Jack's Blog
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Posted by
Jack's Interns
on
June 11, 2010
This past week, as a part of my intern duties, I attended Capitol Tour training. It is the formal training done by the Capitol Visitor Center (CVC) to prepare interns and staff to give tours to constituents who come by their member’s office. It has been a tradition for many years, and makes the tour of the capitol personal for visitors. In the training we did a walk through of the Capitol main spots; the Rotunda, Old Senate Chamber, Statuary Hall, and the Old Supreme Court. We were also presented with lots of details and facts about the House and Senate offices, like the story of the caining of Senator Charles Sumner. During the training we were able to meet other interns from different offices throughout the Capitol, which is really cool. It’s really cool we are given the chance to share information with constituents and visitors about the Capitol. After learning so much about the Capitol, I’m very excited about giving my first tour. If you plan to be in the DC area call our office, 202-225-5831, to schedule a tour.
Posted by
Press Staff
on
June 11, 2010
Jack will appear on FOX Business News’ The Willis Report today at 5:15 p.m. (eastern) to discuss the oil spill in the Gulf and ongoing cleanup efforts, the national debt and his efforts to cut spending, as well as financial regulatory reform efforts in Washington. For more information, check your local listings or visit FoxBusiness.com. Would you like to recieve updates of when Jack will appear on television shows? If so, click here.
Posted by
Spokesbloggette
on
June 11, 2010
Update on NOAA's Efforts for the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, Gulf of Mexico June 11, 2010 - 10:30am NOAA provides coordinated scientific weather and biological response services to federal, state, and local organizations. NOAA continues to generate daily trajectories for the nearshore and offshore surface oil. In the nearshore zone, onshore (SE/SSE) winds are forecast to continue through the weekend at 10 knots or less. Persistent onshore winds have resulted in northward movement of the oil towards the Mississippi/Alabama barrier islands and westward movement along the Florida Panhandle. Coastal regions in Mississippi Sound west of Pensacola may continue to experience shoreline contacts throughout this forecast period. Persistent southeasterly winds are also resulting in movement of oil towards the Chandeleur Islands, Breton Sound, and the Mississippi Delta. These regions are also threatened by shoreline contacts within this 72-hour forecast period. Deepwater Horizon 72 hour Nearshore Trajectory Map. The 72 hour nearshore trajectory prepared on June 10th. Also available online is an updated Deepwater Horizon 24 Hour Nearshore Trajectory Map and an updated Deepwater Horizon 48 Hour Nearshore Trajectory Map. Offshore, satellite imagery analysis continues to indicate possible patches of sheen to the SE of the main slick. Scattered sheens and tar balls observed in these regions may be getting entrained into the northern edge of the large clockwise eddy (Eddy Franklin) that has pinched off the main Loop Current (LC). Trajectories indicate that some of these sheens may continue southward along the eastern edge of Eddy Franklin, whereas some may be getting entrained into a counterclockwise eddy to the NE of the main LC eddy. A USCG overflight off the west coast of Florida yesterday saw no oil. A NOAA overflight yesterday reported seeing only noncontiguous sheens 45 nm to the SSE of the source. Deepwater Horizon 72 Hour Offshore Trajectory Map. The 72 hour offshore forecast prepared on June 10. Also available is an updated Deepwater Horizon 24 Hour Offshore Trajectory Map and an updated Deepwater Horizon 48 Hour Offshore Trajectory Map. NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service made no changes to the boundaries of the fishery closure yesterday. The boundaries set on June 7 are still in effect. For more information, click here.
Posted by
Spokesbloggette
on
June 10, 2010
The MMS Deepwater Horizon FOIA and Congressional Request Reading Room have been published to the MMS website. The reading room will display public documents responsive to Congressional and related FOIA requests regarding Deepwater Horizon. As documents are added, this page will become a one-stop source of information for the interested public. Click here to be directed to the website.
