Los Angeles City Councilman David Ryu introduced a resolution Wednesday opposing President Donald Trump’s proposal to cut federal funding for the West Coast’s earthquake early warning system.
The proposed cut — included in Trump’s proposed 2017-18 budget — would gut the system the U.S. Geological Survey has been developing in partnership with several major universities.
The estimated cost of the system, which is not completed but on track to start operating by the end of 2018, is $38.3 million. It would cost $16.1 million to operate annually.
Mayor Eric Garcetti, among others, have denounced the plan.
“A major earthquake in Southern California is not a matter of ‘if,’ but ‘when,”‘ Garcetti said last month. “The president’s proposal to eliminate funding for the West Coast’s earthquake early warning system is an abandonment of his duty to protect Americans, and I trust that our representatives in Congress will have the wisdom to reject a plan that could cost lives.”
–City News Service