Science, State, Justice, Commerce, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2007

SCIENCE, STATE, JUSTICE, COMMERCE, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2007

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Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself 2 minutes.

Mr. Chairman, my amendment would provide $1 million for the Secretary of Commerce to contract with the National Academy of Sciences for the purpose of preparing a study on which U.S. coastal population centers are most at risk from the impacts of sea level rise due to global warming. These impacts could include inundation, coastal flooding, more intense storms, such as hurricanes, saline intrusion and a host of other damaging effects.

Last November, scientists at Princeton University released a report that found that under a worst case global warming scenario, more than 3 percent of my home State of New Jersey could be underwater by the end of the century. A full 9 percent of the State would be subject to constant coastal flooding, and so-called 100-year storms would occur every 5 years.

But, of course, New Jersey is by no means the only area facing this threat. More than half of the U.S. population lives within 50 miles of an ocean, many in cities that are at or just above sea level. What seems like a small rise in sea level, just a foot or two, could have dramatic effects on the magnitude of storm surges or other flooding events, causing catastrophic and costly damage in some of our largest cities, including New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Seattle and Boston.

I think a mere $1 million offset from the administrative expenses of the Department of Commerce is but a small price to pay for us to get a better idea of what coastal areas would be most affected by sea level rise due to global warming.

And I would point out, Mr. Chairman, just look at what happened last week in Washington, D.C. I heard on the radio this morning that we actually faced here what is called a 300-year storm. So, in fact, what needs to be done is that cities around the country need to be able to prepare for this.

We had a forum on global warming in my district a few weeks ago. A number of the mayors came there. They reacted to some of the information that is out there and are already preparing plans. So this is just really a preventative measure that I think would be really crucial for a lot of our coastal districts around the country, including the city of Washington, D.C.

I would ask my colleagues whose districts would be affected by sea level rise and others from around the country, who will also see impacts from global warming, to join me in voting to fund this small but critical study.

Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

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