The Freedom From Religion Foundation strongly opposes Project 2025’s proposed plan to defund and dismantle the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
With Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton strongly in people’s minds, FFRF warns that stripping vital agencies like NOAA of their funding will severely weaken the nation’s ability to predict, prepare for and respond to extreme weather events. NOAA, which includes the National Weather Service and National Hurricane Center, plays a critical role in providing timely and accurate weather forecasts, crucial for saving lives and minimizing damage from hurricanes like Milton and Helene.
The Project 2025 proposal to get rid of the NOAA suggests breaking it up and cutting its budget, claiming the agency has “become one of the main drivers of the climate change alarm industry” (pages 674-76). The proposal calls for outsourcing NOAA’s forecasting functions to private companies, a move FFRF argues is shortsighted and dangerous. Private companies may not prioritize the public interest, potentially limiting access to critical data during emergencies.
FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor invokes Mark Twain’s famous quip: “It is best to read the weather forecast before we pray for rain.” NOAA’s defunding would send us back to an era where the power of prediction is traded for privatization, compromising the welfare of millions. Gaylor further condemns the proposal: “NOAA’s work is essential. We are facing more intense hurricanes due to climate change, and now is not the time to dismantle the very agencies that help protect lives. This plan undermines public safety for ideological reasons.”
Rep. Jared Huffman, who leads the Congressional Freethought Caucus and the Project 2025 Task Force, has also been vocal in its opposition to these dangerous proposals. Huffman’s task force was created to scrutinize and resist the far-right agenda of Project 2025, which includes drastic cuts to scientific institutions such as NOAA that protect public safety.
The FFRF believes that maintaining and enhancing NOAA’s capacity to provide accurate and timely forecasts is crucial to protecting lives, especially as climate-related disasters become more frequent and severe. Prayers aren’t helpful to prepare for hurricanes — but rejecting Project 2025’s agenda is.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a national nonprofit organization with 40,000 members across the country. Our purposes are to protect the constitutional principle of separation between state and church, and to educate the public on matters relating to nontheism.
