Democratic lawmakers are asking for assurances from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) that the agency will put measures in place to prevent a future “Sharpiegate” incident.

A June report from the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA) found that the agency violated its scientific integrity policy by issuing a statement in September contradicting the National Weather Service shortly after President TrumpDonald John TrumpMore than a dozen people wounded in shooting near Chicago funeral home Cleveland Indians players meet with team leadership to discuss potential name change Pelosi calls coronavirus the ‘Trump virus’ MORE said Hurricane Dorian was headed toward Alabama.

“While you dispute the NAPA findings in your response — stating that the tweet and NOAA statement on Hurricane Dorian are ‘not the types of science and research to which the [scientific integrity] policy applies—it remains clear that this incident casts serious doubt over NOAA’s ability to ensure the scientific integrity of its world-class employees,” Democratic Sens. Ed MarkeyEdward (Ed) John MarkeyLawmakers push NOAA to prevent future ‘Sharpiegate’ OVERNIGHT ENERGY: EPA declines to tighten smog standards amid pressure from green groups | Democrats split on Trump plan to use development funds for nuclear projects| Russian mining giant reports another fuel spill in Arctic Democrats split on Trump plan to use development funds for nuclear projects MORE (Mass.), Elizabeth WarrenElizabeth WarrenBiden says Whitmer still in contention for VP pick Poll: Harris, Warren top list of VP picks among Democratic voters Joy Reid debut delivers 2.6 million viewers for MSNBC MORE (Mass.), Richard Blumenthal (Conn.), Mazie HironoMazie Keiko HironoLawmakers push NOAA to prevent future ‘Sharpiegate’ If only woke protesters knew how close they were to meaningful police reform Hillicon Valley: Facebook takes down ‘boogaloo’ network after pressure | Election security measure pulled from Senate bill | FCC officially designating Huawei, ZTE as threats MORE (Hawaii), Ron WydenRonald (Ron) Lee WydenLawmakers push NOAA to prevent future ‘Sharpiegate’ Hillicon Valley: Democrats request counterintelligence briefing | New pressure for election funding | Republicans urge retaliation against Chinese hackers Democratic senator proposes telehealth expansion MORE (Ore.) and Maggie HassanMargaret (Maggie) HassanLawmakers push NOAA to prevent future ‘Sharpiegate’ Senators press IRS chief on stimulus check pitfalls Hillicon Valley: Livestreaming service Twitch suspends Trump account | Reddit updates hate speech policy, bans subreddits including The_Donald | India bans TikTok MORE (N.H.) wrote in a letter to NOAA.

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NOAA wrote in a Sept. 6 statement that “tropical storm-force winds from Hurricane Dorian could impact Alabama,” contradicting a Sept. 1 statement from the National Weather Service in Birmingham that said the state would see “no impacts” from the hurricane. 

The statement came after Trump insisted that Alabama should prepare for the storm, which ultimately landed on the East Coast. In defending his claim, Trump used a marked-up projection map produced by NOAA that conflicted with information given by weather forecasters.

The NAPA report, which was requested by NOAA following public pressure, found that “the development of the statement was not based on science but appears to be largely driven by external influence from senior Commerce [Department] officials who drafted the Sept. 6 statement.”

The lawmakers argue NOAA must “determine what steps you will take to implement or even to exceed NAPA’s recommendations in order to establish an ethically sound culture at NOAA that ensures scientific integrity is paramount.”

NOAA did not immediately respond to request for comment from The Hill.

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