[StBernard] Landrieu Statement on Reassignment of Hurricane Center Director

[Westley Annis]

Landrieu Statement on Reassignment

of Hurricane Center Director

 

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Mary L. Landrieu, D-La., today released the
following statement regarding the reassignment of National Hurricane Center
Director Bill Proenza.  The center's Deputy Director, Ed Rappaport, has been
named Acting Director.

Director Proenza came under fire in recent weeks for drawing national
attention to the imminent failure of QuikSCAT, a critical hurricane tracking
and forecasting satellite.  Sen. Landrieu has introduced legislation, S.
1509, to replace the aging satellite, which is already more than five years
past its intended length of service.  The Senate Commerce Committee is
expected to discuss the bill as part of a hearing on weather satellites this
Wednesday.

Sen. Landrieu said:

"The American people look to the government to provide accurate warnings of
impending disaster, and expect every tool necessary to do the job right to
be made available to the forecasters.  NOAA is embarrassingly far behind in
ensuring that QuikSCAT remains part of that arsenal, and Director Proenza
was right to expose their failures to public scrutiny as higher-ups looked
the other way.

"Covering up problems doesn't do anything to solve them, and this
Administration has made silencing the truth an all-too-often response to its
own weaknesses.  There is no excuse for putting bureaucratic office politics
ahead of the safety of the American people.  Whether Director Proenza was
directly reassigned or simply 'forced out,' perhaps one day NOAA will
present an appropriate justification for their action.  However, sounding
the alarm on QuikSCAT is not justification enough.  

"Ed Rappaport is well-respected in the forecasting community and has built a
strong reputation over his years of service.  I look forward to working with
him as we fight for the resources the NHC needs to produce the best
forecasts possible."

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