Political Quotes

“the Commerce, Justice, State Appropriations bill contains a number of provisions of importance to the people of my district. Two National Weather Service (NWS) programs in particular are of critical importance: the funding level for the Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System (AWIPS) Build 5, and the reductions in base operations dollars. I would ask that the Members of the conference committee support these critical programs during conference. AWIPS is a key component of the National Weather Service multiyear, multi-billion dollar modernization effort. AWIPS capabilities have enabled NWS forecasters throughout the country to provide more timely, accurate forecasts and warnings to the American people. The capability of this new technology was most recently demonstrated during the May tornado outbreak in Oklahoma and Kansas. The investment of new technology, as represented by AWIPS, has saved lives. Funding AWIPS Build 5 is crucial to the continuing success of NWS modernization. Longer lead times for severe weather warnings is but one example of the many benefits of the Build 5 program. An increase of as little as 4 minutes of lead time can mean the difference between life and death for people in the path of a tornado.”