[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 115 (Wednesday, September 22, 2004)]
[House]
[Pages H7370-H7373]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
COMMENDING THE NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION AND ITS
EMPLOYEES FOR ITS DEDICATION AND HARD WORK DURING HURRICANES CHARLEY
AND FRANCES
Mr. EHLERS. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to
the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 488) commending the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and its employees for its
dedication and hard work during Hurricanes Charley and Frances, as
amended.
The Clerk read as follows:
H. Con. Res. 488
Whereas the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration's National Weather Service consistently
provides critical forecasts and warnings about severe weather
to the Nation's citizens;
Whereas 2 hurricanes, Charley and Frances, recently hit the
State of Florida back-to-back, an event which has not
occurred since 1964;
Whereas Hurricane Ivan was the third hurricane in a month
to hit the United States mainland;
Whereas the employees of the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration Tropical Prediction Center/
National Hurricane Center and the employees of key Southern
Region Weather Forecast Offices worked tirelessly and under
great pressure to provide the most up to date information to
the public, the media, and emergency management officials
during Hurricanes Charley, Frances, and Ivan;
Whereas the employees of the National Hurricane Center
conducted 656 live television interviews as well as 1227
telephone briefings to the media and others during Hurricanes
Frances and Ivan;
Whereas the forecasts and information from the National
Hurricane Center provided notice for the safe evacuation of
more than 6,000,000 residents in the line of Hurricanes
Charley, Frances, and Ivan and warnings to the residents of
Florida, Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana;
Whereas the Hurricane Liaison Team, a joint National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Federal Emergency
Management Agency partnership, provided support to the 25
different media outlets operating out of the National
Hurricane Center;
Whereas the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration's Hydrometeorological Prediction Center
provided rainfall forecasts and hurricane track guidance to
the National Hurricane Center;
Whereas the National Weather Service's National Data Buoy
Center, in partnership with the United States Coast Guard,
worked expediently after Hurricane Charley to fix data buoys
that proved critical for forecasts of Hurricane Frances and
Ivan;
Whereas the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration's National Ocean Service provided storm surge
predictions and hydrographic information support to Federal
partners before, during, and after Hurricanes Charley,
Frances, and Ivan;
Whereas the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration's National Environmental Satellite Data and
Information Service provided images of Hurricane Frances
every 5 minutes over a 4-day period, an unprecedented number
of images for hurricane tracking;
Whereas the Southern and Eastern Region Weather Forecast
Offices of San Juan, Miami, Tampa Bay, Key West, Melbourne,
Jacksonville, Tallahassee, Atlanta, Birmingham, Huntsville,
Mobile, Morristown, Charleston, Morehead City, Wilmington,
Wakefield, Taunton, Lake Charles, New Orleans, Jackson,
Nashville, and Houston provided up-to-the-minute local
details for residents throughout Hurricanes Charley, Frances,
and Ivan;
Whereas employees from other offices within the Southern
Region provided additional support to key Weather Forecast
Offices directly impacted by Hurricanes Charley, Frances, and
Ivan;
Whereas more than 1,700 watches, warnings, advisories, and
other statements were issued by key local Weather Forecast
Offices during Hurricanes Charley, Frances, and Ivan;
Whereas the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration's Marine and Aviation Operation's Hurricane
Hunters logged 344 hours of flight time through and above the
storms to assist the National Hurricane Center in tracking
Hurricanes Charley, Frances, and Ivan;
Whereas the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron of the
403rd Wing of the Air Force Reserve Command at Keesler Air
Force Base, Biloxi, Mississippi, logged 537 hours of flight
time through and above the storms to assist the National
Hurricane Center in tracking Hurricanes Charley, Frances, and
Ivan;
Whereas the Southeast River Forecast Center provided
critical river flooding forecast information to Federal,
State, and private partners during Hurricanes Charley,
Frances, and Ivan and accurately predicted the amount of
excessive rainfall over the Southeastern United States
several days in advance; and
Whereas it is still the first half of hurricane season and
all these employees remain engaged tracking tropical storms:
Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate
concurring), That the Congress--
(1) commends the employees of the National Weather Service,
especially the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration Tropical Prediction Center/National Hurricane
Center, Hydrometeorological Prediction Center, and National
Data Buoy Center; the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron of
the 403rd Wing of the Air Force Reserve Command at Keesler
Air Force Base, Biloxi, Mississippi; the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration Aircraft Operations Center at
MacDill Air Force Base, Tampa, Florida; the Hurricane Liaison
Team; the National Ocean Service; and the National
Environmental Satellite Data and Information Service, for
their extraordinary dedication and hard work during
Hurricanes Charley, Frances, and Ivan;
(2) commends the Southern and Eastern Region Weather
Forecast Offices of San Juan, Miami, Tampa Bay, Key West,
Melbourne, Jacksonville, Tallahassee, Atlanta, Birmingham,
Huntsville, Mobile, Morristown, Charleston, Morehead City,
Wilmington, Wakefield, Taunton, Lake Charles, New Orleans,
Jackson, Nashville, and Houston for their extraordinary
dedication and hard work during Hurricanes Charley, Frances,
and Ivan;
(3) thanks the commercial and media meteorologists for
their contributions in disseminating the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration forecasts and warnings to the
public; and
(4) expresses its support for the ongoing hard work and
dedication of all who provide accurate and timely hurricane
forecasts.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Michigan (Mr. Ehlers) and the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr.
