Pallone Leads NJ Democrats in Urging Trump’s Commerce Secretary to Stop NOAA Cuts

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06) today led the New Jersey Democratic Congressional Delegation in a letter to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick demanding stable Fiscal Year 2026 funding an immediate reversal of staffing cuts, funding freezes, and program terminations at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

“Your barrage of unprecedented attacks, including illegal staff firings and funding cuts to Congressionally-mandated services, threatens the safety of all New Jerseyans on the precipice of hurricane season, undercuts our commercial and recreational fishing industry, and harms the sensitive coastal ecosystems our state’s thriving tourism economy relies upon. NOAA cannot meet its mission with a 27% cut to its budget, including a roughly 75% cut to its research offices. The Trump Administration also asserts that the new priority of the National Marine Fisheries Service is to permit offshore oil and gas drilling. This is shockingly bad policy and we reject it. Hundreds of New Jerseyans employed by NOAA as federal employees, contractors, and academic partners are at risk of losing their jobs. Sabotaging NOAA will permanently damage the agency and hurt everyday New Jersey families at the same time,” Pallone and the members wrote.

The delegation warned that recent actions, including threats to shut down the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory at Princeton University, layoffs at the National Weather Service, suspension of hurricane hunter flights, and cancellation of weather balloon launches are crippling NOAA’s ability to issue timely and accurate storm forecasts just as the region braces for a dangerous Hurricane Season that begins June 1. 

Pallone’s letter also raises alarm that the chaotic environment the Trump Administration has created by illegally freezing funding approved for NOAA by Congress and giving mixed messages, has chilled the business environment that allows stakeholders to confidently advance important extreme weather resilience work. In 2024, New Jersey was awarded for $72.5 million for coastal flood mitigation. In an unprecedented advancement of bureaucratic red tape, any funding over $100,000 must be personally approved by Secretary Lutnick. However, without NOAA’s sign-off, communities cannot move forward on critical nature-based infrastructure projects designed to guard against sea-level rise, erosion, and flooding.

“Last year, New Jersey was awarded $72.5 million to complete important coastal readiness work through the construction of nature-based flood mitigation infrastructure. Disturbingly, this work cannot be completed because NOAA headquarters refuses to confirm that contractors will be reimbursed for work our communities desperately need to protect against dangerous coastal flooding,” Pallone and the members continued.

Pallone’s letter also slammed the quiet termination of both the Marine Fisheries Advisory Committee (MAFAC) and the Marine and Coastal Area-based Management Advisory Committee—forums that have for decades allowed New Jersey’s recreational and commercial fishing community to weigh in on the most pressing issues facing the industry. NOAA employees have also been barred from participating in key stakeholder meetings, including those hosted by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC), effectively silencing expert consultation.

In particular, the delegation noted how the Trump administration’s cuts are harming work conducted at the James J. Howard Marine Fisheries Laboratory in Sandy Hook, a nationally recognized facility responsible for vital marine-science research and fisheries surveys, and the New Jersey Sea Grant Consortium, which helps communities and small businesses respond to challenges on the Jersey Shore.

“This is a slap in the face for all fishermen across New Jersey, which is why we urge you to release funding for these important programs, restart the committees, and allow NOAA staff to attend key ASMFC meetings,” the members wrote. 

Pallone’s letter was signed by every Democratic member of New Jersey’s congressional delegation. Full text of the letter is available here and below: 

The Honorable Howard Lutnick

U.S. Department of Commerce

1401 Constitution Ave NW
Washington, DC 20230

Secretary Lutnick, 

We write to demand stable funding for fiscal year 2026 for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the reversal of devastating attacks to its programs, current funding, and staff that are critical to New Jersey. From commercial fisheries science and support for recreation and coastal resilience infrastructure to extreme weather alerts that save lives, our state’s communities, economy, and ecosystem are reliant on the many public services that NOAA provides. 

Your barrage of unprecedented attacks, including illegal staff firings and funding cuts to Congressionally-mandated services, threatens the safety of all New Jerseyans on the precipice of hurricane season, undercuts our commercial and recreational fishing industry, and harms the sensitive coastal ecosystems our state’s thriving tourism economy relies upon. NOAA cannot meet its mission with a 27% cut to its budget, including a roughly 75% cut to its research offices. The Trump Administration also asserts that the new priority of the National Marine Fisheries Service is to permit offshore oil and gas drilling. This is shockingly bad policy and we reject it. Hundreds of New Jerseyans employed by NOAA as federal employees, contractors, and academic partners are at risk of losing their jobs. Sabotaging NOAA will permanently damage the agency and hurt everyday New Jersey families at the same time. 

