The article discusses the significant backlog of contracts at NOAA due to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick's stringent review processes. When he took office, Lutnick mandated that all contracts exceeding $100,000 be reviewed by him personally to pinpoint waste, but this approach has led to operational gridlock. With over 200 contracts stalled, NOAA's employees face increased stress and uncertainty. High-profile criticism has even come from Senator Ted Cruz, illustrating the seriousness of the situation affecting vital climate science efforts.
The bottleneck is due largely to one man: Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, whose portfolio includes the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. After taking office in February, Lutnick insisted that he personally review any contract in excess of $100,000. Intended as an attempt to identify waste and redundancy, the policy instead has sown chaos at the nation's preeminent climate and weather agency, say former and current NOAA officials.
More than 200 NOAA contracts including one aimed at helping local communities prepare for extreme weather events are now stuck in limbo, waiting for Lutnick to make a decision.
Everything has ground to a halt, said one NOAA official who was granted anonymity for fear of reprisal. We prepare briefings and fill out new forms, nothing is addressed until the very last minute (or later), stress and urgency is very high.
Both Cruz and a second NOAA official, who also was granted anonymity for fear of reprisal, say Lutnick typically reviews about two dozen contracts a week, but the backlog has slowed agency operations to a crawl.
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