Miller) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Ehlers).
General Leave
Mr. EHLERS. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their
remarks and include extraneous material
[[Page H7371]]
on H. Con. Res. 488, the resolution now under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Michigan?
There was no objection.
Mr. EHLERS. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, today we are considering H. Con. Res. 488, which
commends the employees of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration for their dedication and hard work during Hurricanes
Charley, Frances and Ivan.
As chairman of the subcommittee with jurisdiction over the National
Weather Service, I introduced this resolution 2 weeks ago, after
Hurricanes Charley and Frances hit the State of Florida back-to-back,
something that had not happened since 1964. The employees of the
National Weather Service worked tirelessly during the storms to provide
forecasts and warnings to alert citizens and help minimize loss of life
during the storms.
I have here pictures of Hurricane Frances, and also, in a moment, I
will get to Hurricane Ivan. But I would like to point out the immense
extensions of Hurricane Charley, covering virtually the entire State of
Florida and the entire State of Texas. And almost any Texan in this
body would tell us, it is almost impossible to cover the State of
Texas, but Hurricane Frances, in fact, would do that.
Fortunately, the winds diminished before it hit land, and that helped
considerably in reducing the damage, but it was still, because of its
large extent, a very damaging hurricane.
Last week, Hurricane Ivan hit the U.S., the worst hurricane to hit
the U.S. since Hurricane Floyd in 1999. Hurricane Ivan, which made
landfall near Gulf Shores, Alabama, was the sixth most powerful
Atlantic tropical storm on record. It affected States throughout the
southeastern and Mid-Atlantic United States, with flooding, high winds
and tornadoes. Again, the hard work of NOAA's employees and the
broadcast meteorologists was vital for getting out warnings and
information to residents in the path of the hurricane.
The right-hand chart up here shows Hurricane Ivan as it came ashore
near Gulf Shores, extensive spread through Alabama, Mississippi, nearly
to the New Orleans area, and with a very well-defined eye, indicating
very high winds, very compact, which means high intensity, and of
course, it stretched all the way over to the Panhandle of Florida.
During these three hurricanes, an estimated 6 million people were
safely evacuated. Without the warnings from NOAA, I suspect there would
have been very few evacuated. While there were 90 fatalities and an
estimated $14 billion to $23 billion in damages in the U.S. due to
these storms, without the forecasts and warnings from NOAA, the results
would have been much, much worse.
It costs about $1.4 billion annually for all weather forecasting at
NOAA which comes to a mere 4 cents each day per household in the United
States. This investment is well worth it, given the lives saved by
NOAA's forecasts and warnings. Let me point out that the amount that
this comes to per household in this Nation is, I would estimate, less
than the amount that the average household expends on smoke detectors
and batteries.
