FY 2027 Budget Request for National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

The Committee on Environment will come to order. Without objection, the chair is authorized to declare recesses of the subcommittee at any time. Welcome to today's hearing entitled a review of the President's fiscal year twenty twenty seven budget request for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. I recognize myself for five minutes for an opening statement. Good morning and welcome to our hearing on Noah's budget proposal for fiscal year twenty twenty seven. I'd like to welcome NOAA Administrator, Doctor Neal Jacobs, as our witness this morning to discuss the President's proposed budget for the agency. The President requested four point four billion dollars for Noah's budget in fiscal year twenty seven. This represents a one point one billion dollar decrease from the discretionary and mandatory funding that Noah was appropriated last year. aligning with this administration's goals of reining in the excess spending of the previous administration. As the budget request accurately describes, NOAA provides the environmental science, information, and services needed to protect the lives, property, and livelihoods of all Americans. Therefore, when making budget decisions, we should be guided by a simple question. Does this program, project, or activity advance that mission? This year's budget includes several initiatives that I support. expanded procurement of commercially available data is a steadfast position of this committee for many years. This is reflected in the bipartisan Weather Act Reauthorization Act of twenty twenty five. The committee also believes NOAA provides the federal backbone of our forecasting tools, and by increasing our commercial data buy efforts, we can rapidly expand the pool of available data to improve the accuracy and timeliness of forecasts. I'm pleased to see modest increases to the National Weather Service and OCE an office marine and aviation operations. This budget proposal and restructuring efforts at NWS reflect the goal of both the administration and Congress to create a more nimble and flexible workforce. The transition of the advanced weather interactive processing system or AWIPS to the cloud will enable forecasters to live and work across all the country while m- still maintaining twenty four seven coverage. These two offices are at the forefront of innovation and forecasting that can save lives. My hometown of Lakeland, Florida, knows this firsthand. It is home to the Aircraft Operations Center. Aircraft based there, such as the Hurricane Hunters, are on the front lines of tracking and monitoring severe storms. I've had the pleasure of taking a ride in Kermit, and while it is a distinguished aircraft, which is code for old, we must continue modernizing the fleet. Congress has laid its marker down and I look forward to hearing about the progress of how our new C-one-thirty and G-five-fifty aircraft uh are progressing from Administrator Jacobs. I'm also encouraged to see NOAA's budget reflect the President's order to establish maritime dominance. The budget requests an increase of sixty million dollars to accelerate the acquisition of class C vessels and a seventy five million dollar increase to advance a fleet of autonomous research vessels. We've held multiple hearings on data gaps in the ocean including one just weeks ago on deep sea mining. We know there are substantial areas of the ocean where data is lacking, and these activities will significantly improve our understanding of ocean conditions surface maritime commerce, forecasting, and mining activities. These two programs are strong examples of how NOAA can supplement and even improve its data inventory by partnering with industry to insure high quality data that is cheaper to obtain through the private sector than for NOAA to attempt to collect on its own. If we're looking to save taxpayer money, it seems logical to bolster these programs rather than have NOAA try to collect data on its own through expensive build-outs and federally owned instruments. Nonetheless, I remain optimistic about NOAA's future. Congress consistently reinforces NOAA's core mission of protecting lives and property, and I appreciated Minister Jacobs' engagement on this proposal. I'm confident we will continue working together to advance NOAA's mission. I now recognize the ranking member of the subcommittee for his opening statement.

