. This is a public service and expectation that we should be able to rely on, and we have it because of the hardworking staff at NOAA.

Planes avoid turbulence. School districts decide whether it is safe to have class during a snowstorm. People seek shelter during a tornado or a hurricane. Weather forecasts are available at our fingertips, and behind every alert, every early warning, every saved life are the people at NOAA.

I have spoken with shrimpers in Newport, Oregon, and scientists at Oregon State University, Tribal leaders along the Columbia River, and teachers in Hillsboro. They have all highlighted how NOAA's work is far-reaching, and this is just in one of 435 congressional districts.

Students in Oregon recently told me that the Sea Grant program, run by NOAA, helped spark their love for marine biology and education. Another student said Sea Grant inspired their interest in ocean technology and set them on the path to study engineering. These students understand how NOAA's science programs can protect their communities and change lives, so it is hard to understand why so many of my colleagues and this administration are throwing NOAA overboard and then hoping a storm won't come.

NOAA has been threatened, and its budget is being slashed by this administration. In past Congresses, we have come together to sustain this funding because its bipartisan work is valued across red, blue, and purple districts and States. We have successfully fought back against attempts to muzzle its experts, and we will continue to fight back and win.

Let me be clear: Defunding NOAA will hurt Oregonians, Americans, and people across this country. It puts the lives of fishers and their crews at risk. It leaves towns without early warning. It undermines economies built on tourism, shipping, and fisheries.

Slashing the budget of NOAA doesn't save money. A 2019 analysis shows NOAA provides $11 in economic benefit for every dollar we invest. That is not charity, it is infrastructure. NOAA's ocean observation system, for example, drives economies and saves lives.

Captain Dan Jordan, a Columbia River bar pilot, sees this every day. He said: ``Ships crossing the Columbia River bar face one of the most dangerous harbor entrances in the world. . . . bar pilots rely on weather forecasts, real-time buoy data along with wave and current models . . .'' to safely cross the bar.

I agree with Captain Jordan. Just as we need roads, rails, and broadband, we need buoys, satellites, and tide gauges so our ships can safely transport goods in and out of our ports. This is navigation, weather, safety, commerce, and, yes, climate science.

Proposals to gut NOAA's funding by more than 25 percent, to decimate the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research would, as the former director of that office said, take our scientific footing back to the 1950s. Their mission is to develop the best possible science to save lives and property in a changing climate. To cut it is not fiscally conservative, it is strategically catastrophic.

When did we become so afraid of knowledge? When did we decide that protecting political egos was more important than protecting people's lives? NOAA scientists are not enemies of the State. They are guardians of it.

To the next generation, I know many of you feel disillusioned. You see the ocean becoming more acidic. You see storms getting stronger. You wonder if anyone in power is listening. Let this moment be a promise. I hear you, and the workers of NOAA hear you, as well.

Let's reject the cynical policies of willful ignorance. Let's not stand in opposition to science but in service to it because when the sky darkens, the tide rises, and the wind begins to howl, it is the workers of NOAA who will tell us what comes next.

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