>> mr. tonko, i would just add we completely agree with that. i thought your question was directed more towards alternative data streams. i endorse my colleague's comments. >> okay, thank you. mr. powner, you have seen a lot of programs come and go. do you have a view on the current jpss program manager and team that you would be willing to share? >> yeah, i think there's strong program management there. we have seen many program managers over the years testifying before this committee, and clearly when you look at where the program is now, it's much better positioned than where it's been in the past. and when you look at the aggressive mitigation of risk, one of the key things to highlight the $1.7 billion funding gap to get down to the cap on the program is being aggressively worked by the program. those plans make sense right now. obviously, we need to see more details, but i think the aggressive management of risk has been where we want it. >> thank you. thank you very much. >> thank you, mr. tonko. now i recognize my colleague from maryland,

i now recognize mr. tonko. >> thank you, mr. chairman. there will be a gap in data in between the end of the productive life and the time that gpss 1 can be launched and data brought online. it may not even last five years for which we are look. as a result, we need a clear plan for how to cope with the data gap, so to speak. a gap that may start sooner rather than later. dr. sullivan, what is noaa's plan for filling that gap and who have you assigned to manage the effort to identify other data sources and ensure that the data we can get will work seemlessly in our weather prediction models? >> thank you, mr. tonko, for that question. our mission to deliver life and property-protecting forecasts is one we take extremely seriously. no one is more concerned about this gap than my colleagues and i at noaa do. you have asked the most common question we receive from congress and stake holders. i ask myself and if i had a silver bullet answer to magically fix it, i assure you i would give it to you. there's no easy substitute on orbit, just go

now, i recognize mr. tonko, by good friend from new york. >> thank you. and thank you to our witnesses. this committee has been holding hearings to ask critical questions of these satellite programs since at least 2003. we have seen cycles of disaster as when we witnessed the jpss in its prior imposed skies double in costs before the entire enterprise was redesigned and rebaselined. we have witnessed herculean efforts to restructure acquisition plans, to get problems under control. frankly, despite these efforts, we have not had much to cheer about with jpss, and even gozar has been a source of concern. however, my sense is that both of these programs are on sustainable paths. that said, it appears an auditor at gao could build a pretty good 20-year career out of simply tracking the weather satellite program, and that is a sorry state of affairs. the group that sits before us today is not responsible for the mess. rather we are counting on them to get us out of a mess they inherited. it is our job to probe the answers they offer, assess whether the progra

mr. tonko: thank you, madam chair.thank my colleagues, representative bishop, representative hirono and representative welch, for offering this amendment with me. the amendment is simple and straightforward. it increases funding for two important state energy efficiency programs in the energy efficiency and renewable energy accounts at the department of energy. the amendment would increase spending for the weatherization assistance program. weatherization is the largest residential efficientsy -- efficiency program in our nation. weatherization reduces energy costs for low income families and the elderly and the disabled. it creates jobs, invests in local businesses and advances technology. state-of-the-art technology. weatherizing homes under this program saves $437 in annual utility bills for the average homeowner. these energy savings insulate families from rising energy costs by permanently lowering household energy demand for both heating and cooling. our amendment also restores funding to the state energy program

mr. tonko: thank you very much, mr. speaker. i rise in opposition to h.r. 4480, which i heard my good friend and colleague from massachusetts, representative markey, refer to as the deja preview act. any student of history will tell you congress wasn't designed to be efficient but deliberately celebrating that design of congress with yet another partisan, short-sighted piece of legislation that moves united states energy policy backwards is truly disappointing. h r. 4480 leave ours energy policy stuck somewhere in the 1950's. while other nations are making serious investments to diversify their energy supplies, support new clean energy businesses and become less to dependent on traditional fossil fuel, we are marching in place. h r. 4480, with its gag order on renewables and energy efficiency, is another missed opportunity and a waste of time. h.r. 4480 is nothing more than a wish lisfor big oil companies at a time when these companies are making record profits on the backs of america's taxpayers and her middle class. our energy

mr. tonko: we can't afford to kick the can down the road again.ing the recent recession, nine million jobs were lost in the construction sector. there's still about 1.4 million unemployed construction workers, but re-authorizing a long-term highway bill as encouraged by the president would begin to fix this problem. in my district alone, 25 years ago on april 5 of 1987, a freeway bridge collapsed in new york. three men died returning from a bowling tournament, a mother and daughter heading to a baby shower, two shriners, a married couple driving to texas and a truck driver heading to wisconsin. the cause was failure to properly maintain the bridge. no price can be put on the lives that were suddenly ended that very tragic day. but their memories should serve as a stark reminder, a stark reminder that our failure here has real, painful, life-taking consequences. let's move forward and invest in america's infrastructure, to put construction workers back on the job, to help businesses grow and to keep our drivers and truck remembers safe. with that,