U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor announced today that Hurricane Hunter jobs and funding have been restored in a proposed fiscal year 2012 appropriations bill. The legislation is expected to be considered on the House floor by the end of the week.

The Hurricane Hunter Aircraft Operations, with personnel and flights out of MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, faced a surprising 40 percent cut, from $29 million to $17 million, under the Republican-led appropriations bill passed out of committee last summer.  Castor worked with the affected parties and colleagues to emphasize the importance of Hurricane Hunters and accurate forecasts.

“The Hurricane Hunters provide invaluable information on the track and intensity of tropical storms and hurricanes.  Hurricane Hunters save lives and money, and the irresponsible cuts would have dealt a severe blow to accurate predictions and the important missions out of MacDill Air Force Base,” Castor said.

In an August letter to Speaker Boehner, Rep. Hal Rogers, chairman of the Appropriations Committee and Rep. Frank Wolf, chairman of the Commerce, Justice and Science subcommittee, Castor wrote: “The costs of the hurricane hunters operations pale in comparison to the lives and money saved with the increasingly accurate predictions that come from these flights out of MacDill Air Force Base. Improved predictions not only save lives but can save millions of dollars in unnecessary business closures and evacuations. We have talented people working at MacDill to develop new science and advancements that have made tracking of hurricanes and storms so much more accurate than in the past.”