Washington (September 9, 2019) – Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) released the following statement after media reports indicate Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross threatened to terminate staff at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) after a National Weather Service office contradicted a false tweet from President Donald Trump that asserted Alabama was in the path of Hurricane Dorian.

“Science trumps false statements, including when they come from the White House,” said Senator Markey, a member of the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee. “Effort to squash the hard-working scientists at NOAA not only caused confusion during Hurricane Dorian, but it could also chill future forecasters in their important pursuit of warning the public of potential danger. This suppression, now coupled with allegations of potential retaliatory actions being taken at Commerce Department, demand that the Senate Commerce Committee quickly holds a hearing to get to the bottom of this matter. 

“Hurricane models and warnings should be the result of climate science, not victims of political science.”

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