{"id":2460359,"date":"2025-07-13T11:55:02","date_gmt":"2025-07-13T15:55:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/illinois-congressman-pushes-for-nws-funding-as-trumps-budget-faces-scrutiny-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2025-07-13T11:57:35","modified_gmt":"2025-07-13T15:57:35","slug":"illinois-congressman-pushes-for-nws-funding-as-trumps-budget-faces-scrutiny-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/illinois-congressman-pushes-for-nws-funding-as-trumps-budget-faces-scrutiny-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Illinois congressman pushes for NWS funding as Trump\u2019s budget faces scrutiny &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">28<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fillinois-congressman-pushes-for-nws-funding-as-trumps-budget-faces-scrutiny-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2460359&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>An Illinois congressman, Eric sorensen, who is also a former meteorologist, is advocating for increased funding and support for the National Weather Service (NWS) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/bidens-pandemic-peak-coronavirus-cases-in-u-s-jump-to-highest-level-on-record\/\" title=\"Biden&#039;s Pandemic Peak: Coronavirus Cases in U.S. Jump to Highest Level on Record\">amid staffing shortages<\/a> and budget concerns. Despite a proposed 6.7% budget increase for the NWS in President TrumpS fiscal year 2026 budget plan, other parts of the National oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) face cuts, raising worries about the agency&#8217;s ability to maintain essential functions. Sorensen and others are pushing bipartisan legislation to strengthen the NWS&#8217;s operations, emphasizing the need for improved interaction tools, warning systems, and investment in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/tx-ag-ken-paxton-details-pfizers-deception-campaign-in-bombshell-lawsuit\/\" title=\"TX AG Ken Paxton exposes Pfizer&#039;s de...tful tactics in groundbreaking lawsuit\">weather forecasting capabilities<\/a> to enhance public safety. NOAA officials have stated they are addressing staffing gaps through temporary assignments and new hiring exceptions. However, some lawmakers, like Senator Ed Markey, express doubts about the adequacy of the budget, warning that significant cuts could impair weather readiness and increase risks related to natural disasters.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Illinois congressman pushes for NWS funding as Trump&rsquo;s budget faces scrutiny<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2172084\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>(The Center Square) &ndash; Amid staffing shortages and public concern over <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/natural-disasters\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">natural disasters<\/a>, the National Weather Service is defending its ability to fulfill its core mission&mdash;even as it operates under the strain of past <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/budgets\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">budget<\/a> cuts and ongoing reorganization.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/illinois\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Illinois<\/a> U.S. Rep. Eric Sorensen, D-Rockford, a former meteorologist, said he and others are pushing bipartisan legislation to strengthen NWS operations and staffing, warning that shortfalls may be putting lives at risk.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/3469735\/veto-override-promises-in-place-on-immigration-policy-bills\/\">Veto override promises in place on immigration policy bills<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/3469717\/kristi-noem-democrats-call-resignation-deadly-texas-floods\/\">Noem dismisses Democratic calls for her resignation after deadly Texas floods<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/3469684\/musk-release-epstein-files-trump-truth-social\/\">Musk demands release of Epstein files after Trump insists &#8216;nobody cares&#8217; about sex trafficker<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>&ldquo;We have to get President [Donald] Trump to understand that investing in the National Weather Service, making sure we have more accurate weather models, could maybe make these types of disasters a thing of the past,&rdquo; Sorensen told NBC.<\/p>\n<p>Under Trump&rsquo;s fiscal year&#8239;2026 budget plan, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration faces cuts, but NWS funding gets a proposed 6.7% increase.<\/p>\n<p>At a recent Senate confirmation hearing, Neil Jacobs, Trump&rsquo;s nominee to lead NOAA, defended the cuts.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I support the president&rsquo;s budget,&rdquo; Jacobs told lawmakers, adding that mission-essential functions would continue.<\/p>\n<p>Illinois has two National Weather Service forecast offices, one in Lincoln and another in Romeoville. These are two of about 32 forecast offices nationwide funded through the agency&rsquo;s $120&#8239;million Administrative Management Division budget.<\/p>\n<p>In fiscal year 2023, the entire NWS was funded at $1.4&#8239;billion.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The National Weather Service continues to meet its <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >core missions amid recent reorganization efforts<\/a> and is taking steps to prioritize critical research and services that keep the American public safe and informed,&rdquo; NOAA&rsquo;s National Weather Service spokesman Erica Grow Cei told The Center Square in a statement.<\/p>\n<p>Cei said NOAA leadership is taking steps to address those who took a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/national-weather-service-commences-rehires-after-layoffs\/\" title=\"... commences rehires after layoffs\">voluntary early retirement option<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;NWS continues to conduct short-term Temporary Duty assignments (TDYs), and is in the process of conducting a series of Reassignment Opportunity Notices (RONs) to fill roles at NWS field locations with the greatest operational need,&rdquo; said Cei. &ldquo;A targeted number of permanent, mission-critical field positions will soon be advertised under an exception to the Department-wide hiring freeze to further stabilize frontline operation.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Sorensen stressed the need for stronger communication tools, warning systems and a long-term investment in the agency&rsquo;s capabilities.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We take it for granted that our phones are going to go off in the middle of the night when a tornado warning or flash flood warning is issued. But when that happens, we need to know there&rsquo;s going to be a way for us to escape. We have to keep working on social science to make sure the communication of meteorology gets better,&rdquo; said Sorensen.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/immigration\/3465665\/brandon-johnson-ice-promises-chicago-police-will-not-ever-cooperate\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"BRANDON JOHNSON PROMISES CHICAGO POLICE &lsquo;WILL NOT EVER COOPERATE WITH ICE&rsquo;\">BRANDON JOHNSON PROMISES CHICAGO POLICE &lsquo;WILL NOT EVER COOPERATE WITH ICE&rsquo;<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>During a recent U.S. Senate hearing, U.S. Sen. Ed Markey, D-Massachusetts, wasn&rsquo;t convinced by Jacobs who claimed the proposed 27% budget cut was simply a shift from research to operations and wouldn&rsquo;t impact the agency&rsquo;s essential functions.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I disagree with you. A 27% cut will have an impact. There&rsquo;s a definite ripple effect when that kind of funding is slashed,&rdquo; said Markey. &ldquo;Weather readiness without funding is a hallucination.&rdquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thecentersquare.com%2Fillinois%2Farticle_2a13a042-3b30-4d79-ba56-5ce0e25df11b.html%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dfacebook%26utm_campaign%3Duser-share\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_2172084\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"2172084\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Illinois Rep. Sorensen urges more NWS funding amid cuts<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2460360,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/farm-bill.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[5408,6413,59000,59001,32076],"class_list":["post-2460359","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-congressman","tag-illinois","tag-nws-funding","tag-trump-budget","tag-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/farm-bill.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2460359","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2460359"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2460359\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2460363,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2460359\/revisions\/2460363"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2460360"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2460359"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2460359"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2460359"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}