Let me specifically list the offices at NOAA and their Federal and
private partners that play an important role in providing hurricane
forecasts and warnings. The National Hurricane Center, the Southern and
Eastern Region Weather Forecast Offices of San Juan, Miami, Tampa Bay,
Key West, Melbourne, Jacksonville, Tallahassee, Atlanta, Birmingham,
Huntsville, Mobile, Morristown, Charleston, Morehead City, Wilmington,
Wakefield, Taunton, Lake Charles, New Orleans, Jackson, Nashville, and
Houston.
In addition, the National Ocean Service provides services and, in
this case, provided help with storm surge predictions.
The National Environmental Satellite Data and Information Service
provided the satellite images we all saw on television.
The NOAA Marine and Aviation Operation Hurricane Hunters and the Air
Force Reserve out of Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Mississippi, fly
planes into the hurricanes to gather data.
The Southeast River Forecast Center provided flood predictions, and
the many private meteorologists and information providers who
disseminate the warnings and weather data and predictions from NOAA.
I must say, being a scientist, perhaps that affects me, but I watched
the Weather Channel and the local forecasters for considerable amounts
of time during this to try to evaluate for myself what the hurricanes
were doing, what direction they were taking, what damage they might
cause. So the private sector also deserves mention here.
The dedicated employees of all of these NOAA organizations and the
private organizations deserve our utmost appreciation for their hard
work and long hours to warn citizens in the line of these three storms
and for all of their excellent work as they continue to track tropical
storms, this and every hurricane season. I should note that today we
are nervously watching Hurricanes Jeanne and Karl currently located in
the Atlantic Ocean, and we will continue to depend on NOAA to give us
information about those hurricanes.
Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. MILLER of North Carolina. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time
as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague, the gentleman from Michigan (Mr.
Ehlers), for bringing this resolution to the floor today. In the last
month or two, all of us in the eastern United States have been glued to
our television sets watching weather reports as one Atlantic storm
after another moved westward from the west coast of Africa across the
Atlantic towards the United States. Three storms have made landfall in
the United States and done great damage, great property damage and
great loss of life.
We have learned more and more about storms just from watching the
weather reports, watching with fascination the symmetry, the amazing
symmetry of the storms, learning about the definition of the eye wall,
how that told us whether the storm was strengthening or weakening or
maintaining its strength.
There has been great damage and great loss of life from these storms.
Hurricane Charley, which struck and made landfall in Florida as a
category 4 storm, resulted in 31 deaths. Hurricane Frances made
landfall in Florida as a category 2 storm but stalled over Florida and
just rained and rained and rained with great, great damage. And, most
recently, Hurricane Ivan struck the Panhandle of Florida and Alabama as
a weak category 4, and then moved upward and caused a total of 49
deaths, including about 10 in my State, in flooding in western North
Carolina.
These were powerful storms, but we were relatively well prepared for
them. The gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Ehlers) referred to the great,
great savings in life that resulted from the preparation that we had as
a result of the work of NOAA, but let me tell my colleagues how much of
a difference that made.
When we look back early in our history, a much less densely populated
country, a nation that was not prepared, had no forewarning when storms
struck, let me tell my colleagues the loss of life. In 1893, a storm of
unknown intensity struck Louisiana, made landfall in Louisiana. The
estimate was that there were 2,000 deaths from that storm. That same
year, a storm also of unknown intensity made landfall in South Carolina
and Georgia with a loss of life of 1,000 or 2,000. In 1900, a storm
that we now estimate to be a category 4 struck without warning
Galveston and resulted in an estimated 8,000 to 12,000 deaths. In 1928,
a storm struck again with very, very little warning in Florida, and
resulted in more than 1,800 deaths.
Again, this is a striking contrast. We can thank the people of NOAA,
the employees of NOAA for the forecasts and the warnings that we have
relied upon to prepare for the storms that have struck the United
States this year. It is not an exaggeration to say, because of the work
of the employees at NOAA, that there are thousands of Americans alive
now who would not have been alive had we not been prepared for these
storms, and the way that we have not been prepared for storms before we
had that capacity to see storms coming, to know their intensity and to
prepare for them.
[[Page H7372]]
We now see more storms moving towards us. Hurricanes Jeanne and Karl
and storms behind them seem to be taking a number as they are in line,
moving towards the United States.
So this resolution is a modest gesture of appreciation for those
employees of NOAA who are working around the clock to monitor the paths
of hurricanes, the strength of hurricanes, to make sure that we are
ready when those hurricanes reach the United States.
