Science Committee Dems call for Lutnick to address NWS staffing

House Democrats on the Science, Space and Technology Committee called for Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to address National Weather Service (NWS) staffing in a Wednesday letter.

“We write to you to demand your testimony before the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology regarding staff shortages at the National Weather Service (NWS) and your plan to address them,” the letter reads.

“The NWS is a critical public safety agency. In addition to its role as the source of everyday weather data for the country, the NWS is charged with forecasting extreme weather events and communicating those forecasts promptly to the public in order to save lives and livelihoods. Americans rely on the NWS every single day to keep us safe,” the letter continues.

The letter was signed by Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), a ranking member on the Science, Space and Technology Committee, and Rep. Gabe Amo (D-R.I.). It also comes after deadly Texas floods that drew renewed scrutiny to Trump administration cuts at American weather and climate research agencies.

On Friday, a flash flood unleashed water from Central Texas’s Guadalupe River, killing dozens of people.

The situation resulted in questions about the readiness of federal agencies like the NWS as they deal with the Trump administration. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which the NWS is under, had hundreds of staffers cut by the Trump administration, with NWS positions included.

“The NWS is only as strong as its people. And under your leadership, the Department of Commerce (DOC) has overseen an indiscriminate wave of firings, deferred resignations, and early retirements that has thrown the NWS into crisis,” the Democrats said in their Wednesday letter.

“The dangers arising from that crisis have been laid bare in the wake of the horrifying, tragic flooding that struck parts of Central Texas on July 4th. While it is too soon to draw definitive conclusions about what happened, it is already clear that this is precisely the type of situation in which the existence of a short-staffed, depleted NWS heightens the risk of tragedy,” the letter continued.

The Hill has reached out to the Department of Commerce for comment.