This year the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is celebrating the 200th anniversary of the creation of its U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey, or the “Survey of the Coast” as it was called when created by President Thomas Jefferson in 1807. As our nation’s first scientific agency provided nautical charts to the maritime community, and laid the foundation for the standard set today for safe navigation of our waterways. Ironically, for the past several years, the budget for hydrographic services has been insufficient, and at the current rate, the backlog of surveying critical areas will not be complete until 2020.  This year’s budget proves no different. Unfortunately, the budget for hydrographic services is simply a reflection of the systemic underfunding of NOAA’s critical programs during the past several years.

 

            Senator Stevens and I have been longtime supporters of NOAA and have spent our careers working to improve its capabilities and advance its service to the nation. NOAA is a remarkable, national resource, particularly when one compares the accomplishments of its missions against the agency’s budget. Whether it is accurate forecasting for landfall of a hurricane, or weather forecasting of early freezes, all of which have significant impact on personal safety and the economy, or fisheries management, or climate research, these are all missions that have an impact on society today and for future generations. Meanwhile, NOAA’s budget has remained stagnant; specifically, this is the third year in a row that the NOAA budget reflects level funding.

 

            The Joint Ocean Commission Initiative released a report card earlier this year to assess how well we are collectively doing to implement the recommendations of the U.S. and Pew Ocean Commissions. They once again rated progress in increasing ocean funding as an ‘F’.

 

            It is clear that we are at a crossroad. The growing number and severity of problems compromising the health of our coats and oceans is obvious. The science of global warming is clear. They delays and cost overruns of our satellites are unacceptable. I look forward to hearing Admiral Latenbacher assessment of how all of these developing needs can be addressed given current budgetary trends.