[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 3]
[Senate]
[Pages 4147-4148]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                             JAPAN TRAGEDY

  Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I rise today to offer my deepest 
condolences to the people of Japan, and to reaffirm that the United 
States stands ready to assist the country and its people in this time 
of tremendous need.
  On Friday, March 11, the world watched in horror as a devastating 
9.0-magnitude earthquake struck off the northeastern coast of Japan, 
triggering a devastating tsunami that sent a 30-foot high wall of water 
hurtling into coastal towns and leaving complete destruction in its 
wake.
  As a Senator from California, which has far too often experienced the 
devastation of earthquakes, I was horrified by the magnitude of this 
event.
  In a stunning development, scientists are now saying that the quake 
caused the island of Japan to shift by 8 feet and the Earth's axis to 
move by 4 inches.
  In Japanese cities such as Sendai and Minami Sanriku, entire 
communities and countless lives vanished in an instant. In Minami 
Sanriku alone, 10,000 members of a population of 17,000 remain 
unaccounted for.
  The force of the tsunami generated by the quake was so great that 
waves traveled across the Pacific Ocean at more than 500 miles per 
hour, slamming into Hawaii and cities along the California and Oregon 
coasts.
  Today, we know that an estimated 4,277 lives have been confirmed 
lost--a figure that will undoubtedly rise--and that hundreds of 
thousands have been displaced. In this time of extraordinary grief, our 
thoughts and prayers go out to those who have lost loved ones and to 
those whose family and friends remain missing.
  What we also know is that without Japan's strict building codes and 
well-developed early warning systems, this terrible tragedy would have 
been much worse.
  I praise the work of all the first responders who are working around 
the clock in Japan. Tens of thousands of Japanese rescue workers have 
been joined by teams from around the world, including from the United 
States and China.
  I know that this includes a search and rescue team from Los Angeles 
County.
  The team, which left for Japan on Saturday, is made up of 74 rescue 
personnel including firefighters and paramedics as well as six teams of 
search dogs who are trained to look for survivors trapped in debris 
left by the earthquake and tsunami.
  There are also approximately 600 servicemembers from Naval Air 
Station Lemoore in California aboard the U.S.S. Ronald Reagan aircraft 
carrier, who are assisting relief efforts off the Japanese coast.
  Our deepest gratitude goes out to all of those who are working 
tirelessly to save lives and bring comfort to communities in need.
  We also know that the earthquake and tsunami have caused tremendous 
difficulty at a number of nuclear energy facilities within Japan.
  The damage and subsequent failure of systems at these nuclear 
reactors are a clear warning that we must step up efforts to ensure 
that every precaution is taken to safeguard all of our people from a 
similar nuclear disaster.
  Special and immediate attention should be given to those nuclear 
reactors that share similar conditions as the failing reactors in 
Japan--those located near a coastline or fault line, or those with a 
similar design.
  We must all reexamine our assumptions about what constitutes a 
credible threat to those reactors and ensure we learn the lessons shown 
to us by the recent events in Japan.
  As chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee, which has 
jurisdiction over domestic nuclear regulatory activities, I will ensure 
that our members have full briefings on all of these issues, and I will 
hold a hearing on the safety of the Nation's nuclear facilities and 
what lessons can be learned from the dangerous situation at the failing 
reactors in Japan. I am also calling on the NRC to conduct a 
comprehensive investigation of these issues, with a focus on areas that 
are especially vulnerable to seismic activity like California.
  I would also like to spend a few moments talking about the 
approximately 300,000 Japanese-Americans who call California home.
  I am particularly proud that the Japanese American community in my 
State has quickly stepped up to assist with relief efforts in the 
aftermath of this horrible tragedy. This includes the Japan America 
Society of Southern California--a nonprofit organization founded in 
1909 to build relationships between the United States and Japan. This 
also includes the nonprofit Japanese Cultural and Community Center of 
Northern California. These are just a couple of examples of how 
Californians are pulling together to help the thousands who have been 
devastated by the earthquake and tsunami.
  I thank all those in California, and those across the country and the 
world, who have responded to this tragedy with an outpouring of support 
for the people of Japan.
  I would also like to take just a brief moment to thank the Federal, 
State, and local officials in Hawaii, California and along the west 
coast for their quick response in warning residents of the tsunami 
threat and assisting those communities affected by severe waves.

[[Page 4148]]

  Coastal areas in northern California, particularly Crescent City and 
Santa Cruz, were impacted by these waves, resulting in damages to port 
and harbor infrastructure. I am pleased that federal officials arrived 
in California Monday and are working with State and local officials to 
assess the situation.
  And finally, I thank Senators Reid, McConnell, Kerry, and Lugar for 
drafting a resolution on the tragedy which passed the Senate Monday 
evening. I am proud to be a cosponsor.
  The resolution expresses the Senate's deepest condolences to all of 
those affected by this tragedy, including the families of the victims. 
It also urges the U.S. Government and the international community to 
provide any additional assistance the Japanese government may need as 
it moves toward healing, rebuilding, and recovery.
  Experts tell us that events of this magnitude are rare--in fact, this 
was the largest recorded earthquake in Japan's history.
  While we hope and pray that we never see such a horrific event again, 
this tragedy serves as a stark reminder of nature's extraordinary power 
and how precious and fragile life is.
  Let us also use this as an opportunity to redouble our commitment 
here in America to do the hard work of preparing for the unthinkable.

                          ____________________