KCRA3: REP. DORIS MATSUI SAYS 'SLEDGEHAMMER APPROACH' TO FEDERAL CUTS IS GOING TO 'CAUSE A LOT OF PAIN'
Long-time California Congresswoman Doris Matsui reacted to the news of layoffs at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration by calling the cuts "beyond dangerous" and "deadly." She spoke with KCRA 3 on Friday about the recent slew of federal layoffs under the Trump administration.
Hundreds of NOAA employees on probationary status were fired Thursday, including at least 10 in the Sacramento office.
Matsui said she worked with NOAA a lot in her two decades in office.
"It's really vital for critical services, research and all the data that's collected," Matsui said. "It's important for our supply chain, our military and everyday Americans."
Matsui said NOAA provides not just weather forecasts, but its scientific work greatly impacts agriculture.
"It is scientifically based so that farmers can actually interact with them to find out what's going to be going on," Matsui said. "Pretty soon, if we don't have the scientific research and data, we'll all of a sudden realize that the crops aren't growing the way they're supposed to be at all. The weather is being impacted and soil health and all of that is going to be impacted because these kinds of data come from places, scientific organizations and government like NOAA."
Matsui also expressed her frustration with cuts beyond NOAA, in other sectors of the government, including the Department of Health and Human Services and the National Institutes of Health. She said they are causing fear, specifically pointing to people who rely on Medicaid.
"People are scared. They're fearful about what happens next. Some of these things are not going to be felt by everyone right away, but ultimately it will be felt," Matsui said.
She believes cuts are being made to departments without a true knowledge of what they do.
"I just don't believe that [Elon] Musk in particular understands what he's doing. Just a sledgehammer approach to this is going to cause a lot of pain for all of us," Matsui said, referring to Musk's efforts spearheading the Department of Government Efficiency. "Just saying 'all of this is for efficiency,'— It's not at all. It's really destroying our government the way we know it and the governance that we really do rely upon."
She said the cuts across the board are the most concerning thing happening right now.
"You can see how all of the agencies and departments are being hit and there's no consideration at all about, you know, what the efficiencies are. Because this isn't efficiency— that's a wholesale cut. And when you cut like 90% or 50% or 40%, I mean, that's a lot of people and a lot of work that has to be done," Matsui said.
She noted it's also concerning for lawmakers, and argued much of the balance of power is being taken away from Congress.
"We make the laws, we decide how much money is to be appropriated. And the administration, the White House, is only supposed to follow through and implement that. Right now they just decided that they are the only arbiters, they're going to take charge and that is not the way our country works at all," Matsui said. "This is something that's never happened before."
The congresswoman also said most federal lawmakers, like herself, are only finding out about the cuts after the fact.
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