Thank you, Chairman Franklin, for holding this hearing. Uh, and thank you, Doctor Jacobs, for being here before our committee. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, protects Americans' lives, livelihoods, and property. It's essential for our economy. From the forecast fa- families check before starting their day, to the safety of our flights to the fisheries that feed our communities, NOAA's work is woven into everyday life. NOAA's impact is not always visible, but it is foundational to our everyday lives. Its space weather forecasts help protect astronauts on missions like Artemis two. Its data supports insurance markets and disaster recovery. And in Rhode Island, NOAA's new Marine Operations Center in Newport will support critical work while creating good paying jobs. Last year, Americans faced billion-dollar disasters. From devastating wildfires in California to catastrophic flooding in Vermont, and powerful hurricanes along the Gulf Coast, NOAA's data helps communities prepare, stay safe, recover. That's why Trump's fiscal year twenty twenty seven budget is so troubling. A one point six billion dollar cut to NOAA is not trimming fat. It's cutting to the bone and striking to the core. What keeps Americans safe? It means less data, less accurate forecasts, less time to prepare. And when preparation goes down, costs for families and small businesses go up. And so let's be very clear. Trump's choices don't happen in a vacuum. They come while he is making it harder for Americans to get ahead, driving up costs while pulling back on the very tools that help communities respond to the disasters. Take the proposed elimination of the Integrated Ocean Observing System, or IUS. The eyes of our ocean. IUS obs- uh improves hurricane forecast, supports safe navigation, helps coastal communities prepare for flooding. Shutting it down means less precise forecast uh forecast and less time to act. especially for coastal states like my home state of Rhode Island. At a time of rising seas and stronger storms, that's a risk we can't afford. The same goes for the proposed elimination of the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research including the National Sea Grant program. For decades, Sea Grant has delivered real results to support research, train workers, and strengthen coastal communities. Last year, Rhode Island Sea Grant supported research on microplastics in Arrogantse Bay. training for aquaculture businesses and dozens of undergraduate and graduate students in their research. In twenty twenty four, the seed grant program turned a ninety four million dollar federal investment into approximately one point five billion dollars in economic bel- benefits creating more than two thousand new businesses and twenty one thousand jobs. The elimination of NOAA seed grants would strike a blow to Rhode Island's nascent blue economy, and the thriving communities across the country that depend on these jobs and these investments. Cutting that is not saving money. It's costing us opportunity. Budgets are about priorities. And this one sends the wrong message. Less preparedness, more risk, and higher costs for the American people. We should be investing in the tools that keep people safe, not tearing them down. And finally, Doctor Jacobs, I I wanna address uh Noah's lack of responsiveness. Collectively, we sent several letters last year seeking answers on the administration's priorities and received virtually no reply. I personally sent seven letters. We received one response. So, and that was nine months later. Gotta do better. Period. That's unacceptable. So, Congress can't adequately represent our constituents if agencies don't respond and agencies aren't doing their job if they don't respond. So we've gotta fix this. I expect timely, transparent communications going forward, and I expect honest answers to our outstanding re- requests without delay. We are working together on behalf of an important agency that is important to lives, livelihood, property, to our economy. So, Doctor Jacobs, I look forward to discussing how NOAA can meet its mission and protect the American people, despite what I describe as harmful proposals and terminations.

Thank you, and I yield back.

Thank you, Ranking Member Ramo, I now recognize the Chairman of the full committee, Doctor Battle.

Good morning, and uh thank you to our subcommittee chairman, Mister Franklin, uh for presiding over this important hearing. I wanna thank you, Administrator uh Jacobs, for being here today. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, is a unique agency that sits at the intersection of science, operations and regulations. From daily forecasts, severe storm warnings and earth monitoring, NOAA is on the front lines of protecting Americans by providing essential information needed to take preventive measure measures against life-threatening weather events. The products and services that NOAA provides to support fisheries, coastal restoration and marine commerce impact more than one-third of our gross domestic product. Since becoming chairman of this committee, We have held numerous hearings focused on NOAA, from ocean technologies and deep-sea mining to weather forecasting and importance of weather satellites to our national security. Last September we passed the Weather Act Reauthorization Act of twenty twenty five, clarifying the committee's priorities for NOAA's weather monitoring and science activities. We are closely following the Senate's movements on this legislation. I am very encouraged to see that the language in these two bills is not very far apart. The fiscal year twenty-seven budget request is remarkably similar to the fiscal year twenty-six proposal. The enacted levels in the twenty-s fift uh uh fiscal year twenty-six appropriations package signal that Congress did not support the proposed direction for NOAA. The Appropriations Committee is marking up its bill tomorrow, and it will likely reflect the same position. And while I appreciate the work the Administrator has done on this budget, it is time to work together to find common ground. NOAA's science activities are at the core of its success. I am keenly aware of the challenges of transitioning research to operations. And that's why Congress must ensure that NOAA's reorganization preserves critical research capabilities and does not dilute operational effectiveness. NOAA's research activities are essential to its mission of protecting lives and property. NOAA does not have the budget of some larger agencies, so it needs focused operational offices to provide the products and services that are vital to this country's safety and economic prosperity. I am pleased to see that the budget request included robust support for the National Weather Service ensuring the National Weather Service is funded and fully staffed has been one of my top priorities since becoming chairman. However, I question the proposal to eliminate research grants related to stream flow and rainfall. These grants support improving precipitation forecasts, linking atmospheric and hydrologic models, reducing errors in extreme events such as flash floods and atmospheric rivers, and helping to develop flash flood guidance and other flood risk products. After the catastrophic events in Kerr County, Texas last July fourth, I am particularly sensitive to efforts to improve flood watches, warnings and decision support uh products that inform timely evacuations. The National Weather Service performed well in forecasting those events last summer. I am concerned eliminating these grants with stymie future improvements. Let us not forget that NOAA's primary mission is to protect lives and property. I do not believe this budget request meets the President's expectations for that core mission. Again, I wanna thank the administrator for being here to discuss with the committee, what NOAA's princip priority should be, and I hope that we can find a workable path forward that best serves the American people. With that, Mister Chairman, I yield back, balancing my time.

