WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper released the following statement in support of the federal court ruling halting the Trump administration’s effort to dismantle the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) by forcing the lab to transfer its supercomputing center to the University of Wyoming.
“On a day when Tina Peters’ release has many Coloradans questioning whether the rule of law still matters, this ruling is a welcome reminder that courts can and should check abuses of power and political retaliation,” Hickenlooper wrote on social media. “We have fought these cuts since day one. We held up the Senate floor. We protested in the streets. We will keep fighting these blatantly retaliatory attacks. NCAR’s scientists and researchers do life-saving work that must endure.”
Hickenlooper, a former geologist and the only peer-reviewed scientist serving in the Senate, has been at the front of the fight to protect climate and atmospheric science at NCAR in Boulder.
In December, Senator Hickenlooper blocked a federal appropriations package in the Senate after President Trump announced his plan to dismantle the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder. Hickenlooper demanded Republicans add an amendment to the package guaranteeing that all funding for NCAR be fully spent, which Republicans blocked. In addition to his amendment, Hickenlooper led a bipartisan group of 76 lawmakers to demand full funding for NCAR, held the Senate floor, and joined protests across Colorado to stop the breakup.
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