House Democrats will introduce legislation to 'save NOAA'

House Democrats plan to introduce legislation overnight that would prevent further Trump administration cuts to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration funding or staffing after severe storms across the country drew attention to staffing cuts in National Weather Service field offices.

House Democrats plan to introduce legislation overnight that would prevent further Trump administration cuts to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration funding or staffing after severe storms across the country drew attention to staffing cuts in National Weather Service field offices. 

The measure, which will be offered as an amendment to the Republican budget reconciliation bill, would also block NOAA from being dissolved, from having its work transferred to other federal agencies and from having its website or datasets degraded, according to a copy of the amendment reviewed by NBC News.

Democratic Reps. Jared Moskowitz of Florida, Eric Sorensen of Illinois, Joe Neguse of Colorado and Wesley Bell of Missouri plan to introduce the amendment as soon as early Wednesday.  

The bill highlights congressional concern about National Weather Service staffing levels after the Trump administration fired probationary workers and offered early retirement to veteran employees. Short-staffed weather forecast offices dealt with a severe thunderstorm and tornado outbreak over the weekend, during which at least 28 people died in the Midwest and the South. 

“Hurricane season is just days away, and extreme weather is only intensifying. It’s not the time to put NOAA at risk,” Moskowitz, the former director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management, said in an emailed statement.