House Passes Tsunami Warning and Super Computing Bills
(Washington, DC) - Today, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 5309 and H.R. 2495.
H.R. 5309 – The Tsunami Warning, Education, and Research Act of 2014 - reauthorizes and strengthens the tsunami detection, forecast, warning, research, and mitigation program of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Ranking Member of the Environment Subcommittee, Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR), author of H.R. 5309, said of her legislation, “So much of our ability to prepare, respond, and recover from a tsunami will depend on awareness, planning, and mobilization at the local level. From the federal agencies all the way down to local emergency managers, we all agree that adequately preparing communities across the country for the threat of natural disasters is of vital importance to the future of this country. The Tsunami Warning, Education, and Research Act of 2014 is an important step toward making sure our coastal communities are ready to face the dangers posed by tsunami threats.”
She continued, “Maritime commercial activities, vibrant tourist industries, and more than 120 million Americans are all parts of the rich coastal U.S. economy–an economy that contributed close to half of the entire U.S. GDP in 2011. The commercial fishing industry alone supports around a million jobs, and the international trade associated with coastal and marine fisheries contributes close to 70 billion dollars annually to the U.S. economy. Likewise, more than 13 million Americans work at our commercial ports and they help to move the more than one trillion dollars worth of goods and products to the shelves of our local stores. These examples show that investing in the resiliency of coastal communities is important to the economic health of not just those regions, but to the Nation as a whole. Ensuring that these coastal communities, big and small, have the resources and knowledge necessary to protect these critical assets from the threat of tsunami and be prepared should one occur, is simply good and prudent policy. And because this body collectively provides assistance when there is a natural disaster, like Superstorm Sandy, for example, planning and preparation to avoid or minimize damage and destruction is important for all of us - whether or not we represent a coastal district.”
H.R. 2495 – The American Super Computing Leadership Act - amends the Department of Energy High-End Computing Revitalization Act of 2004 to improve the high-end computing research and development program of the Department of Energy, and for other purposes.
Ms. Bonamici said, “This bipartisan bill would authorize an exascale computing program to promote the development of the next generation of the fastest computers in the world right here in the United States. The bill would also help ensure that we develop the software and algorithms that allow us to make the best use of these computers. The capabilities made possible by these investments would enable our best and brightest scientists to gain new insights into societal concerns ranging from Alzheimer’s disease to climate change. I would like to compliment the sponsors of this legislation, Mr. Hultgren and Mr. Swalwell for their efforts to craft the bipartisan bill we have before us today.”
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