Contact: Lori Arguelles FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tim Tomastik 5/25/95
202/482-6090
Programs and services affecting the daily lives of millions of Americans are at risk as a result of a legislative proposal to dramatically cut or eliminate portions of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, according to officials at the U.S. Department of Commerce.
"Rep. Chrysler's legislation, which he unveiled during a press conference on Tuesday and intends to introduce in the House of Representatives, calls for the dismantling of the Department of Commerce and NOAA. It is short-sighted and puts millions of Americans at risk of losing vital services. Our forecasts protect lives and property during times of severe weather; our charts provide for safe flight and navigation in the U.S.; and our fisheries and coastal management efforts directly impact more than a third of the nation," said Douglas K. Hall, Commerce's assistant secretary for oceans and atmosphere.
The National Weather Service issues forecasts and severe weather warnings that affect the lives and property of millions of Americans every day. "Congressman Chrysler's legislation puts human lives and safety in peril, jeopardizing homes, businesses and other property by effectively killing the NWS support structure. The modernized weather service improves warning lead- time and accuracy for tornadoes, hurricanes and flash floods. This legislation translates into losses of warnings that save lives and save American taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars in business and personal property damage," said Hall.
The economic losses resulting from crimping weather service warnings and forecasts could be astronomical. Consider the following:
** In 1992 Hurricane Andrew caused $25 billion in damage in
Florida and Louisiana. Knowing where hurricanes will hit
saves lives and mitigates the adverse effects of the storm,
saving millions of dollars in potential property loss.
** Improvements in wind forecasting save the airline
industry hundreds of millions of dollars in fuel costs.
** Improved forecasting from the modernized NWS can save the
airline industry up to $150 million annually in losses due
to cancellations, delays and diversions of airline flights.
** Improved long-range forecasts of El Ni¤o will yield
economic benefits worth between $100 - $125 million annually
to agriculture in the southeastern U.S. alone.
The Chrysler legislation would have adverse effects on other sectors of the U.S. economy as well. Elimination of the NOAA tide and water level functions would cripple national marine operations. NOAA is the primary provider of essential tidal data for the entire U.S. coast. Simply put, marine commerce cannot proceed without tide information. There are also some 20 million recreational boaters in the country who depend on NOAA tide tables.
The proposed repeal of legislative authority for NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service would mean the end of emergency assistance to fishing families in New England and portions of the Pacific Northwest. Cuts in fishing grants would end collaborative research to help rebuild and sustain the nation's marine fish stocks, and protect threatened and endangered marine species.
Critical environmental functions would also be in jeopardy if the terms of the Chrysler legislation were adopted. Elimination of NOAA's unique hazardous materials response function would have a disastrous effect on the nation's ability to respond to the hundreds of oil spills, large and small, that occur in the U.S. each year.
Lastly, provisions in the Chrysler bill calling for the elimination or privatization of NOAA's research functions would have a serious detrimental impact on virtually every service the agency provides. NOAA's research labs are part of the support structure that produced the technology for the National Weather Service modernization, and continue to research and develop new life-saving techniques.