Geography Professor Abdalati Visits Capitol Hill
Figure: Professor Abdalati (4th from the right) in the lobby of the Capitol Building with other Cooperative Institute Directors
On March 24-25, Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) Director and Geography Professor Waleed Abdalati, met with staff from the offices of both Republican and Democratic members of Colorado congressional delegation to discuss the potential impacts of threatened cuts to the NOAA, NSF, NASA, and other research agency budgets and how they would impact the interests of the State of Colorado and their respective congressional districts. In addition to meeting with the offices of senators Bennet and Hickenlooper, he met with staff from the offices of representatives Neguse, Crank, Hurd, and Evans. He and other cooperative institute directors also met with majority and minority staff from various relevant committees, which included the House Science Committee, the House Commerce, Justice, and Science Appropriations Committee and the Senate Commerce Committee. ÌýThe focus of these committee discussions was to encourage Congress to actively ensure their long-standing support for environmental research continues through the end of the fiscal year and beyond. ÌýÌý