The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's beleaguered weather satellite programs face another dismal budget year, if House Republicans get their way.

A House Appropriations subcommittee approved legislation by voice vote today that would cut NOAA's budget to $4.485 billion in fiscal 2012, $1 billion less than President Obama's request and $103 million less than the agency received in 2011.

NOAA's next-generation weather and climate satellite program, the Joint Polar Satellite System, would receive $812 million in 2012, roughly 20 percent less than the $1.070 billion the agency sought.

That is still an improvement over the 2011 spending deal enacted in April, which set aside $382 million for JPSS -- a fraction of the $910 million NOAA requested.

"This is the amount of money we have," said Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.), chairman of the Commerce-Justice-Science subcommittee. "Our country is broke."

But that relative increase for JPSS in 2012 may not be enough to lessen the impact of the program's 2011 budget shortfall.

NOAA says it has enough money to launch the first JPSS satellite in October -- but it is likely the second JPSS probe won't reach orbit before its predecessor stops functioning.

The result would be a gap in crucial weather and climate data, NOAA chief Jane Lubchenco warned in May.

"Because we have insufficient funds in the [fiscal] '11 budget, we are likely looking at a period of time a few years down the road where we will not be able to do the severe storm warnings and long-term weather forecasts that people have come to expect today," she said (ClimateWire, May 20).

Agency officials have said that if they receive the full $1.070 billion they requested for JPSS in 2012, they would likely be able to prevent further delays to the satellite launch schedule. But that is not what the House GOP has proposed.

The situation illustrates the folly of Republicans' approach to the federal budget, said Appropriations Committee ranking member Norm Dicks (D-Wash.).

"I continue to take issue with the majority's decision to delay planned projects and acquisitions," Dicks said. "Although doing so may save some money in [fiscal] 2012, invariably it makes completing the project or acquisition more expensive and often results in unfortunate consequences."