A spending bill passed by House Republicans last month could affect the nation's tsunami monitoring system, which issued warnings in response to last week's devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan, opponents warn. The plan cuts $126 million from the 2011 budget of the National Weather Service, which runs the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii.
The cuts amount to about 15 percent of the National Weather Service's $900 million budget, but putting them into effect now would require the agency to reduce spending by nearly 30 percent through the rest of the year.
Democrats seized on the cuts as an illustration of Republican recklessness in pursuit of reduced federal spending. "Earthquakes and all weather events happen anywhere, anytime, putting everyone at risk," Senator Jay Rockefeller, Democrat of West Virginia, said in a statement. "Congress must heed this cruel wake-up call and stop proposed cuts to essential N.O.A.A. prediction programs that would endanger lives."
Read more: http://nation.foxnews.com/gop-spending-cuts/2011/03/14/democrats-gop-budget-cuts-will-increase-tsunami-death-toll#ixzz1Gcwo46bO
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