New Jersey has 1,792 miles of coastline and tidal waters that are home to millions of coastal residents that contribute $11.1 billion annually to U.S. gross domestic product.^[i]  The well-being of New Jerseyans is deeply intertwined with a thriving Jersey Shore, which is dependent on NOAA’s mission. The public services that NOAA provides to coastal communities were first ordered by President Thomas Jefferson, but its modern mission, as mandated by Congress in 1970 is "... for better protection of life and property from natural hazards...for a better understanding of the total environment...[and] for exploration and development leading to the intelligent use of our marine resources...".^[ii] It is vital that New Jerseyans have the tools to keep them safe from extreme storms that come in from the Atlantic and can adequately manage marine resources like fish stocks. 

The Trump Administration’s gutting of NOAA, including the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL), National Weather Service, the National Hurricane Center, National Severe Storms Laboratory, and Meteorological Development Laboratory are diverting the agency from its critical mission to protect life and property in an historic and unsustainable way. New Jerseyans know Hurricane Season officially starts on June 1 and, this year, researchers predict stronger and more frequent storms than usual. By laying off NOAA’s hurricane hunters, putting key staff on administrative leave, terminating regular weather balloon launches, and threatening to cancel data repository maintenance contracts right as advanced computing and artificial intelligence arrives, the Trump Administration is guaranteeing that NOAA has less of the vital raw data and fewer mission-critical staff needed to forecast weather and alert the public of safety hazards. 

We are particularly concerned about the fate of the GFDL at Princeton University – the lab that created the first weather prediction model to serve the American people – which employs 300 New Jerseyans. Without their work, Americans will not receive accurate weather or tidal predictions, impacting our safety, economy, and national security. GFDL is on the verge of delivering a groundbreaking next generation tidal flooding prediction tool that would help coastal New Jerseyans understand when flooding will hit their communities up to a year in advance.

In addition, the abrupt mass firing of career staff from the Mid-Atlantic regional team and unlawful federal funding freezes have created a chilling effect for state and local partners looking to prepare the Jersey Shore for hurricanes, tornadoes, wildfires, downpours, droughts, sea level rise, and erosion. Last year, New Jersey was awarded $72.5 million to complete important coastal readiness work through the construction of nature-based flood mitigation infrastructure. Disturbingly, this work cannot be completed because NOAA headquarters refuses to confirm that contractors will be reimbursed for work our communities desperately need to protect against dangerous coastal flooding. 

In New Jersey and nationwide, NOAA’s marine-science research and fisheries surveys form the backbone of the commercial and recreational fishing industry. By freezing, cutting, and terminating much of this work, including at the James J. Howard Marine Fisheries Laboratory and the New Jersey Sea Grant Consortium, the Trump Administration has put New Jersey’s commercial and recreational fishing industry and thousands of jobs at risk. The New Jersey Sea Grant Consortium, which provides science-based solutions to help New Jersey communities quickly respond to challenges facing small businesses and contaminants threatening public health, trains our aquaculture workforce, and has helped 50 coastal communities annually to adopt hazard resilience practices, has outrageously not received Congressionally-approved funding since February. Without any warning, the Marine Fisheries Advisory Committee (MAFAC) and Marine and Coastal Area-based Management Advisory Committee were canceled. For decades, representatives from New Jersey’s fishing community have participated to work on the most pressing issues facing the industry. Additionally, NOAA employees no longer have approval to participate in key meetings such as the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Council (ASMFC) to consult with New Jersey’s stakeholders and experts. This is a slap in the face for all fishermen across New Jersey, which is why we urge you to release funding for these important programs, restart the committees, and allow NOAA staff to attend key ASMFC meetings. 

There is no need for this animosity toward an agency that provides so much public benefit to New Jersey and the rest of the nation. Defunding NOAA research would threaten critical work on our oceans and earth science that will impact national security. The United States will no longer be a global leader, instead becoming reliant on research from other countries, which do not share our current scientific infrastructure, workforce, or standard for integrity. We also urge you to reverse the unwarranted firing of civil servants who carry out this work, restore the funding Congress already appropriated and provide guidance that allows NOAA and its partners to continue the work that keeps New Jerseyans safe from dangerous weather and our tourism and fishing economies strong. The continuity of science, economic investment, and extreme weather and climate resilience depends on your decision to reverse course and put everyday New Jerseyans first.