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U.S. Tsunami Warning System and S. 50, ''The Tsunami Preparedness Act of 2005'' Hearing Committee on Commerce, Science S. HRG. 109–93 U.S. TSUNAMI WARNING SYSTEM AND S. 50, ‘‘THE TSUNAMI PREPAREDNESS ACT OF 2005’’ HEARING BEFORE THE COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION UNITED STATES SENATE ONE HUNDRED NINTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION FEBRUARY 2, 2005 Printed for the use of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation ( U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 22–845 PDF WASHINGTON : 2005 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll free (866) 512–1800; DC area (202) 512–1800 Fax: (202) 512–2250 Mail: Stop SSOP, Washington, DC 20402–0001 VerDate 0ct 09 2002 13:59 Nov 17, 2005 Jkt 022845 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 5011 Sfmt 5011 S:\WPSHR\GPO\DOCS\22845.TXT JACK PsN: JACKF SENATE COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION ONE HUNDRED NINTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION TED STEVENS, Alaska, Chairman JOHN MCCAIN, Arizona DANIEL K. INOUYE, Hawaii, Co-Chairman CONRAD BURNS, Montana JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER IV, West Virginia TRENT LOTT, Mississippi JOHN F. KERRY, Massachusetts KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON, Texas BYRON L. DORGAN, North Dakota OLYMPIA J. SNOWE, Maine BARBARA BOXER, California GORDON H. SMITH, Oregon BILL NELSON, Florida JOHN ENSIGN, Nevada MARIA CANTWELL, Washington GEORGE ALLEN, Virginia FRANK R. LAUTENBERG, New Jersey JOHN E. SUNUNU, New Hampshire E. BENJAMIN NELSON, Nebraska JIM DEMINT, South Carolina MARK PRYOR, Arkansas DAVID VITTER, Louisiana LISA J. SUTHERLAND, Republican Staff Director CHRISTINE DRAGER KURTH, Republican Deputy Staff Director DAVID RUSSELL, Republican Chief Counsel MARGARET L. CUMMISKY, Democratic Staff Director and Chief Counsel SAMUEL E. WHITEHORN, Democratic Deputy Staff Director and General Counsel LILA HARPER HELMS, Democratic Policy Director (II) VerDate 0ct 09 2002 13:59 Nov 17, 2005 Jkt 022845 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 S:\WPSHR\GPO\DOCS\22845.TXT JACK PsN: JACKF C O N T E N T S Page Hearing held on February 2, 2005 ......................................................................... 1 Statement of Senator Cantwell .............................................................................. 53 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 56 Statement of Senator DeMint ................................................................................. 51 Statement of Senator Inouye .................................................................................. 1 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 2 Statement of Senator E. Benjamin Nelson ............................................................ 46 Statement of Senator Smith ................................................................................... 49 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 51 Statement of Senator Stevens ................................................................................ 1 Letter, dated February 1, 2005 to Hon. Ted Stevens from Jane T. Dana, Acting General Counsel, Department of Commerce .................................. 13 WITNESSES Bement, Jr., Dr. Arden L., Director, National Science Foundation ..................... 21 Prepared statement................................................................................................. 22 Cox, Dr. Daniel, Director, O.H. Hinsdale Wave Research Laboratory, Oregon State University ................................................................................................... 58 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 59 Frist, Hon. Bill, Senate Majority Leader, U.S. Senate ......................................... 2 Groat, Charles G., Director, U.S. Geological Survey ............................................ 31 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 32 Hansen, Roger A., Professor, University of Alaska Fairbanks; Director, Alaska Earthquake Information Center ......................................................................... 69 Prepared statement................................................................................................. 71 Kelly, Brigadier General John J., U.S. Air Force (Retired), Deputy Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) ................................................................. 14 Prepared statement of Vice Admiral Conrad Lautenbacher, Jr. .................. 16 Landrieu, Hon. Mary L., U.S. Senator from Louisiana ........................................ 5 Marburger, III, Dr. John H., Director, Office of Science and Technology Policy, Executive Office of the President ........................................................................ 9 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 10 Shea, Eileen L., Project Coordinator, East-West Center, Honolulu, Hawaii ...... 63 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 65 Letter with Attachments, dated February 9, 2005 to Senators Stevens and Inouye ..................................................................................................... 77 APPENDIX Boxer, Hon. Barbara, U.S. Senator from California, prepared statement .......... 83 Carlson, Doug, Honolulu, Hawaii, prepared statement ........................................ 83 Response to letter dated February 7, 2005 from Chairman Stevens and Co- Chairman Inouye to: Dr. Arden L. Bement, Jr. ................................................................................. 107 U.S. Geological Survey ..................................................................................... 111 Vice Admiral Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Jr. .................................................... 94 Response to written questions submitted to Dr. Arden L. Bement, Jr., by: Hon. Maria Cantwell ........................................................................................ 109 Hon. Mark Pryor ............................................................................................... 110 Response to written question submitted by Hon. Maria Cantwell to Roger A. Hansen ............................................................................................................. 118 Response to written questions submitted to Charles G. Groat by: Hon. Maria Cantwell ........................................................................................ 121 (III) VerDate 0ct 09 2002 13:59 Nov 17, 2005 Jkt 022845 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 S:\WPSHR\GPO\DOCS\22845.TXT JACK PsN: JACKF IV Page Response to written questions submitted to Charles G. Groat by—Continued Hon. Daniel K. Inouye ...................................................................................... 127 Hon. Mark Pryor ............................................................................................... 128 Response to written questions submitted to Brigadier General John J. Kelly by: Hon. Maria Cantwell ........................................................................................ 88 Hon. Daniel K. Inouye ...................................................................................... 85 Hon. Mark Pryor ............................................................................................... 91 Response to written questions submitted to Dr. John H. Marburger, III by: Hon. Maria Cantwell ........................................................................................ 101 Hon. John McCain ............................................................................................ 99 Hon. Mark Pryor ............................................................................................... 103 VerDate 0ct 09 2002 13:59 Nov 17, 2005 Jkt 022845 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 S:\WPSHR\GPO\DOCS\22845.TXT JACK PsN: JACKF U.S. TSUNAMI WARNING SYSTEM AND S. 50, ‘‘THE TSUNAMI PREPAREDNESS ACT OF 2005’’ WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2005 U.S. SENATE, COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION, Washington, DC. The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10 a.m. in room SR– 253, Russell Senate Office Building, Hon. Ted Stevens, Chairman of the Committee, presiding. OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. TED STEVENS, U.S. SENATOR FROM ALASKA The CHAIRMAN. Welcome to our first hearing. We’re honored to have Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and, soon, Senator Mary Landrieu here to testify on their recent trip to the countries im- pacted by the Indian Ocean tsunami. We do thank them for their willingness to come. In 1994, Senator Inouye and I, along with Senator Hatfield of Oregon, directed NOAA to develop the National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program. We had had a tsunami in 1968, after the earthquake. But this was in response to a small tsunami that im- pacted the West Coast. It reflected the concern we all shared about the frequency of tsunamis in the Pacific. This bill is intended to build on the current tsunami warning network that we have in the Pacific. I thank the witnesses for being here today. Let me yield to Senator Inouye, our Co-Chairman. STATEMENT OF HON. DANIEL K. INOUYE, U.S. SENATOR FROM HAWAII Senator INOUYE. I’d like to join our Chairman in welcoming our distinguished panel of witnesses, especially the Leader, as they tes- tify on a catastrophe that has left the world in shock,
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