WASHINGTON, DC — Today, Congressman Jamie Raskin and Senator Chris Van Hollen (both D-MD), led the Maryland Democratic congressional delegation in a letter  to U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) Secretary-Designate Howard Lutnick and Acting DOC Secretary Jeremy Pelter imploring them to defend the independence, integrity and existence of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) against unlawful attacks by Elon Musk and his so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) associates.  

The letter emphasizes that Secretary-Designate Lutnick offered a robust defense of NOAA’s independence, integrity and existence in his confirmation hearing, at the time rebuffing now-revived concerns from Senators that the Trump-Vance administration intended to dismantle and privatize NOAA.  

“Unvetted and unknown DOGE bureaucrats on Musk’s landing team have been visiting NOAA’s headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland, which we represent, reportedly with the intent to break up NOAA and move its functions into the Department of the Interior, an idea that you explicitly rejected in your Congressional testimony and would require Congressional approval,” the lawmakers wrote. “Please speak out immediately once again to emphatically reject it. America needs to understand precisely the Administration’s plans for NOAA’s future.” 

The lawmakers continued, “…NOAA is essential to American life, science, and commerce. It is the backbone of the nation’s weather-reporting infrastructure. Americans rely on the National Weather Service’s forecasts to plan for a myriad of day-to-day activities and billions of dollars of economic endeavors, including construction, farming and fishing. Our businesses can’t pour a foundation, plant crops, or head out to sea without accurate weather information.” 

The letter invites Lutnick and Pelter to visit NOAA with the lawmakers to learn more about the agency’s critical mission and meet the public servants who fulfil it. 

Read the full letter here. 

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