Posted by
Spokesbloggette
on
June 10, 2010
Update on NOAA's Efforts for the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, Gulf of Mexico June 10, 2010 - 8:30am NOAA provides coordinated scientific weather and biological response services to federal, state, and local organizations. NOAA continues to generate daily trajectories for the nearshore and offshore surface oil. Onshore (SE) winds are forecast to continue through Friday at 10 knots or less. Persistent southwesterly winds last week resulted in northward movement of the slick towards the Mississippi/Alabama barrier islands and westward movement along the Florida Panhandle. Models show alongshore currents becoming more westward over the next few days, inhibiting further eastward movement of any oil. However, coastal regions between Horn Island, Alabama and Pensacola, Florida may continue to experience limited shoreline oiling throughout this 72-hour forecast period. To the west of the Mississippi delta, any remaining floating oil in this region could come ashore between Timbalier Bay and Southwest Pass. Deepwater Horizon 72 Hour Nearshore Trajectory Map. The 72 hour nearshore trajectory prepared June 9. Also available online is an updated Deepwater Horizon 24 Hour Nearshore Trajectory Map and an updated Deepwater Horizon 48 Hour Nearshore Trajectory Map. In the offshore zone, satellite imagery analysis continues to indicate patches of sheen to the SE of the main slick. Scattered sheens and tar balls observed in this region may be getting entrained into the northern edge of the large clockwise eddy that has pinched off the main Loop Current (LC). Trajectories indicate that some of these sheens may continue southward along the eastern edge of this main LC eddy, whereas some may be getting entrained into the counter-clockwise eddy to the NE of the main LC eddy. Deepwater Horizon 72 Hour Offshore Trajectory Map. The 72 hour offshore trajectory map prepared June 9. Also available is an updated Deepwater Horizon 24 Hour Offshore Trajectory Map and an updated Deepwater Horizon 48 Hour Offshore Trajectory Map. NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service made no changes to the boundaries of the fishery closure yesterday. The boundaries set on June 7 are still in effect. For more information, please this website.
Posted by
Spokesbloggette
on
June 09, 2010
Update on NOAA's Efforts for the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, Gulf of Mexico June 9, 2010 - 8:30am NOAA continues to generate daily trajectories for the nearshore and offshore surface oil. Onshore (SE/ESE) winds are forecast to continue through Friday at 10 knots or less. Persistent southwesterly winds over the last few days have resulted in northward movement of the slick towards the Mississippi/Alabama barrier islands and westward movement along the Florida Panhandle. Models show alongshore currents becoming more westward over the next few days, inhibiting further eastward movement. However, coastal regions between Dauphin Island and Freeport may continue to experience shoreline contacts throughout this forecast period. To the west of the Delta, any remaining floating oil in this region could come ashore between Timbalier Bay and Southwest Pass. Deepwater Horizon 72 Hour Nearshore Trajectory Map. The 72 hour nearshore trajectory map prepared June 8. Also available online is an updated Deepwater Horizon 24 Hour Nearshore Trajectory Map and an updated Deepwater Horizon 48 Hour Nearshore Trajectory Map. Satellite imagery analysis and overflight observations continue to indicate patches of sheen to the SE of the main slick. Scattered sheens and tar balls observed in these regions may be getting entrained into the northern edge of the large clockwise eddy (Eddy Franklin) that has pinched off the main Loop Current (LC). Trajectories indicate that some of these sheens may continue southward along the eastern edge of Eddy Franklin, whereas some may be getting entrained into the counter-clockwise eddy to the NE of the main LC eddy. Deepwater Horizon 72 Hour Offshore Trajectory Map. The 72 hour offshore trajectory forecast prepared on June 8. Also available online is an Deepwater Horizon 24 Hour Offshore Trajectory Map and an Deepwater Horizon 48 Hour Offshore Trajectory Map. NOAA has also previously issued a reference guide to NOAA’s Oil Trajectory Maps and a presentation about interpreting NOAA's