Thank you, Chairman Babin, I now recognize uh the ranking member, Miss Lofgren of the full committee for her state.

Well, uh thank you, Chairman Franklin and uh ranking member Emil for this hearing as well as Uh, you, Doctor Jacobs, for appearing before us today. Members of this committee, we, uh, understand the importance and significance of NOAA. Tasked with providing critical information for our communities to prepare and respond and adapt to severe weather events and the changing environment, while managing and protecting our nation's coastal and ocean resources, NOAA is an important agency. But it's not clear that the Trump administration recognizes uh or values the importance of NOAA. The President's fiscal year twenty twenty-seven budget request would cut NOAA's budget by more than twenty-six percent. As the Chairman noted uh, like twenty the twenty-twenty-six request, uh it attempts to get rid of the office of oceanic and atmospheric uh research, uh terminate critical research programs, and closes cooperative institutes and research labs that support NOAA's mission. Now just last month, the Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere developed a cutting-edge forecast system that's gonna improve precipitation forecast of atmospheric rivers in the San Francisco Bay a- area. Experts at the University of California, San Diego and Califor- uh, Colorado State University worked with NOAA to develop an advanced rainfall forecast system that gives emerg- emergency managers and water agencies in the Bay Area more accurate and timely warnings about potential flooding and runoff from heavy rainfall events. Uh, this is important not only to protect, uh, against flooding, but in the future may also help conserve, um, water from extraordinary events for use during dry periods. It's also, uh, it's already been incorporated into the National W- uh, Weather Service toolbox And this is timely, uh, given that NOAA's Climate Prediction Center, also slated to be cut, indicated that a super El Nino is probably gonna emerge this summer in the Pacific. To further show what the twenty twenty-seven budget request is attempting to eliminate, the Trump administration wants to close the atmos- uh, Atlantic Ocean- uh, Oceanographic Meteor- Meteor- Meteorological Laboratory, and now we know why it's AOML, um, and the National Severe Storms Laboratory. AOML is home to the Hurricane Research Division, which aid aids know in improving the understanding and prediction of a hurricane's track intensity and structure. The National Severe Storms Laboratory improves the understanding and prediction of severe weather, most notably tornadoes. This lab developed the radar the National Weather Service uses to uh today to detect hail and tornado circulation. That's what's going on right today in the Midwest. These labs are among the few dozen research facilities that make up the backbone of NOAA's operations, yet the Trump administration uh suggests terminating them in the name of, quote, eliminating funding for the globalist climate agenda, unquote. Now, by its own admission, NOAA states that these labs and cooperative institutes advance the National Weather Service's prediction capabilities improve its ability to provide more accurate and timely warnings and forecasts for life-threatening weather events hardly a political agenda. Cutting programs that improve hurricane and tornado forecasting is the very definition of punny uh penny-wise and pound foolish. Now, while NOAA's labs and cooperative institutes provide the research and development of new and improved forecasting tools, it's NOAA's operational environmental satellite system that provides the foundational data in weather and climate models. Decisions made now are going to affect forecasting capabilities for decades. Nevertheless, the Trump administration abruptly undermined a well-vat- vetted and scientifically backed plan by cancelling contracts and cha- changing the system infrastructure without any real analysis that we could see, uh, without assessment and certainly without, uh, notifying Congress. Uh, these decisions were made before uh your confirmation, Doctor Jacobs. I recognize that. But I look forward to working with you to ensure there's no further lapse in communication and that we have a better partnership moving forward. We can see the improvements and successes of our nation's forecasting capabilities due to investments in research and technology and, Doctor Jacobs, I believe that you can agree there's still more work that needs to be done. This year, we have already seen several weather disasters that have cause the loss of life. This proposed budget won't help. Uh, we can do better. I and I and I hope we will. With that, uh, Mister Chairman, I yield back.

