A spending plan being pushed by Republicans would slash funding for the agency that warned Hawaii and the West Coast about the devastating tsunami in Japan.
The plan, approved last month by the Republican-controlled US House of Representatives, would trigger an estimated US$126 million in cuts for the National Weather Service, the agency that houses the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii. The center issued widespread warnings minutes after Friday’s earthquake and issued guidance and updates throughout the day.
A union representing workers at the tsunami center said the proposed cuts, part of US$454 million in cuts for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), could result in furloughs and rolling closures of weather service offices. If so, that could affect the center’s ability to issue warnings similar to those issued on Friday, said Barry Hirshorn, Pacific region chairman of the National Weather Service Employees Organization.
“People could die. It could be serious,” Hirshorn said.
Democratic Representative Colleen Hanabusa, from Hawaii, where the center is based, called the planned cuts reckless and even dangerous.
“This disaster displays the need to keep the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center fully funded and operational,” said Senator Daniel Inouye, also a Hawaii Democrat, who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee. “I hope my Republican colleagues in the House are now aware that there was a horrific earthquake and tsunami in the Pacific.”
A spokeswoman for the House Appropriations Committee said deep cuts were needed to restore fiscal health. The party’s plan would cut spending for NOAA operations by nearly 10 percent below the budget enacted last year.
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