Political Quotes

“the Weather Service Modernization Act, which was passed in 1992, established procedures for the modernization of the National Weather Service. A lot of us here today, the gentleman from Indiana [Mr. Roemer] included, and the gentleman from Tennessee [Mr. Wamp] as well, have fought long and hard to make sure that our areas of the country were included in that modernization plan. There were two points that we raised consistently about this modernization act. One was the requirement that no Weather Service office can be closed or automated without a certification that the closure would not result in degradation of service to the affected area. Let me repeat that in lay language. We do not want Weather Service offices closed without a certification that there is no degradation of service there. So as we proceed with the modernization plan, we are proceeding with a network of NEXRAD radars that will cover the entire country. A lot of us have talked about our concerns about the NEXRAD radars, but we have not talked as much about the closure of the Weather Service offices. Mr. Chairman, I support the modernization plan, but I think there is a balance between no certification at all, which the committee bill stands for, and a streamlined certification process.”