Ken Calvert: “Mr. Chairman, this bill appropriates $70 million for NOAA's interannual and seasonal climate and global change research…”

“Mr. Chairman, this bill appropriates $70 million for NOAA's interannual and seasonal climate and global change research program, a $2 million increase over the current level, but at $4.9 million below the request. Concerns have been expressed that the committee's action did not include funding to continue the tropical ocean global atmosphere observing system known as TOGA. The TOGA observing system funds buoys across the equatorial Pacific to perform measurements that have proven invaluable to El Nino researchers. Scientists performing this research are concerned that the bill would prevent NOAA from continuing this critical program. Can the chairman assure us that the $4.9 million funding is included in this bill for the TOGA array?”