Does federal warmist organization NOAA really need an annual budget of over $5 billion? Do we really need thousands of NOAA employees in Maryland alone?

NOAA’s world-class weather and climate prediction center opens at University of Maryland in College Park

The federal government today officially opens a new center that is the backbone of weather and climate prediction for the nation.
...
The 268,000 square-foot building is home to more than 800 employees of NOAA’s Center for Weather and Climate Prediction who provide the nation with a broad range of environmental services – from predicting the hurricane season and El Niño/La Niña to forecasting ocean currents and large-scale rain and snow storms. Billions of earth observations from around the world flow through environmental models, developed and managed in the new building, that support the nation’s weather forecasts.
...
“NOAA’s weather forecasters, scientists and researchers stand sentry over Maryland and the nation, looking out for severe weather to protect lives and livelihoods,” Senator Mikulski said. “This new NOAA Center for Weather and Climate Prediction will be the brain center of weather operations. Investing in this center is an investment in our human capital, serving as a world class facility for a world class workforce and supporting thousands of NOAA jobs across our state. Marylanders can continue to rely on NOAA data to keep them safe every day, and I will continue to do my part to put funding in the federal checkbook to support these important operations.”

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[Annual budget] US $5.6 billion (est. 2011)