SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – U.S. Rep. Eric Sorensen (D-Ill. 17th district) says that public trust in the National Weather Service (NWS) is at risk under President Donald Trump’s administration, as is the public’s trust in the government’s ability to reliably assess and dispense the data NWS provides. Trust has eroded in the administration, he said, due to its failure to utilize NWS data to help prevent the drownings of more than 135 people in a flash flood in central Texas on July 4, 2025. This came on the heels of Trump’s earlier decision to lay off 550 NWS employees in a budget-cutting move.

In early August, Trump reversed course and rehired some 450 NWS meteorologists, hydrologists and radar technicians, but not before the administration’s actions may have contributed to the loss of dozens of lives, according to Sorensen, who is a certified meteorologist in addition to a lawmaker.

“(Living) in the heart of agriculture, we need to especially be standing up for the NWS,” said Sorensen, speaking to reporters on Agriculture Day, Aug. 8, at the Illinois State Fair. “As the only meteorologist (in Congress) I’ve been able to say why all these people at the NWS are so important. I take it personally when I think about how back on the 4th of July when the catastrophe happened in Texas, the NWS were heroes but the first ones to be blamed.

“The NWS was putting out these warnings to help save people’s lives. I want to see a program that is similar to the National Transportation Safety Board. Just as every time there is a plane crash or a catastrophic event there is an investigation to make sure that catastrophe doesn’t happen again, we need to do that with weather disasters.”

Sorensen said he is committed to seeing policy change in Washington that will result in an advisory board for weather policy. “This board will go back and see what happened in these big weather events, whether they are wildfires or hurricanes or flash floods. My team is working all hands on deck on this legislation right now, and I’m so optimistic to get this out the door. We’re going to find bipartisanship and we’re going to find co-leads on the other side. I believe when we talk about weather disasters and our resilience we have to keep the politics out,” he said.

Along with Texas Rep. Nathaniel Moran (R-1st district), Sorensen recently introduced the bipartisan Rural Weather Monitoring Systems Act (HR 4239), which would help strengthen weather forecasting systems in rural America by identifying gaps in coverage and recommending action.

The legislation will require a new study of the nation’s weather monitoring systems to give lawmakers a better picture of the state of current weather forecasting abilities across the country, according to Sorensen. The bill is urgently needed amid warnings that weather forecasting at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and NWS have been degraded by understaffing, layoffs and cuts at the agencies, Sorenson said in introducing the bill.

“Having access to accurate and reliable weather forecasting is critically important for everyone, whether you’re a farmer trying to plant your harvest or a family determining if you need to shelter in place for a tornado,” Sorensen said. “During severe weather season, it is critical that we get an accurate picture of the state of our weather monitoring systems across the country. This bipartisan bill will help us ensure that we’re meeting the needs of my neighbors in rural communities who rely on NOAA and the NWS to get their weather forecasts.”

Added Moran in a news release, “In rural communities like ours, a few minutes’ warning can mean the difference between life and death. But too often, our families are left without the tools to see danger coming. Every community – no matter how small – deserves the same protection as anywhere else in America. This bill is about closing the radar gap, so no one in East Texas, or rural America, is left in the dark when it matters most.”

Sorensen has warned about what he describes as the impact of Project 2025’s plans to dismantle and privatize NOAA and the NWS and has called on the administration to bring a stop to the cuts.