Cruz criticizes Biden for favoring ‘woke initiatives’ over hurricane-tracking planes.
Sen. Ted Cruz Raises Concerns Over Lack of Funding for Hurricane-Hunting Aircraft
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) is highlighting a critical issue regarding the Biden administration’s budget. Earlier this year, the administration did not allocate funds for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) hurricane-hunting aircraft. This concern arises after all three planes were grounded due to repair issues just hours before Hurricane Idalia hit Florida.
NOAA alerted members of Congress on Wednesday night that all three aircraft, which collect critical storm data essential to forecasters, were experiencing mechanical issues in the final hours ahead of the storm’s landfall.
“The other WP-3D Orion (N43RF), which had been conducting back-to-back, round-the-clock research missions for 11 of the past 12 days on Hurricanes Franklin and Idalia, experienced a mechanical issue, forcing the cancellation of a mission this morning to collect data on Hurricane Idalia,” said an email sent to congressional offices.
NOAA emphasized that despite the grounding of the hurricane hunter aircraft, they were able to gather information from satellites, weather buoys, and observing platforms in and on the ocean, along with other data sources like the National Weather Service’s Doppler radar.
Cruz’s Concerns and Budget Allocation
“NOAA’s hurricane hunting aircraft grounded due to repairs,” Cruz posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. “Reminder: Biden’s budget includes ZERO dollars for these aircraft. Biden’s NOAA budget request DID include $9.1M for woke initiatives focused on environmental justice & equity.”
The Texas senator referred to the president’s budget request to Congress earlier this year, which sought $9.1 million to enhance “capabilities and knowledge sharing in coastal communities, and invest in science and management efforts in underserved U.S. Pacific and Caribbean territories.” This aligns with the administration’s commitment to advancing racial equity and supporting underserved communities.
The mechanical issues with the planes have raised concerns among members of Congress and their staff regarding the reliability of this crucial forecasting tool, especially during what is expected to be an active hurricane season.
“NOAA’s statement on the grounding of Hurricane hunter aircraft downplays how bad this situation was. NOAA Corps had a single plane flying 24-hour laps through the storm for the last couple of days, plus the same crew has been flying for 11 out of the last 12 days,” said a Senate Commerce Republican aide speaking on the condition of anonymity.
“Flying through a hurricane is hard on both the plane and the crew, and flying this schedule is a recipe for failure, either of the plane or the crew members due to exhaustion. We were one broken switch away from having zero hurricane hunters in the sky as a major storm approached. We heard from the NOAA Hurricane center that a lack of data from these planes decreases their ability to predict the size and path of the storm,” the aide added.
The three hurricane-hunter planes are nearing the end of their life cycle, with two of them in service since the 1970s and the other since the mid-1990s.
“They’re going to have to be retired by 2030, if not sooner,” a former senior NOAA official told the Washington Post. “It really depends on how many flights they do. So if we have a couple of active seasons, they’re going to hit their end of life a lot sooner.”
The president’s budget serves as a blueprint for Congress to consider while working on funding the government in the coming weeks. It remains uncertain whether lawmakers plan to allocate additional funding for the planes in the latest government funding package.
NOAA has presented plans to acquire four C-130 planes in their 2022 aircraft plan. The agency aims to replace two P-3s currently in service and obtain “one additional aircraft to meet the expanding airborne data requirements and objectives.”
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