Thank you, Ranking Member Lofgren. Now let me introduce our witness today. Doctor Neil Jacobs currently serves as the Undersecretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere, and NOAA Administrator. In this role he provides strategic direction and oversight for more than six billion dollars in annual spending including investments in space innovation, autonomous systems, artificial intelligence, deep-sea exploration, and numerical weather prediction, while developing industry partnerships to study the oceans, address the seafood trade imbalance, and support US commercial and recreational fishing. Doctor Jacobs also previously uh served as both Acting Undersecretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere, and Assistant Secretary of Commerce for an Environmental Observations and Prediction under the first Trump administration. I now recognize Doctor Jacobs for five minutes to present his testimony.

Chairman Franklin, Ranking Member Hamo, Chairman Babin, and Ranking Member Lofgren and members of the subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to discuss the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's fiscal year twenty twenty seven budget. NOAA has a unique mission that spans the sea floor to the sun's surface. Not only do they conduct cutting edge research, but they also provide lifesaving forecasts and predictions of a wide range of environmental phenomena. On behalf of the agency, I want to thank this subcommittee for your long-standing bipartisan support for FY twenty-seven NOAA is requesting four point five four billion in discretionary appropriations and FY twenty-seven NOAA will continue to leverage partnerships to spur innovation in weather s- and space enterprises and grow the American maritime economy. These activities will drive business growth and more effectively enable business enhancement and will continue to advance NOAA's mission of science, service and stewardship. Our fleet of specialized ships, aircraft and uncrewed systems are critical for American environmental intelligence. In support of NOAA's fleet, we are requesting sixty million to accelerate the acquisition of class C vessel. Further, NOAA requests an increase of seventy-five million to initiate a fleet of uncrewed system platforms to enable efficient surveys of our coast, address data gaps, and propel a stronger ocean economy. NOAA also manages the nation's civil operational environmental satellites. The FY twenty-seven budget request supports the continuity of these critical environmental data, while focusing on our core weather mission through Geostationary Extended Observations or GeoXO. In addition, NOAA requests an increase activities related to the development and implementation of the near-earth orbit network which will serve as the next generation of polar orbiting satellites. NOAA will also continue to expand data acquisition efforts to more fully utilized space-based commercial data where they meet no emission needs. Furthermore, the FY twenty-seven budget request transfers the Office of Space Commerce to the Department of Commerce as a stand-alone office reporting directly to the secretary. The FY twenty-seven budget request will better enable modernization and transformation of the National Weather Service by pursuing key investments that support its core mission and transformation efforts. The National Weather Service continues to produce operational forecasts, warnings, impact-based decision support services, and other life-saving products and services to the emergency management community and public as they prepare and respond to increasingly frequent severe weather and water events. Our current radar system is at risk of not being able to maintain targeted availability by twenty thirty, which would significantly impact the ability of the National Weather Service to provide life-saving warnings and support services to core partners and emergency managers. The Radar Next program will ensure continuity of operations, expanding coverage and improving performance, enabling forecasters to improve the lead times and accuracy of warnings for high-impact weather events. In addition, NOAA will continue the transformation of the advanced weather interactive processing system known as AWIPS to a cloud-based framework to enable forecasters to provide secure on-site support services, wherever and whenever severe weather threatens. NOAA will drive greater economic benefits, strengthen national security, and deepen partnerships with the commercial weather enterprise into the future. In FY twenty-seven, NOAA will advance and support the United States is a global leader in responsible seabed and mineral exploration and commercial recovery. An increase is proposed to build upon our established licensing and permitting authority and framework to sustain deep seabed hard mineral resource act licensing and permitting capacity. NOAA will use artificial intelligence and other technological solutions to increase efficiency in unleashing the ocean economy. Through this budget, NOAA will address the current and emerging needs of the nation, aiming to help unleash American energy, leverage innovation in the weather and space enterprises, protect life and property, and enable to promote economic growth. I look forward to working closely with all of you in discussing Noah's mission more today and I'm happy to answer any questions you may have.

Thank you, Doctor Jacobs, and I now recognize myself for five minutes of questions. The oceans cover more than seventy percent of the planet and underpin the global economy. Shaping uh food production, weather, energy and trade. They also represent the United States' largest and most research rich frontier. Yet despite this dependence, much of our ocean remains unexplored. Only fifty-four percent of the US' exclusive economic zone has been mapped to modern standards, leaving roughly one point eight million square o'clock miles of sovereign territory uncharted. Uncharted. Uh, your fiscal year twenty-seven budget proposes a seventy-five million dollar increase to expand unmanned surface vessel capacity. How does NOAA plan to execute this quickly, and specifically what capabilities are being prioritized, and is NOAA prepared to rapidly procure proven systems at scale?

