On the recordJune 2, 2015
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has a record level of funding in this bill for weather forecasting, which is where they need to focus their work: predicting the future and telling American farmers, American workers, American industry, and the American people what the future holds. What does the next week, the next month, or hurricane season hold for the people of the Gulf of Mexico or the Atlantic Coast? So, in an era of scarce resources we have funded NOAA with a record level of funding for weather forecasting. We have made sure they have got all the money they need for maritime safety and for supporting and monitoring America's fisheries. We have made sure in this bill that NOAA is focusing on their core function, and that is looking to the future. That, of course, is going to involve looking at climate. But over the past several years climate funding within NOAA has received more than adequate funding, and we have to use the scarce, very precious, hard-earned taxpayer dollars that we are entrusted to appropriate very carefully. We have to prioritize that funding, and within this bill, we have chosen to prioritize weather forecasting. I respect the gentleman's judgment but would ask him if he could withdraw the amendment, and I look forward to working with him to ensure that NOAA has got everything they need to accurately predict the weather in the future. I reserve the balance of my time.
