Schumer calls for increased funding for NWS, NOAA in response to Project 2025 proposals
BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Sen. Chuck Schumer called for increased funding on Tuesday for the National Weather Service as well as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration amid proposals connected with Project 2025 to dismantle it.
Schumer doubled down on his push to increase the funding after severe weather has impacted Buffalo and Western New York over the past few years, including tornadoes from last week breaking the record for most tornadoes annually in New York.
The proposal is for $30 million in federal investment to boost New York’s network of monitoring systems, known as Mesonets, as well as increasing funds for the NOAA’s weather satellites which play a major role in storm data gathering for emergency response.
Project 2025, a roughly 900-page series of conservative policy proposals put together by a group of Republicans, many of whom have ties to presidential candidate Donald Trump, calls for ending the NWS, among several other government-run programs. Many Democrats have pointed to the outline as a potential danger in a second Trump presidency.
There are currently 127 Mesonet stations across New York State.
“As we exit this extreme summer weather and get prepared for another winter in Buffalo, we need to be fully prepared,” Schumer said in a news release. “Without federal investment, New York’s weather forecasting ability could become partly cloudy but it needs to be as clear as possible so that we can keep Western New York and the country prepared and safe.”
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Aidan Joly joined the News 4 staff in 2022. He is a graduate of Canisius College. You can see more of his work here.
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