Long Branch, NJ --- U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), ranking Democrat on the House Fisheries Conservation, Wildlife and Oceans Subcommittee, today announced plans to introduce legislation next month that would establish an Atlantic Tsunami Warning Center similar to the one that already exists for the Pacific Ocean.

The announcement comes in response to the tragic tsunami in the Indian Ocean that has killed more than 100,000 people. Currently, only the Pacific Ocean has a warning system in place in Hawaii through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). NOAA's Pacific warning network is comprised of hundreds of seismic stations worldwide, coastal tide gauges and sophisticated Deep-ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunamis (DART) buoys in the Pacific Ocean that are capable of detecting a centimeter's difference in ocean height.

"The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center provides crucial oceanic information that protects millions of Americans along the west coast," Pallone said. "This past week, the world learned the devastation tsunamis leave in their path. Unfortunately, some of this devastation could have been prevented had proper warning equipment been in place in the Indian Ocean to alert surrounding nations of the danger. As a result of this tragedy, there is simply no excuse for the United States not to replicate its efforts in the Pacific Ocean by creating a similar warning center for the Atlantic Ocean."

Pallone's legislation will provide NOAA the necessary federal funds to create the Atlantic Tsunami Warning Center. The New Jersey congressman said the basic framework of a warning system for the Atlantic Ocean is already in place, with some buoys and other research equipment stationed in various regions of the ocean. However, more equipment is needed and the information generated by this equipment is not coordinated in one place. Instead, it's funneled through three different federal agencies: NOAA, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

"Today, we have some of the necessary equipment in place but we need additional federal funds to develop a large, sophisticated network and a warning center that can coordinate all the information," Pallone said.

Earlier this year, the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy's final report called for a plan to transfer all the information collected by these federal agencies into one Integrated Ocean Observing System, with NOAA serving as the lead agency. President Bush echoed these findings in his U.S. Ocean Action Plan released on December 17 by calling for the building of a Global Earth Observation Network. Pallone's subcommittee has jurisdiction over the NOAA and the our nation's oceans policy, and he hopes

Pallone's subcommittee has jurisdiction over both NOAA and the oceans, and the New Jersey congressman today said he hopes the subcommittee will hold hearings over the next couple of months to explore each of these recommendations.

As the chairman of the Congressional Coastal Caucus, Pallone also is organizing a congressional briefing next week with representatives of NOAA and USGS to educate congressional staffers about the agencies work in gathering the best oceanic information.

This week, the New Jersey congressman said he would also introduce legislation to provide humanitarian aid and relief to the victims of the tragedy, as well as funding for an advanced early warning system for the Indian Ocean. Pallone also praised an announcement yesterday by the Indian government of its intentions to commit $27 million over the next three years to fund their own early warning system.

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