Republicans target agency that warned of tsunami

[Turborama]

Source: AP Via The Guardian

BY MATTHEW DALY

Associated Press= WASHINGTON (AP) — 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 House of Representatives, would trigger an estimated $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 $454 million in cuts for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 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 Friday, said Barry Hirshorn, Pacific region chairman of the National Weather Service Employees Organization.

"People could die. It could be serious," Hirshorn said.

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/feedarticle/9542602

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Apologies in advance if this has been posted earlier, I looked for it using DU's search engine but nothing came up.

[Journeyman]

1. I knew we Californians would eventually pay for going so Blue in 2010. . .

Now they want to drown us . . .


:)

[villager]

2. Some people thought I was joking with this thread:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x612334

I wasn't.

[BadgerKid]

3. There were a few threads two days ago.

Search for "republican tsunami" in either DU's search or the Google search at the top of the page.

:hi: No harm done.

[babylonsister]

4. Can anyone say nimrods? How 'bout asshats? nt

[Sherman A1]

5. Of course

remember Bobby Jindal's little talk a few years ago?

[gtar100]

6. Of course! Watching things get destroyed is their favorite thing.

It's what makes them feel good. Natural disasters are the next best thing to war for republicons and fundamentalists.

How else could you explain their lack of desire to do anything good in this world for anybody but themselves?

[Charleston Chew]

7. Republican Budget Cuts for Tsunami Warning Centers

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GOP Budget Cuts Would Lead to Furloughs at Tsunami Warning Centers, Undermining Their "Ability to React"
by: Kevin Donohoe
Saturday 12 March 2011


Congressional Republicans' 2011 budget would slash funding for government agencies directly responsible for issuing tsunami warnings and severely reduce the government’s capacity to track and respond to these disasters, the president of the union that represents employees of the National Weather Service told ThinkProgress today in the wake of the tragic tsunami in the Pacific. The House Republican budget, which was rejected by the Senate this week, would have cut funding to NOAA - the agency directly responsible for tsunami monitoring and warning - restricting the government’s ability to respond.

Dan Sobien, the president of National Weather Service Employees Organization, said in a statement to ThinkProgress that while his agency, a subsidiary of NOAA, has made contingency plans, the GOP cuts would "put considerable stress" on the country’s tsunami monitoring and response systems:

NOAA has put together part of a contingency plan to handle such a massive cut and while it spares tsunami buoys, all other coastal buoys are non funded and there will be furloughs at both Tsunami Warning Centers (TWC). These furloughs will take away the TWC’s ability to upgrade tsunami models and will put considerable stress on watchstanders ability to react. This plan unfortunately only account for about half the cuts that need to be made, about 60 of the 126 million that needs to be cut. While today's disaster is of particular concern to everyone, we are just now entering tornado season and soon will be hurricane season and our organization firmly believes any effort to defund and dismantle our nations early warning system for all disasters is very unwise.

http://thinkprogress.org/2011/03/11/gop-budget-tsunami
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