Uh, thank you for the question. Um, so we're looking at at kind of a two-pronged approach. The first one is data acquisition through autonomous systems. And this would be something if we're gonna be mapping or collecting data once, it would make more sense to buy the data. than to actually buy the asset. For other things where we're mapping it on on a regular basis, like doing fishery surveys, we're actually looking to procure the autonomous systems. And so this is consistent with the ship building executive order. Um, we haven't fully scoped out exactly the type of system yet, but a lot of these would be either subsurface or on the surface.

As I mentioned in my opening remarks, NOAA's Aircraft Operations Center is an integral part in my home community, and these crews collect front-line data from severe storms to help ensure Floridians and all Americans are prepared. The current fleet of aircraft is outdated and in need of modernization, and Congress has provided funding through supplemental appropriations. Can you walk us through the current progress on the new hurricane hunters, and and what will distinguish this new fleet from the one currently in operation? And also how will you address the research to operations pipeline challenges that can delay the deployment of new introductions like this?

Um, so there's again, this is probably a two-pronged approach as well. So, we're procuring two different types of airborne assets. We have uh two G five fifties, which are the high altitude jets, one of them uh we're gonna get later this year, the other one we're expecting in FY twenty eight. Uh, those are actually the ones that fly over the storm and then drop instruments through the storm. And then we have two uh C one thirties that we've already initiated the procurement of uh The time-line is is on schedule, on budget. It um it actually they kicked off of March, so last month down at Lockheed's facility. Um we're expecting these delivery by twenty thirty, so should be before the end of the uh expected life of the P uh the P threes.

Mm-hmm.

Um these will actually fly into the storm and deploy drop sons as well as drones, so we we're acquiring a fleet of small drones that we drop from these planes and they fly around inside the storm and collect data, it's it's much more efficient than an actual drop sound. Um, and most likely as far as the radar goes, we'll put pods on the wings to do radar because you can't really put a tail doppler radar on a C one thirty. So that's that's sort of the way the the mix of the airborne assets are going looking forward.

With little time we have left, I know uh some some say that these aircraft

Sure. They uh they fly all over. So a lot of times when they're not doing, when they're not flying into hurricanes, they're collecting data elsewhere. Um and one of the missions that a lot of the the planes fly is for atmospheric rivers in in the Pacific. So they will collect data and do drop sons in the Pacific as well. And you Usually the the seasonality of those are kind of the other half of the season from the hurricane season. So they can go back and forth and do both.

Right. Uh, that's all I have for now. Thank you, uh, Doctor Jacobs, I now recognize the ranking member from Rhode Island for five minutes questions.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Uh, Doctor Jacobs, with reference to my, uh, opening statement, will you make a commitment to the agency having a prompt response to member letters? And moving forward, will you commit to timely consistent communication with committee members.

Yeah, absolutely. I, um, I, I would look forward to working with you. I encourage everyone here to just feel free to reach out to me directly,

Mm-hmm.

um, and really look forward to that correspondence.

Great. Thank you. Thank you, and I appreciate that, and I will certainly take advantage of that offer. Uh, let me turn to the budget. Uh, the President's budget request, uh, proposed is cutting one point six billion dollars from NOAA's O- operations, research and grant programs. That is Administration has capriciously determined, or part of the so-called Green News scam, uh, which they claim radicalizes students and spreads baseless environmental alarm. Doctor Jacobs, what were the criteria used to determine which programs were going to be axed because they were part of a so-called Green News scam and were any career NOAA scientists or technical experts involved in that evaluation or was it driven by political appointees?

So the budget that we put together really focused on protecting life and property. And a lot of the aspects of the research uh within OAR, there's some really early stage research and then more what I would call like applied operational research and that is actually transferred to the ocean service and the weather service so you'll see a decrease uh in some of that on the research side but we're actually transitioning a lot of that to the operations side. So it's it's still going towards the mission of protecting life and property.

And and who is making those decisions?

Well, what we we work backwards from like the mission requirements. So we have mission requirements solely focused on the protection of life and property. And then we look to see what different pieces of information or work, development work, applied research go directly to those. And those are how we we sort of rank. what the needs are. So it's driven by the operational side of the mission.

OK. Uh, Chairman Franklin and I introduced the bipartisan, uh, NOAA Global Ocean uh and Monitoring Research Act to strengthen uh ocean observational research. But the president's proposed FY twenty-seven budget does the opposite. It eliminates ocean research and observation systems like those authorized in our bill and cuts personnel who support the sustained ocean observations and monitoring program. The goal of - of this part of the President's budget is frankly pretty bleak and painfully clear. It reads that the aim is to continue delivering minimal ocean data. Minimal. So, well, just so we - we see how, uh, harmful that word is, minimal doesn't cut it for fishermen trying to make a liv- living. Minimal doesn't cut it for coastal communities preparing for storms. Minimal doesn't cut it for states like Rhode Island that depend on the ocean economy. So, Doctor Jacobs, my my uh ask to you is will you commit to maintaining our current level of ocean observation and if not what is the minimum level that Congress and the American people should expect?

