Inside the 'freely accessible government amenity' GOP’s Project 2025 wants to make you pay for

17 July 2024

2024 GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump has been trying to distance himself from Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation's far-right 900-page blueprint for a second Trump Administration. But President Joe Biden and many other prominent Democrats have responded that Trump is being disingenuous — as the controversial Project 2025 was assembled by a long list of Trump allies.

Democrats have been attacking Project 2025 for everything from restricting reproductive rights to calling for the U.S. Department of Education to be abolished. One thing that hasn't been discussed nearly as much, however, is Project 2025's proposal to "dismantle" the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) — which, according to The Atlantic's Zoë Schlanger, would threaten the National Weather Service (NWS).

"In the United States, as in most other countries," Schlanger explains, "weather forecasts are a freely accessible government amenity. The National Weather Service issues alerts and predictions, warning of hurricanes and excessive heat and rainfall, all at the total cost to American taxpayers of roughly $4 per person per year…. Charging for popular services that were previously free isn't generally a winning political strategy, but hard-right policy makers appear poised to try to do just that should Republicans gain power in the next term."

Schlanger notes that the National Hurricane Center also falls under the NOAA umbrella and that the NWS "serves as a crucial point of contact in a weather crisis, alerting the public when forecasts turn dangerous and advising emergency managers on the best plan of action."

The reporter warns that during a time of "brutal weather," taking apart the NOAA is the last thing the federal government should do.

"In just the past week," Schlanger observes, "a record-breaking hurricane brought major flooding and power outages to Texas amid an extreme-heat advisory. More than a dozen tornadoes ripped through multiple states. Catastrophic flash flooding barreled through wildfire burn scars in New Mexico."

The journalist continues, "Large parts of the West roasted in life-threatening temperatures. Facing any of this without the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration would be mayhem. And future years are likely to be worse.

Read The Atlantic's full article at this link (subscription required).

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