Congressional committees push back on Trump administration's proposed NOAA budget cuts

Source: ABC News

July 23, 2025, 3:17 PM


Lawmakers from both parties have so far rejected steep cuts to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) proposed by the Trump administration and reiterated their support for a fully staffed National Weather Service (NWS) during recent committee meetings, which included key appropriations markup sessions.

While the House and Senate spending bills for fiscal year 2026 are still in the early stages of the legislative process, initial drafts indicate bipartisan pushback against the significant cuts outlined in the administration's budget proposal, released earlier this year.

For fiscal year 2026, which begins Oct. 1, the Trump administration proposed cutting NOAA's budget by roughly 25%, including the elimination of its research division, the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR) and making major reductions to other key offices such as the National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), the world's largest provider of weather and climate data.

The budget proposal stated, "The FY 2026 budget eliminates all funding for climate, weather, and ocean Laboratories and Cooperative Institutes. It also does not fund Regional Climate Data and Information, Climate Competitive Research, the National Sea Grant College Program, Sea Grant Aquaculture Research, or the National Oceanographic Partnership Program."

Read more: https://abcnews.go.com/US/congressional-committees-push-back-trump-administrations-proposed-noaa/story?id=123975633