Cuts to NOAA, NASA, NSF, Etc.

The budget cuts currently being considered by the US congress would have devastating impacts on American science and STEM workforce development, including the atmospheric and related sciences.  They are not surgical.  They will seriously impede American science and the education of students in science and engineering.  

I have reproduced below an e-mail that I received yesterday from the leadership of the American Meteorological Society summarizing these cuts and their related impacts.  Links are provided if you are interested in contacting your Senator.  

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Thank you to everyone who has taken action by reaching out to members of Congress and sharing your perspectives on the critical importance of the weather, water, and climate enterprise to our nation and the federal government's foundational role. The weather enterprise keeps all citizens prepared for hazardous extreme events and helps to grow our economy, providing a great return on investment.    The budget discussions in Congress continue, with many items yet to be decided. Please join us in continuing to share your concerns with decision makers!     We have great stories to tell about the value of our enterprise and the transformational work being done in government laboratories, private sector companies, and universities. In mid-May, AMS Presidents (Stensrud, Sealls, Bamzai, and Colman) visited Congress, and more visits are planned for this summer. Many past AMS presidents and AMS members also have met with their elected officials, so know that you are not alone in your outreach efforts (AGU, AAAS, AIP, and Sigma Xi, and many other science societies are also encouraging member outreach). Indeed, collectively, we are doing our best to change the current budget trajectory.     If there ever were a time to stand for science — and meteorological and related sciences in particular — this is it. Thank you for being an Upstander for Science!

It is challenging to keep abreast of deliberations on the Hill and all the moving parts, so below are reminders on current proposed budget items related to the weather, water, and climate enterprise and science in general. The House passed its version of the FY2026 budget in May, and the Senate is currently writing its version. The Senate is using a process called "Reconciliation" to pass their version of the FY2026 budget, which only requires a simple majority to pass. If the House approves the Senate's Reconciliation bill and President Trump signs it, it will become the law. At that point, the appropriations process would proceed to determine the annual funding levels for the agencies using the budget numbers specified through the Reconciliation process. Current proposals (see also the AIP Budget Tracker) include a: 28% cut to NOAA, prioritizing funding for NWS while dissolving NOAA Research that includes funding for NOAA laboratories, cooperative institutes, and extramural projects to academia. This would dramatically slow down forecast model development, reduce observations and monitoring, and lead to the termination of NOAA-University partnerships. All in all, this bodes an uncertain future for weather radar and satellites, as well as a decline in weather forecast accuracy, with downstream impacts on costs related to energy, transportation, and agriculture.  47% reduction in NASA science and terminating support for the Orbiting Carbon Observatories, and the Terra, Aqua, and Aura satellites. Terra, Aqua, and Aura have been operating for decades and their observations are assimilated into forecast models as well as used to monitor droughts, dust, and air quality. The Atmosphere Observing System, and Surface Biology and Geology missions would also be terminated.  56% cut to NSF which supports university research (including graduate students) and NSF National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). This would lead to greatly reduced university-led research, decline in graduate students that eventually constitute the next-generation of scientists in the field and a dramatic reduction in capabilities at NSF NCAR used by our community.  39% cut to USGS science, including the elimination of the ecosystem mission area, and a 14% cut for DOE Office of Science, both of which directly impact federal-university partnerships in earth and environmental sciences, as well as capabilities in national labs and atmospheric science research productivity.

To find your Congressional Representative or Senator you can use these resources: Find Your Representative Find Your Senator Encourage your family and friends to reach out as well to amplify your collective impact!   If you have been affected by federal changes so far, you can find AMS resources here that may assist you.    Sincerely,    David Stensrud, AMS President 2025 Alan Sealls, Incoming President 2026 Anjuli Bamzai, Past President 2024 Brad Colman, Past President 2023