but eliminating a proven service before deciding the fleet issue is simply stated, "putting the cart before the horse". I Finally, as noted in my earlier discussion of the NPR, would like to discuss what I believe are the political motivations behind the proposed dissolution of the NOAA Corps. In this regard, attached, as enclosures (1) and (2), are two documents. The documents attached as enclosures (1) and (2) clearly indicate the administration's knowledge that, as I have testified, there are no cost savings to be incurred through dissolution and that the NOAA Corps capacity for movement and relocation on short notice would be lost. These documents also reflect the basis for the misplaced recommendation to dissolve the NOAA Corps. The first document (enclosure (1)) is a U.S. Department of Commerce document entitled, "REGO II Options," or Reinventing Government II options. It reflects a meeting with Vice President Gore in April 1995. Included therein is a page entitled, "National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, several reinvention proposals, under which a proposal to terminate the NOAA Corps is listed. Under the proposal to terminate the NOAA Corps is the following: "termination of uniformed service would be Enclosure (2) is a document dated February 16, 1995. This document is a memorandum for the Deputy Secretary, United States Department of Commerce. It is from Dr. D. James Baker, Under Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere and is signed by Mr. Douglas K. Hall, Deputy Administrator and Assistant Under Secretary for Oceans and Atmospheres. The subject of this memorandum is also "REGO II." One of the enclosures to this memorandum discusses the pros and cons for elimination of the NOAA Corps. To briefly paraphrase: pros for elimination: "termination of uniformed service would be cons for elimination: "NOAA Corps provides an easily adaptable The cost of operating the NOAA Corps are NOAA Corps officers perform duties that are SUMMARY In closing, any proposal to eliminate the Commissioned Corps must carefully examine the potential risks to the nation from the loss of the Corps and its technical expertise. Dissolution should not be permitted to proceed without a verifiable plan for how NOAA plans to continue providing services to the nation, such as nautical charting and hurricane research, without added cost to the taxpayer. This plan should be especially specific in the area of hydrographic surveys, where private contractors may not accept liability for their surveys or agree to conduct surveys in remote areas such as Alaska or in times of national emergency with the other uniformed services. In short, the outstanding service the NOAA Corps provides to the nation and the fact that there will be no savings in its dissolution must lead to the retention of the NOAA Commissioned Corps. GAO Results in Brief United States General Accounting Office Accounting and Information B-277958 March 4, 1998 The Honorable F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr. Chairman The Honorable George E. Brown, Jr. Ranking Minority Member Committee on Science House of Representatives This report responds to your request that we review key events related to Based on guidance provided by the department and the Office of Although Nws believed it had a budget "shortfall" because of the reductions that OMB and the Congress made to its fiscal 1997 budget request, as well as inflationary and other cost increases, NOAA and NWS reported varying amounts to the Congress about the size of this "shortfall." Consequently, some Members of Congress were confused by the varying amounts of the reported "shortfall." According to NOAA and Nws officials, the information provided to the Congress responded to specific questions asked at particular points in time and did not necessarily include all known B-277958 Background elements of the “shortfall.” Nws ultimately succeeded in staying within its fiscal year 1997 budget level by implementing a number of temporary and permanent actions. Other events associated with the "shortfall" raised concerns among department officials and the Congress. The first event centered on an NWS reprogramming request to NOAA and Nws' intention to start filling critical field vacancies prior to receiving NOAA authorization. Nws assumed that the reprogramming request would be approved by Commerce and funds would be available to fill these vacancies. NOAA, however, informed NWS that the vacancies could not be filled because the reprogramming request had not yet been approved. The second event involved Nws' effort to obtain certification approval from NOAA to Consolidate, automate, and/or close weather service offices. Upon learning that NWS would not be able to fill critical field vacancies, NWS recommended to NOAA that selected certification packages be held back because, according to Nws, this would have resulted in a degradation of weather services at certain locations. NWS had assumed that these vacancies would be filled when the certification packages were forwarded to NOAA for approval. However, in commenting on a draft of this report, the Department of Commerce noted that the certification packages, as submitted by Nws on April 22, 1997, did not indicate that there were vacancies in these offices that would preclude proceeding with certification. Likewise, no link was made during this time between the ability to proceed with certification and the need for reprogramming approval by the Congress. NOAA subsequently did not take action on any of the certification packages NWS sent to it in 1997. The primary mission of Nws is to help protect life and property by providing weather and flood warnings, public forecasts, and advisories for all of the United States, adjacent waters, and ocean areas. Nws operations also support other agencies' missions and the nation's commercial interests. For example, Nws provides weather forecasts and warnings to support aviation and marine safety. To fulfill its mission, NWS uses a variety of systems and manual processes in collecting, processing, and disseminating weather data to and among its network of field offices and regional and national centers. Many of these systems and processes are outdated. Nws began a nationwide modernization program in the 1980s to upgrade observing systems, such as |