Tell Congress: No Cuts to Programs that Help Communities Prepare for and Respond to Disasters

From the Union of Concerned Scientists (http://www.ucsusa.org):

As communities across Texas and Louisiana begin dealing with the devastating impacts of Hurricane Harvey and the overwhelming task of cleaning up and rebuilding—many people are wondering, how will we pay for this?

As early as tomorrow your member of Congress will cast a vote on whether to cut funding for key programs that are critical to helping the people most impacted by this hurricane and others like it.

We urgently need your help to send a message to Congress: any cuts to science-based programs that help communities prepare for and respond to disasters are completely unacceptable. We need more, not less, funding for critical science-based programs that keep communities safe in the face of disaster.

At the Union of Concerned Scientists, we have been working to provide reliable, science-based information about storm preparedness and flood risks to people in the path of Hurricane Harvey’s destruction, and we are working in partnership with the Houston-based organizations to analyze the risks to communities living near chemical facilities and refineries.

Now it’s time for Congress to step up and do its job. In the next few days, the House of Representatives will vote on a spending package that will help determine the budgets for agencies and programs that are critical for helping communities most impacted by the effects of Hurricane Harvey and future extreme weather events.

Urge your member of Congress to vote NO to any spending cuts to critical programs that help communities prepare for and respond to disasters.

The true cost of this disaster won’t be known for some time. Recovery will take years, and poor communities and communities of color will bear the greatest burden. We also know that global warming is expected to increase hurricane intensity, meaning future storms could be more damaging, with higher winds and greater rainfall totals. As I write this, we are monitoring Hurricane Irma in the eastern Caribbean as more US states brace for storm impacts.

It is now more critical than ever that we ensure agencies responsible for protecting people and our communities have the funding and science-based information they need to do their jobs right.

Now is the time to increase—not cut—funding for agencies that minimize the risk for communities in times of disaster. Write Congress today.