Senator Luján Questions NOAA Nominee Dr. Neil Jacobs on Weather Alerts and Trump's Hurricane Dorian Map

Impact of Natural Disasters

• ⚠️ Natural disasters, such as wildfires and flooding, have devastating impacts, as seen in New Mexico where homes were swept away by rising waters.
• 💔 The loss of life and destruction from these events underscore the critical need for reliable emergency services.

NOAA Nominee Hearing

• 🎯 Dr. Neil Jacobs, nominee for Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere, faced questions regarding NOAA's role and past decisions.
• 💰 A key concern raised was the potential commercialization of forecasting services, which could force taxpayers to pay for weather data.

Access to Weather Alerts

• 🗣️ Senator Luján questioned Dr. Jacobs on the National Weather Service's decision to discontinue translations of weather alerts into languages other than English.
• 🌍 This lapse in service created a dangerous gap for the nearly 68 million people in the U.S. who speak a language other than English at home.
• ✅ Dr. Jacobs committed to making sure that watches and warnings are understood, and that this lapse in translation does not happen again.

Hurricane Dorian Map Controversy

• 🗺️ The hearing addressed President Trump's erroneous tweet about Hurricane Dorian's impact on Alabama and the subsequent National Weather Service statement.
• ✍️ Dr. Jacobs, as acting administrator at the time, helped draft a NOAA statement that rebuked the Birmingham NWS and repeated the inaccurate claim, stating he felt their jobs were on the line.
• ⚖️ When asked if he would sign off on an inaccurate statement due to political pressure again, Dr. Jacobs responded with a definitive "no."

MBDA Funding and Reporting

• 📊 Questions were also raised about the dismantling of the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) despite congressional appropriations.
• 🤝 Dr. Jacobs committed to ensuring that a promised report on MBDA funds and grants would be provided to the committee within two weeks of his confirmation.