1 year ago
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Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kansas) was critical of the Trump administration's government-wide hiring freeze, saying Wednesday that it resulted in vacant meteorologist posts in his state.
“We are not immune from significant weather events ourselves,” Moran said during a confirmation hearing for Neil Jacobs, President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. “One of those weather events about a month ago was an EF3 tornado. When that tornado occurred, the weather forecast offices in Kansas and across the country lacked 24/7 coverage given the hiring freezes.”
Moran introduced legislation last month to exempt the National Weather Service, including many meteorologists, from the government-wide hiring freeze.
“Goodland, Kansas, which is on the Colorado line, the western part of our state, was short meteorologists because of that hiring freeze and were attempting to bring in other meteorologists from national weather service stations,” Moran said.
The senator referenced a POLITICO report from Tuesday, which found that the jobs have yet to be posted on the government’s hiring website, USAjobs.gov, a month after the administration told NWS to hire meteorologists and other specialists for the 126 vacant positions in offices around the country.
Moran’s concerns come as the Trump administration’s efforts to downsize the government draw fresh scrutiny in the wake of devastating floods in Texas.
“I don’t know the exact details of why that is, because I’m not there yet, but I really appreciate you advocating to lift the hiring freeze,” Jacobs said. “If confirmed, getting the offices staffed up will be a top priority.”
Jacobs emphasized his commitment to staffing the weather agency during the hearing. “If confirmed, I will ensure that staffing the weather service offices is a top priority,” he said. “It is really important for the people to be there, because they have relationships with people in the local community. They’re a trusted source.”
English (US) ·