[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 14]
[House]
[Pages 18992-18995]
[From the U.S. 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

[[Page 18993]]

     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 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.

[[Page 18994]]

  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.
  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

[[Page 18995]]

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, 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.

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