May 2, 2019 — A group of 25 U.S. Senators signed a letter last week to the leaders of the Senate Appropriations Committee urging them to save a federal program they claim has helped the domestic seafood trade and coastal communities.
The letter comes about a month after the Trump Administration released its proposed budget for the 2020 fiscal year. In that spending plan, the administration called for the elimination of the National Sea Grant program from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) budget. The Sea Grant program was one of three NOAA initiatives targeted for elimination.
The others are the Coastal Zone Management Grants and Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund.
“These eliminations would allow NOAA to better target remaining resources to core missions and services,” the administration stated in its budget proposal.
However, the Senators contend the program, which consists of a network of programs based at 33 universities, helps states better manage and utilize their coastal resources.