(From Todd Epp, Northern Plains News)
As South Dakota and the nation face summer storms, a new national poll reveals strong bipartisan opposition to proposed federal cuts to weather forecasting and disaster relief programs, including the National Weather Service and FEMA.
South Dakota’s lone congressman, Rep. Dusty Johnson, has weighed in on both agencies. In response to questions from Northern Plains News, Johnson’s spokesperson said the congressman believes FEMA should be reformed and has expressed concern to NOAA about National Weather Service staffing levels.
“It’s not a secret that FEMA has had problems in recent years, like during the Biden Administration when FEMA skipped Florida homes with pro-Trump signs,” Johnson spokesperson Kristin Blakely said in an emailed statement.[1]
“FEMA isn’t perfect and should be reformed. States know their communities best and how to handle emergency situations. As a member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, we are looking at ways to best ensure FEMA meets its intended purpose – helping people before, during, and after disaster,” she said.
Blakely said Johnson has also expressed concerns to NOAA’s acting administrator about staffing shortages at the National Weather Service.
In public comments earlier this year, Johnson said the Rapid City National Weather Service office “has not been the home of waste, fraud, and abuse,” and warned that shifting overnight forecasting duties to Bismarck “is not the best for public safety,” according to News Center1 on May 6.
MitchellNow.com reported on May 8 that Johnson wrote to NOAA in early May, urging the agency to restore staffing and resources at South Dakota forecasting offices, citing reduced weather balloon launches and delayed warnings as risks to public safety.
A June 21–22 survey conducted by Public Policy Polling for Climate Power, a Democratic-aligned climate advocacy group, found that 70 percent of U.S. voters oppose cuts to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Sixty-nine percent oppose FEMA cuts. Among Republicans, 62 percent oppose NOAA reductions, and 60 percent oppose FEMA reductions, according to Climate Power on June 25.
The poll sampled 538 registered voters nationwide and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.3 percentage points. It does not include state-specific or regional results.
According to the White House Office of Management and Budget, the House Republican budget proposal for fiscal year 2025 includes a 25 percent cut to NOAA’s weather and climate programs, along with unspecified reductions to FEMA’s disaster relief fund. The OMB released the proposal March 11.
NOAA officials say the cuts would affect satellite systems, weather balloon launches, and Doppler radar upgrades—tools critical to inland storm tracking. FEMA’s reduced allocations would potentially scale back public assistance for post-disaster housing, infrastructure repairs, and state-level emergency response funding.
Climate Power’s polling shows 63 percent of voters would be less likely to support a member of Congress who votes to reduce disaster response or forecasting funding. That includes 44 percent of Republicans and 67 percent of independents.
The poll did not identify whether any South Dakota voters were included, but the group said rural and suburban voters were represented. South Dakota ranks among the most rural states in the nation, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
The 2024 Big Sioux River flood remains fresh in the region’s memory. Civil Air Patrol aerial imagery from that event showed water overrunning farmland and housing developments in Union and Clay counties. FEMA issued a major disaster declaration that July, listed as DR-4763-SD.
Meanwhile, NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center forecasts below-normal precipitation for much of the Missouri River Basin this summer. The outlook reflects ENSO-neutral conditions, meaning Pacific Ocean temperatures are neither warmer (El Niño) nor cooler (La Niña) than average.
[1]: The claim that FEMA “skipped Florida homes with pro-Trump signs” during the Biden Administration has circulated in partisan media but remains unverified. NPN has found no credible evidence substantiating political discrimination in federal aid delivery.
