Hi all,

Please consider signing the letter opposing Barry Myers’ nomination to lead NOAA. Myers has no scientific credentials and he has supported efforts to privatize the National Weather Service. While his floor vote has not yet been scheduled, we want to be ready with this letter.

You can join the letter (text pasted below) by filling out this google form by 3/2 COB.

Let me know if you have questions,

Jamie

Dear Senator,

We are writing to express our opposition to the nomination of Barry Myers, the former chief executive of AccuWeather, to become the next Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

In advance of Mr. Myers hearing before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation on November 29, 2017, numerous public interest groups expressed concerns about this nomination and urged the Committee to vet Mr. Myers thoroughly.

We sent a letter raising our concerns about his lack of scientific credentials and experience with many critical parts of NOAA’s mission relating to oceans and coasts; his previous efforts to privatize many functions of the National Weather Service (NWS), which would adversely affect its vital public safety mission; and his personal and family financial conflicts of interests with the work of NWS and NOAA.

Unfortunately, Mr. Myers has not satisfied these concerns.

Since the hearing, three prominent ethics experts[1], including the former director of the United States Office of Government Ethics, have evaluated the unique situation his appointment to NOAA would create, and have found that unless he agrees to an expansive recusal from much of the work of the agency, profound and unprecedented conflicts of interest would exist. As NOAA Administrator, Mr. Myers would make many decisions that could directly or indirectly affect Accuweather, which is his life’s work and potentially, the source of his future livelihood.

Mr. Myers has not agreed to such an expansive recusal. In light of this refusal, we cannot be confident that he would use his public office to advance the mission of the agency and interests of the American public rather than the profitability of his family’s business.

As the nation grapples with the catastrophic impacts of last year’s hurricane season, it also seems particularly unwise to confirm a candidate for NOAA Administrator who has no government experience, and who lacks the scientific credentials held by nearly every other individual who has ever held the post of Administrator.

For these reasons, we respectfully request that you vote against confirming Mr. Myers as NOAA Administrator.

[1] Letter from Walter M. Shaub, Jr., Senior Director, Ethics, Campaign Legal Center to Senators Mitch McConnell, Charles Shumer, John Thune and Bill Nelson, Jan. 7, 2018; Letter from Noah Bookbinder, Executive Director, Center for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington to Senators Mitch McConnell, Charles Shumer, John Thune and Bill Nelson, Jan. 17, 2018; Letter from Robert Weissman, President, Public Citizen, to Senators, Dec. 6, 2017.

Jamie Consuegra

Congressional & External Affairs

Climate & Clean Energy Program

NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL

1152 15TH STREET NW, SUITE 300

WASHINGTON, DC 20005

T 202.289.2364
M 609.273.0193
JCONSUEGRA@NRDC.ORG