Senate action could take money from weather service, give to immigration fight
Sean Dreher Updated: 10/13/2009 8:34:31 PM Posted: 10/13/2009 6:16:05 PM
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A proposal in the US Senate would shift tens of millions of dollars from weather research and prediction to the fight against illegal immigration.

Support and opposition for the measure extends well beyond border states.

The National Weather Service in Morristown serves 40 counties in Tennessee, Virginia and North Carolina.

"Our mission of the National Weather Service is to protect lives and property with accurate forecasts and warnings," Meterologist in Charge George Mathews said.

The NWS is the largest division of NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. They are funded exclusively through federal dollars.

But S.A. 2666, an amendment to H.R.2847, would transfer $170 million from NOAA to the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program.

"I think it's a good move. I think there's more of a problem with illegals than there are with predicting the weather right now," Hamblen County Sheriff Esco Jarnagin said.

Concerns over immigration are front and center in the Hamblen County jail. Jarnagin says the jail houses an average of 27 illegal aliens a day.

"This computes to anywhere from 25,000 to 28,000 meals in a year that we feed to illegal immigrants," he said.

The National Weather Service says cutting its funds is the wrong approach to the issue. Their watches and warnings are based on interpreting complex computer models, created with the help of expensive equipment.

"There is an art to forecasting as well. A lot goes into putting together a forecast," Mathews said.

While extra money would help, Jarnagin admits the debate over immigration reform is far from over.

"We got a problem. We know it. We just don't have a solution for it," he said.

The Senate was scheduled for a cloture vote on the bill at 5:30 Tuesday evening. A vote count was not immediately available.


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