Trajectory Maps. NOAA Fisheries made no changes to the boundaries of the fishery closure yesterday. The boundaries set on June 7 are still in effect. For more information, please visit this website. NOAA’s Office of Marine and Aviation Operations (OMAO) is supporting the response work in the Gulf with NOAA-owned ships and aircraft. Currently, NOAA has deployed two NOAA owned vessels in response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, NOAA Ship Thomas Jefferson and NOAA Ship Gordon Gunter. The NOAA Ship Thomas Jefferson left New Orleans, on Wednesday, June 2. A team of field researchers aboard the Thomas Jefferson from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, NOAA and UNH will conduct additional water sampling and acoustic imaging in the coastal area just off the Southwest Pass, near the wellhead and subsequently to the west. The Pascagoula, Mississippi-based NOAA Ship Gordon Gunter has just returned from systematically surveying the composition of the water column in the area of the spill, extending as far west as the Southwest Pass. Onboard, a team of scientists from NOAA, University of New Hampshire (UNH), and the University of Southern Mississippi and Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) used sophisticated surveillance methods, primarily acoustic (sonar) and sampling technologies, to define the shape and extent of underwater features that may be caused by the oil. OMAO’s P-3 aircraft, based at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida, flew a 9 hour Loop Current flight on Thursday in the vicinity of the Loop Current and north over the more concentrated areas of oil. The flight terminated in Baton Rouge. On Friday, Dr. Lubchenco and other VIPs flew a 3 hour mission over the oil and in the vicinity of the Loop Current, dropping expendables for further data. The next Loop Current flight is scheduled for this Thursday. OMAO’s King Air aircraft is currently based in New Orleans, Louisiana, flying Coastal Mapping mission. The mission flights started May 1, and are ongoing with a final mission date to be determined. OMAO has a Twin Otter aircraft currently based in Mobile, Alabama, instrumented with multi-spectral scanner to obtain information on oil density and thickness. This information is used to direct boom and skimmer operations, provide information for model validation and initialization, measure effectiveness of dispersant, and calibrate AVIRIS (Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer) sensor on NASA aircraft. Mission flights started May 1, and are currently scheduled through June 15. OMAO has a second Twin Otter aircraft currently based in Mobile, Alabama, used for synoptic surveillance (observations of marine mammals, whale, turtles) in the area of oil. The aircraft is also supporting NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service Office of Law Enforcement in their efforts to monitor the Fishery Closure Boundary, and NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration’s scientific support coordinator when required. The mission flights started April 27, and are ongoing with a final mission date to be determined.
Posted by
Spokesbloggette
on
June 08, 2010
Update on NOAA's Efforts for the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, Gulf of Mexico June 8, 2010 - 9:00am NOAA continues to generate daily trajectories for the nearshore and offshore surface oil. In the nearshore zone, light onshore (S/SW/WSW) winds are forecast to continue into the coming week at 10 knots or less. Persistent southerly winds have resulted in continued movement of the slick towards the Mississippi and Alabama barrier islands. The westerly component of winds has moved oil east along the Florida Panhandle. Trajectories indicate coastal regions between Dauphin Island, Louisiana and Freeport, Florida will continue to experience shoreline contacts throughout the 72-hour forecast period while threats to shorelines in Breton Sound, Chandeleur Sound, and the NE side of the Mississippi Delta are reduced. Any remaining floating oil to the west of the Delta could come ashore between Timbalier Bay and Southwest Pass. Deepwater Horizon 72 Hour Nearshore Trajectory Map. The 72 hour nearshore trajectory forecast prepared June 7. Also available online is an updated Deepwater Horizon 24 Hour Nearshore Trajectory Map and an updated Deepwater Horizon 48 Hour Nearshore Trajectory