Again, I would work backwards from making sure that we meet the mission requirements. So there's there's trade-offs here. We can augment certain types of data with other types of data. The volume might be different, the quality, the accuracy might be different. These are all trade-offs. There's a lot of things we can do from space now that we couldn't five or ten years ago that we would have to do from in situ type observing systems. So these are all trade-offs that we're looking at.

But trade-offs should not suggest that there's a reduction in in the type of data that was provided. So that's the commitment I'm seeking from you, is to is to go beyond some minimal standard that was uh put forward in the president's budget. That, so will you commit to

I will commit to making sure that we maintain as accurate if not more accurate forecast products and services going forward, the data that we collect to drive those may change over time in both volume and quality and accuracy.

So, I guess my question for you ultimately, and and we'll use the rest of my time with this, if if NOAA is operating at, you know, minimal, you'd say adequate and accurate, you know, uh, my question is how will you provide the fisheries data, uh, storm tracking and ocean monitoring that our fishermen, businesses and communities, uh, rely on, especially when we all know that the risks are increasing. So could you please, uh, refer to that?

Sure. Well, so, um, GOMO's a good example. So the sustained ocean ops and monitoring aspect of the budget is just, that's in the, that's just moved to the ocean surface. So we, we maintain a lot of this stuff, and we're actually gonna be making more of the data available because we're putting it all on the cloud through NESDIS and in CEI. So this is this is important not just for us, 'cause we generate products and services for this, but there's a lot of stakeholders that also use this data that generate products and services. We're gonna make all that available.

Thank you. I yield back. Gentlemen yields. Um. I recognize myself for five minutes. Uh, Doctor Jacobs, thanks again for for being here with us. Less than two weeks ago, a series of tornadoes near Kansas City, Kansas, developed without any prior notification from the National Weather Service. Many sources are citing that this lapse occurred because weather balloons that are typically launched at seven AM were not l- released until noon substantially reducing the accuracy of the forecast for this particular storm what were the circumstances that led to that uh launch of vital sensors five hours later than usual and uh, wa- was that the reason that we were were unable to uh uh make a a wise guess there?

Uh, thank you for the question. So I went back and looked at this data and looked at the forecast analysis myself. Uh, the timing of the balloon launches, so there's two separate things here. The the first easy answer is no, it didn't have an impact in the forecast. There are certain convective events that spin up really quick. And as soon as it shows up on radar, the forecasters instantly issue a tornado warning. It's not necessarily uncommon to have warnings issued outside of a watch zone. The the radio son that that was in question was, I believe, the Dodge City radio son. So there's radio sons, these are the weather balloons, we launch them twice a day. Typically they're at zero and twelve Z or seven AM, seven PM, eight AM, eight PM, depending on the time zone. That's always been done because we used to just run the global weather models twice a day at that same time. It's actually for for forecasting severe tornadic conditions, which usually occur late afternoon and evening, it makes more sense to launch the balloon at eighteen Z, which is one or two PM. And that weather forecast office did launch a balloon at eighteen Z. The tornadoes didn't happen until seven PM. So, they had data in advance of that. So it wasn't the lack of the seven AM radio sound that made a difference.

Gotcha. So you don't think it had any any effect. And is this going to be a new uh, is this a decision that's going to be uh, these balloons are gonna be released later in the day now? Sounds like it.

It it depends on the area. So in certain areas that happen to be next to busy airports, and we have a lot of aircraft data, we might not need to launch the balloon at the same time we had a lot of aircraft data. There's other places where we have uh quadcopters and drones where we can take vertical profiles. So we're looking at this from beyond just a network of weather balloons, but also different observing assets, and we're trying to balance it, because there are just as accurate observing systems um that are just as uh probably just as sustainable and also cheaper. We can use them more than once. Um, so it's I guess my short answer is it it's almost dependent on the specific location.

Okay. Okay. This committee has a long history of bipartisan support for foundational r- observing programs such as the Integrated Ocean Observing System and Argo, as well as Mesonet and now commercial sources of data. However, there are concerns that some uh fiscal year twenty-six appropriated funds may not yet be reaching the program level on the expected time line. And without access to a spin plan, it is difficult to conduct proper oversight to ensure timely implementation of appropriation laws. Where does the distribution of that, uh, FY twenty-six enacted funds stand today?

