Steven Holt: “I thank the gentleman. I certainly appreciate the very admirable Chairman Wolf and my good friend from Pennsylvania (Mr.…”

“I thank the gentleman. I certainly appreciate the very admirable Chairman Wolf and my good friend from Pennsylvania (Mr. Fattah) for the work they have put into crafting this bill. Madam Chair, however, I do have some serious concerns, especially as regards the cuts that are being made to NOAA's climate research programs. This bill cuts NOAA's climate research for the next fiscal year by $38 million below the current year, or $69 million below the President's request. Now, deeper droughts, heavier rains, more flooding, superstorms, tornadoes, rising seas, huge storm surges are all getting worse. Would we not want to understand what is going on? I will be offering an amendment later this evening to restore funding for critical NOAA climate research programs. NOAA climate research programs support ocean and atmospheric research, global data collection and sharing so we can understand climate change. This year, the report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the U.S. National Climate Assessment were released. They agreed. They come to the same conclusion: the climate is changing. Greenhouse gases by human activities are the principal cause. We have already begun to experience the effects, which will continue to be costly in lives and dollars. Those who would deny these changes, some here in this very House, can't stop the changes from occurring. Denying funding for the research won't stop the changes. It will just leave us ignorant and less prepared.…”