{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://neguse.house.gov/media/press-releases/colorado-reps-neguse-hurd-and-senators-bennet-hickenlooper-mobilize-bipartisan", "Colorado Reps. Neguse & Hurd and Senators Bennet & Hickenlooper Mobilize Bipartisan, Bicameral Coalition to Protect NCAR", "2025-12-22", "2025", "2025-12", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Joe Neguse", "N000191", "neguse.house.gov", "neguse", "https://neguse.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "\u201cFunding for NCAR is essential to maintaining America\u2019s leadership in global weather forecasting and to protecting our economy, our communities, and the everyday livelihoods of families across the nation.\u201d\n\nWashington, D.C. \u2014 Today, Colorado Representatives Joe Neguse (D-CO) and Jeff Hurd (R-CO) and Michael Bennet (D-CO) and John Hickenlooper (D-CO) led a bipartisan, bicameral coalition in support of sustained funding for the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder. In a letter to congressional appropriators, 76 lawmakers from across both chambers requested statutory language be included in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies funding bill to prevent its dismantling and ensure NCAR can maintain its core capabilities and continue delivering vital Earth system science.\n\nThe Colorado members mobilized in response to a social media \u201cannouncement\u201d from White House Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought stating the administration plans to dismantle the nation\u2019s leading climate research center.\n\nNeguse, Bennet, Hickenlooper, Hurd, and their colleagues, however, noted that President Trump\u2019s own FY 2026 budget request for the National Science Foundation (NSF), submitted to Congress earlier this year, described NCAR as a \u201cworld-class research center\u201d leading advancements in \u201ccutting-edge airborne and ground-based observational facilities[,] community weather and climate models with thousands of users worldwide[,] and petascale high-performance computing.\u201d\n\nAs the appropriations process moves to conference in January next year, this letter doubles-down on demands made by Senators Bennet and Hickenlooper last week.\n\n\u201cThe work being done at NCAR is vital to our state, our country, and our planet. The breathtaking advancements these scientists and researchers are making every day play a critical role in alerting communities to extreme weather conditions and the advanced modeling systems they are creating are vital to our national security. Any attempt to dismantle this institution is dangerous, reckless, and would, ultimately, put the United States at a very deep competitive disadvantage,\u201d said Congressman Joe Neguse. \u201cI\u2019m grateful to Senators Bennet and Hickenlooper for taking critical action last week to stand up for NCAR\u2019s continued funding, and I\u2019m proud to work with my Republican colleague from the Western Slope, Jeff Hurd, to carry the baton in the House. As Coloradans, first and foremost, we intend to fight back against attempts to gut this cutting-edge institution\u201d\n\n\u201cNCAR does critical work in Colorado that helps predict severe weather and keeps America competitive in climate science. The research happening there protects communities and supports our national security. Dismantling this institution doesn\u2019t make sense, and I\u2019m glad to work with my colleagues in both chambers to make sure NCAR has the funding it needs to keep operating,\u201d said Congressman Jeff Hurd. \u201cThe scientists at NCAR are doing work that matters - work that helps families prepare for storms, helps farmers plan their seasons, and keeps us ahead on the world stage. Supporting NCAR is a smart investment we should continue to make, not walk away from. I\u2019m grateful to my House colleague, Joe Neguse, for his partnership in protecting an institution that matters to Colorado and the country.\u201d\n\n\u201cLast week, I blocked the Senate appropriations process to demand full funding for NCAR in response to President Trump\u2019s threat to dismantle it,\u201d said Senator Bennet. \u201cNCAR\u2019s work is indispensable for communities, decision-makers, and emergency responders. From predicting extreme weather conditions to supporting disaster preparedness to understanding how wildfires spread, the elimination of NCAR would be catastrophic for public safety and national security. I am grateful to Representatives Neguse and Hurd for their partnership on the effort to protect NCAR. We will explore every avenue to ensure we don\u2019t lose this vital institution.\u201d\n\n\u201cDonald Trump's vengeful plan to dismantle the National Center for Atmospheric Research is not only illegal, it\u2019s indefensible. It will have devastating consequences not only for Colorado, but across the country. Colorado won't be intimidated by the bully in the White House. We will continue to use every tool at our disposal to fight back,\u201d said Senator Hickenlooper.\n\nRead the full letter HERE.\n\nIn addition to Representatives Neguse and Hurd and Senators Bennet and Hickenlooper, the letter was also signed by: Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Representatives Diana DeGette (D-CO), Jason Crow (D-CO), Brittany Pettersen (D-CO), Gabe Amo (D-RI), Yassamin Ansari (D-AZ), Nanette Barrag\u00e1n (D-CA), Donald Beyer (D-VA), Sanford Bishop (D-GA), Julia Brownley (D-CA), Nikki Budzinski (D-IL), Janelle Bynum (D-OR), Sean Casten (D-IL), Judy Chu (D-CA), Yvette Clarke (D-NY), J. Correa (D-CA), Maxine Dexter (D-OR), Sarah Elfreth (D-MD), Veronica Escobar (D-TX), Shomari Figures (D-AL), Lizzie Fletcher (D-TX), Bill Foster (D-IL), Laura Friedman (D-CA), John Garamendi (D-CA), Sylvia Garcia (D-TX), Laura Gillen (D-NY), Maggie Goodlander (D-NH), Adelita Grijalva (D-AZ), Steven Horsford (D-NV), Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA), Val Hoyle (D-OR), Jared Huffman (D-CA), William Keating (D-MA), Robin Kelly (D-IL), Teresa Leger Fernandez (D-NM), Mike Levin (D-CA), Ted Lieu (D-CA), Lucy McBath (D-GA), Sarah McBride (D-DE), April McClain Delaney (D-MD), Jennifer McClellan (D-VA), Morgan McGarvey (D-KY), Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Dave Min (D-CA), Gwen Moore (D-WI), Kelly Morrison (D-MN), Seth Moulton (D-MA), Frank Pallone (D-NJ), Chris Pappas (D-NH), Scott Peters (D-CA), Mark Pocan (D-WI), Emily Randall (D-WA), Jamie Raskin (D-MD), Luz Rivas (D-CA), Deborah Ross (D-NC), Hillary Scholten (D-MI), Robert Scott (D-VA), Lateefah Simon (D-CA), Eric Sorensen (D-IL), Melanie Stansbury (D-NM), Greg Stanton (D-AZ), Haley Stevens (D-MI), Suhas Subramanyam (D-VA), Jill Tokuda (D-HI), Paul Tonko (D-NY), Eugene Vindman (D-VA), George Whitesides (D-CA), Jack Bergman (R-MI), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), and Jay Obernolte (R-CA).\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T20:09:11Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://neguse.house.gov/media/press-releases/colorado-reps-neguse-hurd-and-senators-bennet-hickenlooper-mobilize-bipartisan"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.5503019094467163, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}