[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 103 (Tuesday, July 13, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5758-S5759]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      TRIBUTE TO DR. EDDIE BERNARD

  Mr. KAUFMAN. Madam President, I rise once again to recognize one of 
our Nation's great Federal employees. Here are all the employees we 
have recognized to date.
  Madam President, we in Washington are in the midst of a summer heat 
wave. I know it is the same for millions of Americans across the 
country. This comes on the heels of a harsh winter where the Capital 
City endured heavy snowfall that shut down businesses and even certain 
government offices. The powerful forces of nature continue to challenge 
us.
  Many Americans only notice weather in its extremes. The hard-working 
men and women of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 
or NOAA, spend their careers making it easier for us to address 
nature's challenges. This year is NOAA's 40th anniversary. It was 
created in 1970 from three former agencies, and since that time NOAA 
employees have been at the forefront of weather prediction, 
oceanography, and fishery management.
  Whenever anyone turns on the television and sees an alert from the 
National Weather Service, that is NOAA at work. If you go to the 
Pacific coast and enjoy the beaches, you can feel safe knowing that 
NOAA's tsunami warning system stands at the ready. NOAA personnel are 
also leading the way to ensure the long-term sustainability of our 
coastal fisheries so those who make their living from the sea can 
continue to do so for generations to come.
  The great Federal employee I am recognizing today won the 2008 
Service to America Medal for Homeland Security for his work at NOAA 
helping to detect and warn against destructive tsunamis. Dr. Eddie 
Bernard has served as Director of NOAA's Pacific Marine Environmental 
Laboratory in Seattle, WA, since 1982. One of the leading experts on 
tsunamis, he has published over 80 scientific articles and edited books 
on the phenomenon.
  For 3 years Eddie directed the National Tsunami Warning Center in 
Hawaii, and he was the founding chairman of the National Tsunami Hazard 
Mitigation Steering Committee, a joint Federal-State effort.
  In addition to his work on tsunamis, as Director of the Pacific 
Marine Environmental Laboratory Eddie oversees a number of important 
oceanographic research programs such as El Nino forecasts and studies 
of underwater volcanoes.
  Eddie received his bachelor's degree in physics from Lamar 
University, and he holds master's and doctoral degrees in physical 
oceanography from Texas A&M.
  In order to protect our coastlines against damage from Pacific 
tsunamis such as the one that devastated the coasts of South Asia in 
2004, Eddie led the development of the innovative DART system. As a 
tsunami wave moves under the ocean, DART--which stands for deep ocean 
assessment of tsunamis--uses buoys to report data back to the Tsunami 
Warning Centers.
  It took years to perfect, and Eddie and his team had hoped to get 
close to a 60-percent accuracy rate in predicting the scope and 
intensity of incoming tsunamis. As it turns out, they

[[Page S5759]]

were able to achieve over 90 percent accuracy with DART. Their system 
became the basis for the Tsunami Warning and Education Act, which 
passed the Congress in 2006. Eddie was instrumental in helping to draft 
that legislation which strengthened tsunami detection, warning, and 
mitigation programs to ensure that we are prepared for even the worst-
case scenarios.
  The work of NOAA employees is often not glamorous, but it saves 
lives, protects property, and helps to prepare our coastal communities 
to meet the challenges of nature. My home State of Delaware is filled 
with coastal communities, and the work NOAA performs in a range of 
areas to help coastal States such as Delaware in so many ways.
  I hope my colleagues will join me in thanking Dr. Eddie Bernard and 
all those at NOAA who continue to monitor the seas and skies on our 
behalf. They are all truly great Federal employees.
  I yield the floor, and I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Udall of New Mexico). The clerk will call 
the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. JOHANNS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the order for the 
quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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