Colorado Congressman Joe Neguse is leading the opposition to proposed funding cuts to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) that would close longstanding research institutions across the country and in Norther Colorado.
Neguse is one of two dozen lawmakers who signed onto a letter this week urging Congress and the Department of Commerce to reject the Trump administration's calls to slash NOAA's funding by more than a quarter as part of the White House's budget proposal for the next fiscal year.
The proposal "terminates a variety of climate-dominated research, data, and grant programs, which are not aligned with Administration policy-ending "Green New Deal" initiatives," and claims that NOAA "consistently funded efforts to radicalize students against markets and spread environmental alarm."
In their letter, Neguse and other lawmakers warn that cuts would threaten Americans' public safety and economic stability.
"This work improves weather and climate forecasts, provides early warnings for natural disasters, and enhances our understanding of Earth's systems," the lawmakers wrote. "Any attempt to gut these essential programs would have devastating effects on Americans."
The proposed cuts would eliminate the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research within NOAA and shut down facilities and programs across the country that conduct climate research, a number of which are in Colorado.
Several laboratories in Boulder would close, including the Chemical Sciences Laboratory, the Physical Sciences Laboratory and the Global Monitoring Laboratory, which monitor air quality, water availability and greenhouse gasses.
Two long-standing local research institutes would also shut down: the Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere at Colorado State University in Fort Collins and the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder.
Neguse is also concerned about what the lab closures would mean on the local level for Colorado communities and their economies. The facilities employ hundreds of Coloradans.
"These labs are a core component of our state's economy, and ultimately, are a part of the fabric of northern and western Colorado," Neguse said. "You're talking about the closures of institutes and laboratories that have existed for decades, and in some cases more than a quarter century."
The Trump administration's proposal would need to be approved by Congress before the cuts become a reality, and Neguse said he is working to convince his colleagues on both sides of the aisle to oppose it.
A draft bill from the House Appropriations Committee released this week proposes cuts of around 6%, much smaller than the 25% proposed by the White House.
Environmental advocates say even a 6% reduction would jeopardize NOAA programs and jobs.
"Even if Congress walks back the most severe cuts proposed by the administration, any reduction will be damaging because NOAA was already underfunded and understaffed," said Rachel Rilee, oceans policy specialist at the Center for Biological Diversity. "It's also important to note that these funding cuts don't exist in a vacuum."
Rilee highlighted a proposal to roll back funding for the National Marine Fisheries Service and efforts to dismantle the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act. The bill also calls for cuts to the National Science Foundation, which funds the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder.
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