Information on HR 1 - Proposed Budget CutsThank you for visiting this information page on HR 1 - the Continuing Resolution of Proposed Budget Cuts. The goal is to inform you of how these budget cuts will affect the National Weather Service for the remainder of this fiscal year. You will find the news release issued by NWSEO, news articles generated by NWSEO, talking points, a sample letter to senators and representatives, and how you can use social media to get involved via Facebook and Twitter. You Can Help.Use Social MediaJoin the Facebook Community - Protect the National Weather Service which was created for this cause. Our fan count is growing rapidly but we need more. We want Congress to take notice of how much support our fans have shown. Please share this message with your friends and ask them to click "like" directly on our page. We will have more information, some cool photos and interesting tidbits to share in the coming days. If you are a NWSEO member, please join the NWSEO Facebook group. National Weather Service Budget and Strategic Plan briefing at Hall of States(March 16, 2011) The NWS Budget and Strategic Plan briefing will take place at the Hall of States at 2 p.m. on March 21, 2011. For information please click here. Talking Points(February 28, 2011) The sample letter below has some excellent information that can be used as talking points. As of February 24, here are a few additional talking points: Impact of HR 1 reductions on NWS Section 1327 of HR 1 cuts NOAA’s ORF by $454 million (or 14%) over FY 10 enacted levels. • NWS ORF makes up 27% of NOAA ORF ($892 million in FY 10). • Assuming Administration allocates cuts to NOAA ORF proportionately to • As FY 11 is already half over, the effective rate of reduction to NWS • NWS is already underfunded at FY 10 levels. According to a November 5, Congress has also under-funded NWS’s labor costs by not fully funding yearly pay adjustments, associated benefits, and GS step increases. Yearly under-funding without authority to align labor with available funding has created a
Contacts and Letter to Senator and Congressional RepresentativeYou can call or email your State Senator using the locator below.http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm You can call or email your Congressional Representatives using the locator below: (If this link does not work, please cut and paste it into your browser.) To email or call Speaker John Boehner To email or call Representative Eric Cantor Sample letter (Feel free to add how NWS information is crucial to your geographic area, sign and use.) Dear (Representative or Senator), I am asking you to vote against the catastrophic cuts to the National Weather Service in HR 1. This year’s funding for the NWS will be cut by 28 percent if the Continuing Resolution proposed by the House majority is enacted. This move will have devastating effects on the National Weather Service and their mission to save lives and property. Reduced staffing at Weather Forecast Offices and River Forecast Centers will result in incomplete forecast production which could prove disastrous in a significant weather event. Even in the best of cases, it will still mean incomplete forecast production at WFOs that have major product workloads for aviation, marine, tropical and public services. Service backup of 24 Weather Forecasting Offices has never been tested and runs a very significant risk of a missed tornado, flood or severe weather warning. It is risking lives at the onset of both tornadoes and hurricane season. This is also doubling the area of responsibility for operations and adds the risk of degraded service delivery. The National Hurricane Center is not immune to these cuts as furloughs and staffing cuts will add strain to the program. The Hurricane Hunter Jet, which provides lifesaving data and helps determine a hurricane’s path, could also be eliminated. Information that is vital for weather modeling and accurate tornado watches and warnings will be reduced and in some cases lost. Reduced upper air observations currently made twice a day could be reduced to once every other day. Buoy and surface weather observations, the backbone of most of the weather and warning systems, may be temporarily or permanently discontinued. Recent advances in aviation weather forecasting have resulted in as much as a 50 percent reduction in weather related flight delays. Unfortunately, these improvements are also on the chopping block as the money to fund the programs will be discontinued. For the safety of our citizens, the protection of property, and the large scale economic impact on aviation, agriculture, and commerce, I am asking you to vote against the catastrophic cuts to the National Weather Service in HR 1. Sincerely, Talking PointsYou can use the information in the letter above as talking points for the media or if you call a state senator or representative. News Release and Related News LinksNews LinksWashington Post - March 31, 2011 WDTV - CBS - Bridgeport, WV - March 27, 2011 CNN - March 17, 2011 - Congress wants to cut tsunami warning centers? Really? The Raw Story - Ten Most Shocking Cuts Republicans Voted For - March 14, 2011 (Note - Cuts to the NWS made #1 "most shocking cut" in the above story.) MSNBC - The Ed Show - March 14, 2011 Wallops facility will take hit from stopgap measure that reduces NWS funds by $126M Northland's NewsCenter 10 Duluth, MN NBC Shreveport Denver Examiner NBC-4 – KTIV – Sioux City, Iowa FOX 34 NEWS – Lubbock, TX Times Union, Birmingham, ALKRDO.com in Colorado Springs, CO
House Fiscal 11 Budget Proposal Could Devastate
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