Budget woes

So the GOP wants to cut down the federal budget...fine, that's something I, as a Democrat, can stand behind. But there a few agencies that even Republicans should oppose cutting federal funding for. These agencies are the nation's life-savers, they do extraordinary work warning the public about incoming disasters. the recent Japan - Pacific earthquake and tsunami demonstrates the need for these agencies to be fully funded because they're interconnected and are at the forefront of protection and notice from natural disasters.

These life-saver agencies under the GOP ax are:

• the United States Geological Survey (USGS) - provides earthquake data and hydrologic (river and flood) data
• the National Weather Service (NWS)
• the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), parent agency of NWS
• the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) - provides tsunami detection and advisories for the Pacific rim, except for Alaska, British Columbia and the US West Coast
• the West Coast/Alaska Tsunami Warning Center - provides tsunami detection and warnings for Alaska, British Columbia and the US West Coast
• the Caribbean and Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning Centers - currently planned for implementation, responsibility for these areas lies with PTWC at the moment

By cutting funding to these agencies, the idiots in Congress are DIRECTLY endangering you, your property and your family. 

Let's say, it's a summer day, it's hot and humid, and the atmosphere is said to be unstable, later that day a cold front arrives from the west, bringing with it severe and possibly tornadic thunderstorms. Due to budget cuts, the NWS office is under-staffed, what do you think is going to happen from there, inevitably, a few thunderstorms will be missed and the warnings are issued too late, and people may be harmed

Hurricanes and tornadoes are complicated systems to track and monitor, and these prove to be the most deadly regular natural occurrences. the time for strong winter storms is passing, and conditions are becoming more favorable for strong and severe thunderstorms, tornadoes and later this Spring, hurricanes

To Congress: 

When a natural disaster strikes your district, don't go blaming the NWS for failing to issue warnings as you will anyway, you brought this on yourself and as a result of your lack of common sense, your district suffered. You will try to shift the blame elsewhere, but people like me and the 40,000+ people who support the NWS will remind you of your vote earlier, and we will make sure you feel the repercussions of your misinformed action. you have an honorable goal, but you are achieving it incorrectly, in the wake of a terrible disaster such as the ones that struck Japan, Chile and Haiti. You don't cut funding for the agencies that save lives, if anything you give them more so they can continue to improve and save lives.

If you want to cut the budget, start with your own pay, follow the lead of John Yarumuth (D-KY) and give up a substantial portion if not all of your pay, your six-figure salaries comprise a substantial portion of the federal budget. Also, find and remove the redundancies in the government, overlapping programs only contribute to unnecessary red tape. There's plenty more to cut, but these agencies don't deserve the treatment your about to put them, and ultimately the country through.

With the arrival of hurricane and tornado season just around the corner, and the wake of the tragedy in Japan, the need for these agencies is more clear than ever. Please, re-think your stance and fully fund these agencies, you, your constituents and the country will thank you in the end.