Map. Satellite imagery analysis and overflight observations continue to indicate patches of sheen to the SE of the main slick. Scattered sheens and tar balls observed in these regions may be getting entrained into the northern edge of the large clockwise eddy (Eddy Franklin) that has pinched off the main Loop Current (LC). Trajectories indicate that some of these sheens may continue southward along the eastern edge of Eddy Franklin, whereas some maybe getting entrained into the counter-clockwise eddy to the NE of the main LC eddy. An overflight yesterday in the Florida Strait saw no signs of oil and a second overflight off the west coast of Florida saw no oil. Deepwater Horizon 72 Hour Offshore Trajectory Map. The 72 hour offshore trajectory map prepared on June 7. Also available online is an updated Deepwater Horizon 24 Hour Offshore Trajectory Map and an updated Deepwater Horizon 48 Hour Offshore Trajectory Map. Yesterday, NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service modified the fishery closure in the Gulf of Mexico. The modified closure opens up 430 sq mi of the 565 sq mi area closed on June 5 based on trajectory data. The total federal fishery closure now measures about 32% of the Gulf of Mexico EEZ, compared to the June 5 closure comprising about 33% of the Gulf of Mexico EEZ. For more information, please visit: http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/deepwater_horizon_oil_spill.htm. NOAA’s Office of Marine and Aviation Operations (OMAO) is supporting the response work in the Gulf with NOAA-owned ships and aircraft. Currently, NOAA has deployed two NOAA owned vessels in response to the BP Deep Water Horizon (DWH) oil spill, NOAA Ship Thomas Jefferson and NOAA Ship Gordon Gunter. The NOAA Ship Thomas Jefferson left New Orleans, on Wednesday, June 2. A team of field researchers aboard the Thomas Jefferson from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, NOAA and UNH will conduct additional water sampling and acoustic imaging in the coastal area just off the Southwest Pass, near the wellhead and subsequently to the west. The Pascagoula, Mississippi-based NOAA Ship Gordon Gunter has just returned from systematically surveying the composition of the water column in the area of the spill, extending as far west as the Southwest Pass. Onboard, a team of scientists from NOAA, University of New Hampshire (UNH), and the University of Southern Mississippi and Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) used sophisticated surveillance methods, primarily acoustic (sonar) and sampling technologies, to define the shape and extent of underwater features that may be caused by the oil. OMAO’s P-3 aircraft, based at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida, flew a 9 hour Loop Current flight on Thursday in the vicinity of the Loop Current and north over the more concentrated areas of oil. The flight terminated in Baton Rouge. On Friday, Dr. Lubchenco and other VIPs flew a 3 hour mission over the oil and in the vicinity of the Loop Current, dropping expendables for further data. The next Loop Current flight is scheduled for this Thursday. OMAO’s King Air aircraft is currently based in New Orleans, Louisiana, flying Coastal Mapping mission. The mission flights started May 1, and are ongoing with a final mission date to be determined. OMAO has a Twin Otter aircraft currently based in Mobile, Alabama, instrumented with multi-spectral scanner to obtain information on oil density and thickness. This information is used to direct boom and skimmer operations, provide information for model validation and initialization, measure effectiveness of dispersant, and calibrate AVIRIS (Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer) sensor on NASA aircraft. Mission flights started May 1, and are currently scheduled through June 15. OMAO has a second Twin Otter aircraft currently based in Mobile, Alabama, used for synoptic surveillance (observations of marine mammals, whale, turtles) in the area of oil. The aircraft is also supporting NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service Office of Law Enforcement NMFS OLE in their efforts to monitor the Fishery Closure Boundary, and NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration’s scientific support coordinator when required. The mission flights started April 27, and are ongoing with a final mission date to be determined.
