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Ocean advocates in New England are calling on Congress to reject proposed funding cuts to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The White House aims to slash more than $1 billion from NOAA operations and scientific research programs, which help improve marine zone forecasts and fisheries management.

Sarah Winter Whelan, executive director of the Healthy Ocean Coalition, said coastal communities could lose access to critical weather and climate data.

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"Not having that information for people who go out on the ocean for their job, their livelihood, could put economies and actual humans at risk," she said.

The White House has argued that some agency grant programs “push agendas harmful to America’s fishing industry.”The cuts are part of a broader effort to “constrain non-defense spending” and boost the Pentagon’s budget by more than 40 percent.

The Trump administration has largely rejected climate science and cut programs and policies it refers to as part of a “Green New Scam.”

Climate change is already impacting Maine with rising sea levels, a warming ocean and increased storm intensity. Whelan said it’s vital that federal agencies continue to monitor and predict long-term climate trends to better protect coastal communities and the region’s fishing and lobstering industries.

"If the ocean changes dramatically from climate change and we don’t have a functioning federal government that can track and manage those changes," she said, "we’re in trouble."

Other science-driven agencies such as the EPA and FEMA also face dramatic funding reductions. Bipartisan support for NOAA helped the agency avoid dramatic funding cuts during previous budget negotiations. Whelan is urging the public to contact lawmakers again to share their own personal stories of how federal programs that benefit the ocean impact their lives.