No NOAA?
Congress is in recess for the Easter and Passover holidays, so things are quiet in DC, allowing Michael Kaiser to schedule about 80 meetings with legislators on May 6-7. That’s when members of our Board of Directors, State and Regional Associations Advisory Council (SRAAC), and others will come to DC for our annual Fly-In. The purpose: Meet in person with legislators and staff to convey our priorities and concerns. Because we have members from 45 states, we can cover a lot of Congressional offices.
While there is also a “pause” in the tariff war until July (in theory), there are other concerns for our industry. There have been widespread reports, especially on TV, about potentially devastating cuts to NOAA—the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which brings us our nightly weather forecasts as well as early warnings of severe weather, which is increasingly common across the country.
NOAA’s mission and value extends beyond whether we’ll need an umbrella. Wine is fermented grape juice, a natural farm product subject to the whims of Nature—sunshine, rain, gentle winds, hurricanes, tornadoes, wildfires, freezes, and so much more. There is now a proposal to totally defund all of NOAA’s climate research, which could have devastating consequences for the future of the grape and wine community.
A wine industry colleague from New York spelled out the implications of these cuts in detail, writing to Senators and Representatives to ask for their intervention. The letter is included in today’s Bonus Info section. Feel free to use it to contact your own representatives.