Weekly Briefing: Tell Congress - Protect NOAA’s vital climate and weather data

Feb. 19, 2025

As you may have seen, the Trump administration is trying to curtail the work of NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. “Many employees are bracing for potential staff cuts, as well as slashes to the funding that supports science within the agency and by many research partners across the country,” NPR reported on Saturday.

The agency plays a critical role in weather forecasting, extreme weather warnings, and climate science. That means NOAA’s work is vital to us as climate advocates, but also as Americans who need good information to help us stay safe during extreme weather events. But as of Tuesday morning, NOAA “is thought to be in line for as much as a 10% reduction in staff, which would amount to about 1,000 workers,” Axios reports.

These moves have prompted outcry from scientists, local meteorologists, some lawmakers — and from us. So far, CCLers have sent 5,701 messages to Congress asking them to do everything in their power to ensure NOAA’s ongoing operations. Our goal is to send at least 12,000 messages to lawmakers about protecting this vital agency.

Our easy online action tool includes a template message, and you can send it in just a few clicks. If you want to go further, personalize the message to help it stand out and make the most impact.

As CCL Executive Director Rachel Kerestes reminded us during CCL’s February meeting, “We’re going to stay on the field. We’re going to do this work for as long as it takes. And we’re going to do it all for the benefit of our climate and our democracy.”

In other news this week

Permitting reform waiting in the wings: E&E News reports this week that conversations around permitting reform are gearing back up in Congress. CCL believes permitting reform is necessary to speed up the pace that we build and connect clean energy throughout America. Revisit our 2024 policy roadmap to see the work we did on permitting reform last year, and keep an eye on our 2025 policy roadmap for this year’s progress.

Take action this week

If you have a little time: Share this post about the costs of IRA repeal. If the clean energy tax credits in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) are repealed, America is looking at billions of lost investment dollars, higher electricity rates, and an increase in household energy bills. But most people don’t realize that. Share CCL’s post on Facebook, Instagram, Bluesky or X to remind people that the IRA’s clean energy provisions are good for America’s economy, health, and wallets.

If you have more time: As budget talks continue, post about IRA benefits.

As you know, Republican leadership in Congress may try to repeal the climate and clean energy measures of the Inflation Reduction Act as part of the budget process this year. This New York Times article, “Here’s What To Know About Congressional Republicans’ Budget Plans,” will catch you up about the budget process and where things stand.

A key takeaway: “The House and Senate, both controlled by Republicans, have been working on separate budget plans and are at odds on how to move forward. With the House GOP divided and delayed in considering their outline, the Senate is moving ahead.” When we see their proposals, we’ll mobilize with specific asks to protect certain provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act that they may be trying to remove.

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Training topics

Data to Defend the IRA - This recent training covers useful data for convincing members of Congress to preserve key components of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), such as the clean energy tax credits. Those components are at risk of repeal in this Congress, but some Republicans are speaking up for it. To protect them, you need to know the data for your district and state and be ready to make that argument to your members of Congress. Read or watch this training.

Fix Our Forests Act - The bipartisan Fix Our Forests Act has passed the House and needs CCL’s support to move through the Senate. CCL Research Coordinator Dana Nuccitelli and Vice President of Government Affairs Jenn Tyler held a training to educate CCLers on the bill. Read or watch this training. (Bonus: For more education on this bill from our friends at American Forests, watch minutes 21 to 48 of our February meeting.)

Lobbying Basics - As we look ahead to our Conservative Conference and Lobby Day on Capitol Hill next month, brush up on your lobbying basics. In this training, you will learn how to plan a meeting with your member of Congress and see a demonstration of what a lobby meeting really looks like. Watch this training.

To see other topics and past trainings, visit the Training Topics page of CCL Community.