Ashley Siefert Nunes
WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Dr. Neil Jacobs, will appear before the U.S. Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee tomorrow for his confirmation hearing. Dr. Jacobs served as acting NOAA administrator during President Trump’s first term in office and was found to have contributed to politicizing the agency’s scientific work and to have violated its scientific integrity policy during the notorious “Sharpiegate” scandal. He deliberately allowed a false statement to be issued by NOAA, contradicting agency scientists’ forecasts about Hurricane Dorian’s projected trajectory, to provide political cover for an erroneous tweet from President Trump.
Below is a statement by Dr. Carlos Martinez, a senior climate scientist at the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS).
“Dr. Jacobs is being considered to lead the nation’s foremost atmospheric and oceanic science agency while the agency endures relentless attacks by the administration and Congress. Unfortunately, Dr. Jacobs’ record of caving to political pressure doesn’t instill confidence that he will stand up for the agency’s mission, its science or its staff.
“Despite his relevant expertise and career experience, Dr. Jacobs has already demonstrated he’s willing to undermine science and his employees for political purposes as he did during the infamous ‘Sharpiegate’ scandal. As NOAA administrator, Dr. Jacobs will bear responsibility for standing up to reckless administration staffing and budget cuts that threaten NOAA’s mission. I worry about Dr. Jacobs’ ability to be the leader the country needs, especially as climate change is supercharging extreme weather across the United States.
“Congress must ensure Dr. Jacobs is not rubber-stamped at his hearing. The nation depends on having a NOAA administrator who is firmly committed to advocating for a fully resourced agency, upholding its scientific integrity policy, halting the onslaught of attacks against NOAA and its staff, and guaranteeing that the agency’s widely used scientific data remains intact and publicly accessible.”
Communities across the United States are already struggling to withstand and respond to extreme weather events made worse by climate change, especially during this “Danger Season.” Simultaneously, NOAA—which is primarily tasked with gathering, sharing, and using the latest scientific data and analytic tools to understand and predict climate and extreme weather impacts—is facing insurmountable cuts to its budget and staffing with more expected. This data is widely used by weather forecasters, city and state planners, emergency responders, farmers, mariners, businesses and more. The recent flash flood tragedy in Texas also brings to the fore the imperative to protect this robust scientific enterprise that taxpayers have invested in over decades to help keep people safe during extreme weather disasters.
UCS will be following the confirmation process for Dr. Jacobs closely to see if he adequately addresses his past failures and clearly explains how he intends to uphold NOAA’s mandate in the face of relentless political attacks from the president and others in the administration. Contact UCS Climate and Energy Media Manager Ashley Siefert Nunes by email at asiefert@ucs.org or by phone at +1 952-239-0199 to speak with Dr. Martinez—who will be watching Dr. Jacobs’ confirmation hearing live—or another UCS expert. English- and Spanish-speaking experts are available for interviews.
Additional UCS Resources:
- UCS delivered a letter signed by more than 3,300 scientific experts urging Congress and the Trump administration to protect NOAA.
- NOAA-related blog posts by UCS experts are available here.
- The UCS Danger Season Tracker, which is updated daily.
- Blog posts chronicling the attacks on science during the Trump administration can be found here.
- A report titled “Protecting Government Science from Political Interference: A Blueprint for Defending Scientific Integrity and Safeguarding the Public.”