The National Weather Service (NWS) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) are critical public institutions that provide accurate, life-saving weather forecasts, storm warnings, climate data, and ocean research. These services protect millions of Americans every year from severe weather events such as hurricanes, floods, wildfires, and tornadoes.

This month in Texas, the devastating floods which have claimed at least 135 lives, is a devastating reminder of what happens when politicians defund our ability to prepare for and respond to climate disasters.

NOAA and the National Weather Service have already been gutted by the Trump administration, with over 600 staff laid off and more than 17% of the agency on the chopping block. In Texas, critical positions like hydrologists and warning coordination meteorologists remain unfilled. These gaps weaken coordination with local officials and delay life-saving emergency alerts.

Despite underfunding and vacancies, NOAA issued multiple flash flood warnings hours before the worst of the storm. The forecasts were solid. But the local infrastructure to act on them, from coordination to communication, has been hollowed out by politicians in the pocket of the fossil fuel industry, which is doing everything it can to deny the impact they’re having on our climate and dodge responsibility. The warnings came. The support systems didn’t.

The same week floodwaters tore through Kerr County, Senator Ted Cruz helped pass a bill that rescinds $200 million from NOAA programs that fund extreme weather forecasting and public alerts. The cuts were quietly added to the so-called ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ by the Senate Commerce Committee, which Cruz chairs, and directly target the tools we need to predict and respond to flash floods.