Administration announces plan for expanded tsunami warning system

Bush administration officials on Friday announced plans for an expansion of the U.S. tsunami detection and warning capabilities.

The plan, which will cost $37.5 million over the next two years, "will enable enhanced monitoring, detection, warning and communications," Bush science adviser John Marburger said in a statement.

The initial investment is to deploy 32 advanced technology buoys so the system can be fully operational by 2007.

House Science Committee Chairman Sherwood Boehlert, R-N.Y., said he was "especially pleased [with] efforts to increase education and outreach." Bart Gordon of Tennessee, the committee's ranking Democrat, however, said that "a truly comprehensive system should be about more than technical hardware.

Democratic Sen. Joseph Liebermann, D-Conn., praised the administration's effort and said legislation he plans to introduce calls for including the international community in the effort. And Rep. Vernon Ehlers, R-Mich., pledged to secure financial support for the plan.