Uh, we are rapidly trying to get the funds out the door and obligate it. Um, there was, uh, a backlog of things that, that I was working through, um, I'm, I'm happy to say that we've, we've currently cleared over one thousand five hundred transactions, um, without any lapse in actual services.

Gotcha. Are there any delays in obligating or releasing those funds, and if so, what's the cause uh of these delays? And will NOAA provide the committee with spin plans for FY twenty-five and twenty-six, uh before the Appropriations Committee marks up the CJS appropriations bill next week?

Uh, we will um You know, I'll commit to you to to trying to get all the funds obligated before the end of the fiscal year. Uh, we just, uh, as of April twenty-first, so last week, uh, gave Appropriations Committee our spend plan, so, um, I'll work with you through and the inter-agency partners to to get that, uh, as soon as I can.

OK, thank you. Thank you very much. Uh, and with that, I will recognize the, uh, Full committee, Chair, Chair, Woman, uh, excuse me, Ranking Member, Miss Lofgren.

Well, thank you for the promotion, Mister Chair. Um, and thank you, Doctor Jacobs, for your thoughtful uh testimony. Um, during your confirmation hearing, Doctor Ca- Jacobs, I I think I understand you stated that you don't think we can spend too much on research. And I'd like to say I agree with that. Um, I I won't put you on the, you are well qualified for this job, you're a scientist, you have a background in this whole field. I won't put you on the spot and ask you to uh publicly uh disown what the administration has pr proposed to us, but I I simply will say that the weather and ocean research labs and cooperative institutes that provide the research necessary to improve weather forecasting and coastal resource management, uh, are important. And, uh, you know, the budget mentions terminating programs to realign to NOAA's mission, but the mission, which you've said today, is to protect lives and property, and that requires research as well as operational capacity, uh, all of which, uh, the administration appears to be suggesting be cut. Um, last year the administration made significant changes to NOAA's next generation of geostationary satellites. And they did it without uh congressional approval or input or, so far as I'm aware, notice. I, we weren't noticed and I don't know that uh the chairman was either. And as he's mentioned, we work in a very bipartisan manner in this committee. I, I really expect NOAA to communicate transparently with the committee when you're making major changes. So can you give us that assurance?

No, absolutely. I commit to working with you on this.

Let me uh, can you uh tell us when we can expect NOAA to send its updated plan in writing for the GEO-XO program to Congress?

Um, so we're still working through that right now? I mean, a as you've seen, there's there's uh a new plan with the most recent appropriations to do a sounder and imager. on all four satellites. Uh, so that is actually gonna, uh, require a re-baselining. So we're currently looking at that. Uh, once we get that sorted out, we'll definitely, uh, brief you on it.

What's the status of the lightning mapper?

Uh, so there was some there's kind of a, a three-pronged discussion with this. So we, we got conflicting information on actually how many instruments we could put. on one satellite and there was some debate of whether the lightning mapper would even fit if we did an imager and sounder. The other conversation we've had is there are uh industry partners that have expressed interest in launching a lightning mapper in geo and actually selling us the data as a commercial service. So that's potentially one option. Uh there's other companies that are actually collecting information from lightning sensing networks on the ground. So that's another option. So when we were looking at trying to decide about what the the suite of instruments would be on GEO-EXO, one of the things that was considered were are there other sources to get similar data. And in some cases there were and in other cases there weren't. So that's what went into the selection of some instruments over others.

Well, I would hope that we would be doing an analysis of what the ongoing cost would be from a commercial service versus uh obtaining it ourselves. I'm all for um the commercial sector, but that analysis has to be provided to us i- uh in in the future. Um, I, you know, Doge came in and did a a real meet-ax to uh your agency. Um, we've got, I guess, a freeze, um, that was lifted. Um, there are four hundred and fifty people, I believe, who were supposed to be hired. Have have all those positions been filled?

Um, not yet, so that, uh, I believe you're referring to just the weather server,

Correct.

because we were authorized to hire beyond that.

Correct.

So there was four hundred and fifty positions authorized. Uh, two hundred and six of those positions have been sent

Let me just close. My time is almost up, but the weather service reorganization plan seems to include downsizing and upsizing staff. The plan doesn't apparently close any offices, but I think it's important that all offices are open twenty-four seven, and can we be assured that the uh WFOs that are slated to downsize their staff are gonna provide a higher level of support during extreme weather events, particularly when these events now are lasting s- for days at a time.