Posted by
Spokesbloggette
on
June 07, 2010
Update on NOAA's Efforts for the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, Gulf of Mexico June 7, 2010 - 9:00am Persistent southerly winds have resulted in northward movement of the slick towards the Mississippi/Alabama barrier islands. The westerly component of winds and currents has also resulted in alongshore movement along the Florida Panhandle. Trajectories indicate coastal regions between Dauphin Island and Freeport will continue to experience shoreline contacts throughout the current 72-hour forecast period. The threat to shorelines in Breton Sound, Chandeleur Sound, and the NE side of the Delta is reduced. To the west of the Delta, any remaining floating oil in this region could come ashore between Timbalier Bay and SW Pass. The current 72 hour nearshore trajectory is provided below. Deepwater Horizon 72 Hour Nearshore Trajectory Map. The 72 hour nearshore trajectory forecast prepared on June 6. Also available online is an updated Deepwater Horizon 24 Hour Nearshore Trajectory Map and an updated Deepwater Horizon 48 Hour Nearshore Trajectory Map. Satellite imagery analysis and overflight observations continue to indicate bands of sheen to the SE of the main slick. Yesterday's overflight encountered the feature at a lesser concentration. Scattered sheens and tar balls observed in these regions are being entrained into the northern edge of the large clockwise eddy (Eddy Franklin) that has pinched off the main Loop Current (LC). Trajectories indicate that some of these sheens may continue southward along the eastern edge of Eddy Franklin, whereas some are being entrained into the counter-clockwise eddy to the NE of the main LC eddy. Deepwater Horizon 72 Hour Offshore Trajectory Map. The 72 hour offshore trajectory forecast prepared on June 6. Also available online is an updated Deepwater Horizon 24 Hour Offshore Trajectory Map and an updated Deepwater Horizon 48 Hour Offshore Trajectory Map.
Posted by
Spokesbloggette
on
June 05, 2010
Update on NOAA's Efforts for the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, Gulf of Mexico June 5, 2010 - 8:30am Onshore winds are expected to continue moving oil toward shorelines in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and the panhandle of Florida. More oil was reported on Grand Isle beach, along with oiled animals and debris. NOAA's updated 24, 48, and 72 hour nearhore and offshore oil spill trajectories are available here. Yesterday, NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service modified the fishery closure in the Gulf of Mexico. The new closure measures about 32% of the Gulf of Mexico EEZ, compared to the June 2 closure comprising about 37% of the GOM EEZ. For more information, click here. NOAA’s Damage Assessment Remediation and Restoration Program is conducting a Natural Resource Damage Assessment. The focus currently is to assemble existing data on resources and their habitats and collect baseline (pre-spill impact) data. Data on oiled resources and habitats are also being collected.
Posted by
Spokesblogger
on
June 04, 2010
While a job created in this economy is good news, a closer look at today's jobs report reveals the alarming truth that government jobs account for 9 of every 10 jobs created last month. Economist Diana Furchtgott-Roth provided this analysis:
“It might seem like good news that the economy added 431,000 jobs in May and that the unemployment rate decreased from 9.9% to 9.7%, but a closer look at the Labor Department jobs report proves otherwise. This is a shocking jobs report, especially after the billions of dollars Congress has spent on different stimulus programs. “Of the 431,000 jobs created, only 41,000 were in the private sector, due to massive temporary Census Bureau hiring of primarily low-paying jobs. That’s not a typo—only 41,000 private sector jobs were created in May. The unemployment rate dipped ... because the labor force participation rate declined to 65% from 65.2% in April, as the civilian labor force actually shrank by 322,000. The African American and teen unemployment rates rose by a full percentage point each, the African American rate to 16.5% and the teen unemployment rate to 26.4%. The unemployment rate of unskilled adults rose to 15%. In addition, the existing unemployed aren’t finding jobs either—46% of those out of work have been jobless for 6 months or longer, a record since BLS began tracking the data in 1948. “The job market clearly is not improving, and Congress needs to take a different tack, such as making the current tax rates permanent and cutting spending.”To read the full analysis, click here. As Jack has said before, if government spending was the way out of our economic crisis, we'd be in great shape. But it's not. It's time to stop the spending and start providing the job creation sector with the certainty and the tools it needs to get our economy moving again. |
St. Simons Island
Valdosta State University
Broxton Rocks
Jekyll Island