So I urge my colleagues to support this resolution.
Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms.
Eddie Bernice Johnson).
Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Madam Speaker, I rise in support
of H. Con. Res. 488 and express my appreciation of the leadership of
the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Ehlers) and our ranking member, the
gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Miller) for commending the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, known as NOAA.
{time} 1545
Indeed, we have profited from their skills. We commend both the
agency and its employees for their hard work and dedication during
these hurricanes. And also during the time of tornados in my area, we
are getting the same type of alerts and notices and it really does save
lives. We have not yet been able to save as much material damage and
destruction as we have the lives, but the important thing is that we
are saving lives. And as we begin to use more of our technology in
building, we will see that even the material destruction will diminish.
It underscores why we need to continue to support science and
technology, to develop more skills for approaching and dealing with
these types of catastrophes when they happen.
Texas certainly has benefited from warnings during both hurricanes in
the south end of the State and tornados in the north end of the State.
And we are grateful for the efficiency and dedication of these
employees and are grateful for the existence of this agency that
deserves continued support so that we can still benefit from our
findings and for our future developments.
Mr. EHLERS. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. MILLER OF North Carolina. Madam Speaker, I yield 6 minutes to the
gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Etheridge).
Mr. ETHERIDGE. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me
time. Let me thank him and my colleague, the gentleman from Michigan
(Mr. Ehlers), for bringing this resolution to the floor because it is
so important.
I rise to add my voice in praise of the staff and leaders of National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NOAA, for the job they have
been doing during this remarkably challenging time during this
hurricane season.
We talk about hurricanes; but the truth is when a hurricane comes
ashore, we have an awful lot of tornados that spawn from that. As any
Member from a southern Atlantic coastal State can tell you, this has
been a very busy season; and, unfortunately, it does not appear to be
over with yet. And if the predictions are right, we are in for some
pretty bumpy times in the years ahead.
The folks at NOAA and the National Weather Service have done a fine
job in letting our citizens know when the storms are coming, where they
would most likely strike, and they have been pretty accurate about how
much wind and storm surge they can expect. As a consequence, NOAA has
saved millions of lives through its timely reporting and storm
tracking, and it has an awful lot to do with saving of property.
I can tell you at my office, and I expect it is true of most offices
that are in the line of fire, the staffs check the NOAA Web site, NOAA
tracking at 8 a.m. and 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. each day because
they are the ones that have the information.
While NOAA has performed well, one of the things that could be
improved is predicting the potential flooding consequences of the rain
associated with these storms. That is why in the 107th Congress I
introduced and Congress passed into law legislation to improve the
forecasting of inland flooding and to develop an inland flood-warning
index similar to the Saffir-Simpson Scale that we use for wind with
hurricanes. Unfortunately, we have not seen much progress with the
development of the inland flood-warning index. Congress has not
provided the funds necessary to develop a warning index that can better
alert Americans of flood hazards associated with tropical cyclones, and
NOAA has taken only a few steps to implement this legislation.
If we had had an inland flood-warning index in place, many of the
more than 70 lives lost from Bonnie, Charley, Frances, and Ivan could
possibly have been saved. We heard of what has happened in recent years
from what we did at the turn of the century. We still can do better.
In 1999, Hurricane Floyd killed 48 people in the State of North
Carolina with heavy floods, almost all of them lived hundreds of miles
from the coast and died from fresh-water flooding. That can be
corrected.
In Richmond, Virginia, last month the remnants of Tropical Storm
Gaston was predicted to drop 4 inches of rain. Instead, it produced
more than a foot of rain and resulted in flooding that cost millions of
dollars in damage to the city's historic downtown, and much of that
damage could have been mitigated had the public been better prepared
and had known what was going to happen.
Madam Speaker, as the appropriations process winds down, I urge you
to fully implement and fund the Tropical Cyclone Inland Forecasting
Improvement and Warning System Development Act, similar to what we did
with the Saffir-Simpson scale for hurricanes in providing warning on
the coast. This will make a difference in the inland areas. This
Congress has shown and has spoken with an overwhelming majority, and I
also call on NOAA to move forward aggressively to implement this
legislation.