Um, yeah, so that's that's the beauty of moving AWIPS to the cloud, is it allows us to dynamically ramp up and and down support as needed depending on where the weather's going. So, um, you've got my assurance we're not closing any forecast offices. We actually opened a new one in Guam. Uh, so hundred and twenty-three now. Um, yeah, twenty-four seven support. Um, and it's, uh, it's, we're really focused on, on making sure that we meet the mission. And having this flexibility to run AWIPS in the cloud is actually gonna give us the ability to have other forecasters help out in certain high impact weather events even more than we've had in the past.

Thank you. Mister Chairman, my time is expired, so I yield back.

Gentleman Yields, I'd like to recognize uh the gentleman from Tennessee, Mr. Phineps.

Thank you, Mister Chairman, and thank you, Doctor Jacobs, for testifying before this committee today. From facilitating a thriving ocean economy to unleashing offshore critical mineral collection, NOAA plays a crucial role in sustaining American maritime dominance. More importantly, NOAA serves everyday Americans providing by providing notice of severe storm warnings, ensuring local governments can take necessary precautions to protect their communities. The President's FY twenty-seven budget request makes meaningful investments into these priority areas, demonstrating a commitment to economic growth and the well-being of the American people. I'm very encouraged to see that the budget request proposes a two million dollar increase to help the Na- the National Ocean Service expedite reviews of Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act exploration licenses and commercial recovery permits associated with seabed mineral collection. I've emphasized this at previous hearings held by this subcommittee. It is essential that we establish resilient battery supply chains in the homeland. Tennessee's seventh district is seeing massive investments for midstream supply chain assets. Yet America does not have a secure domestic source. of critical minerals used for battery manufacturing, a major gap in the upstream portion of the supply chain. We must provide NOAA with the resources necessary to streamline permitting under the Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act authority, so our commercial ecosystem can tap into the vast resources at our disposal, in the ocean floor. Doctor Jacobs, over the past year, can you describe the extent to which the National Ocean Service has been able to expedite deep sea exploration licenses and mining permits.

Um, thank you for the question. So this uh, this is an authority that NOAA's had for a long time, but there's to date hasn't been a tremendous amount of commercial interest until the last few years. And uh, we're just now working our way through the the permitting and application review process. It's several steps. And it's we're very soon gonna be having first applicant complete the entire process. Uh, and so I guess step one would be we're learning the process and developing as we go and figuring out where sort of the bottlenecks are, where the pain points are, and then trying to make it as efficient as we possibly can going forward. So, we're developing it as we, as we go forward, and we're learning ways to make it more efficient in the process.

Thanks. Uh, it's my understanding that the National Ocean Service has received over twelve new permitting applications for four reviews since the President's executive order last year. How will the proposed two million dollar budget in- increase ensure that the National Ocean Service is appropriately resourced to accelerate the approval process for deep-sea mining permits?

A lot of these permit, and it's probably more than that now. Uh, a lot of these permits, we, it's a first come, first serve basis. And uh not all of the applicants know what other applicant is before them who's applied for certain areas. So a lot of times it'll have to get sent back if there's already been an applicant for a certain area of seafloor. Um so this this is part of just building out the system and then actually one of the things that I was really I wanna do with this additional investment is have an on-line portal, because we have a lot of questions from applicants who wanna know where their application is in the process. And I would like them to be able to go on-line and see where it is, 'cause otherwise it's using a lot of our resources trying to field their questions.

Great. Th- thanks, Doctor Jacobs. Thanks for your leadership. Uh, Mr. Chairman, I yield back.

I'd like to recognize the, uh, gentleman from, uh, Oregon, Miss Bonamici, for first.

Uh, thank you. Nice to see you, Doctor Jacobs. Welcome back to the committee. Uh, so I represent Northwest Oregon, which includes a significant part of the beautiful Oregon coast, and know that NOAA protects lives and property through science and also building partnerships that improve real-time decisions. NOAA's science is why coastal Oregonians might have a few extra minutes to evacuate during a tsunami. It's why pilots crossing the Columbia River Bar can navigate the most dangerous route in the country and still arrive safely port and it's why farmers and shellfish growers and families stay resilient, despite worsening drought, warmer waters and more severe wildfires. The administration's budget would redefine NOAA's role by cutting the science and partnerships that make those outcomes possible and replacing them with what looks to be a narrower model built on consolidation and some private substitutes. And the budget again seeks to eliminate the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research. That's next generation weather forecasting, marine heatwave and coastal hazard prediction, advanced fire weather research, and more. So, Doctor Jacobs, which research areas would you need to slow down or abandon under this proposal?