We should never again suffer a hurricane season without adequate
prediction tools where life-saving technology exists just beyond our
current grasp. It is available. All we have to do is spend just a few
dollars and it would be there. NOAA already saves countless lives.
Working together we can help them save even more. I urge my colleagues
to adopt this resolution.
Mr. MILLER of North Carolina. Madam Speaker, I have no further
requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. EHLERS. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, I first want to thank the gentleman from North
Carolina (Mr. Miller) for ably managing the time on the minority side
and particularly for his provision of the statistics which I find very
fascinating, and I do not want to prolong my statement too much by
including them, but it illustrates something very dramatically.
Often the public asks us what we do with all their tax money and why
do we waste it so much. There are a good many things that the Federal
Government does that are very, very good for people. This is one
example of that. Funding NOAA is a very worthwhile enterprise. Given
the statistics that the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Miller) gave
and the statistics that I gave compared to what we do today, you can
extend that to tornados as well and other types of disasters.
The average lead time for tornados was 10 minutes during Hurricane
Ivan, and frequently it is earlier than that for tornados in the
Midwest where I live. Flash flood warnings average 57 minutes; 38
tornados occurred across Florida during Hurricane Ivan, so we really
saved a lot of lives in this particular case; and it makes the
expenditures for NOAA look small by comparison.
It is very important for all of us, especially the appropriators, for
all of to us recognize that this is money well spent. It does save
lives. It does save properties. It saves injuries, and it is very
important for us to continue that.
Madam Speaker, in closing I want to thank my colleagues from the
Florida delegation, virtually all of whom co-sponsored this
legislation; and I particularly want to thank the gentleman from
Florida (Mr. Young) for his enthusiastic support of the resolution. I
would also like to thank the gentleman from New York (Mr. Boehlert) and
the ranking member, the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Gordon), of the
Committee on Science for their support,
[[Page H7373]]
and the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Udall), the ranking member of my
subcommittee.
Mr. BOEHLERT. Madam Speaker, I would like to join my colleagues in
thanking the employees of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration for their hard work this hurricane season. I thank my
colleague from Michigan, Mr. Ehlers, for introducing this resolution
and bringing it to the floor today. Each hurricane season the employees
at NOAA provide vital forecasts and warnings to residents in harm's
way, minimizing loss of life and property. This year they have gone
above and beyond the call of duty with the high number of powerful
storms making landfall in the United States. The employees at NOAA who
support hurricane forecasts and warning exemplify service to the nation
and I am proud to recognize their hard work today.
Mr. GORDON. Madam Speaker, this hurricane season was predicted to be
an active one. Unfortunately, the prediction is being fulfilled. We
have not yet come to the end of the season and already the eastern half
of the country has experienced widespread damage due to three of these
storms--hurricanes Charley, Frances and Ivan. In addition, two other
offshore hurricanes are being monitored as we speak.
The severe coastal damage in Florida and Alabama, widespread inland
flooding, and tornadoes have resulted in loss of life and property
throughout the eastern part of the nation--including my home state of
Tennessee. We should move quickly to provide assistance to our citizens
who are now beginning to assess the damage and make plans to rebuild
their homes, communities and businesses. They have a daunting task in
the days ahead.
The effects of these storms are devastating, however, without
accurate forecasting and time to prepare the toll in human lives would
have been unimaginable. Our investments in research and development,
weather satellites, specialized aircraft and computer modeling
capability coupled with the dedication and professionalism of NOAA's
employees has paid off in the timely warnings that we rely upon.
Madam Speaker, with this resolution we express our gratitude to the
federal employees and their partners in the commercial weather business
for their efforts in bringing the life-saving warnings and forecasts to
our citizens. I urge my colleagues to support this effort to recognize
the important work done by the employees of NOAA.
Mr. EHLERS. Madam Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I
yield back balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mrs. Biggert). The question is on the motion
offered by the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Ehlers) that the House
suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution, H. Con. Res.
488, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor
thereof) the rules were suspended and the concurrent resolution, as
amended, was agreed to.
The title of the concurrent resolution was amended so as to read:
``Concurrent resolution commending the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration and its employees for its dedication and hard work
during Hurricanes Charley, Frances, and Ivan.''.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
____________________