Funding for Volcano Observation in Question

The Buzz: Alaska volcano erupts in Congress; shades of the Blues Brothers - Kansas City Star

Sen. Lisa Murkowski says she’ll introduce legislation establishing funding for the Alaska Volcano Observatory — just one month after fellow Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana criticized the Obama stimulus bill for containing spending for volcano monitoring.

The multiple eruptions of Alaska’s Mount Redoubt underscores the need for volcano observation, Murkowski said. She thinks $15 million a year ought to do it.

“Recently there were some comments made about federal spending for volcano monitoring being wasteful,” Murkowski said. “I can assure you that monitoring volcanoes is critically important to the nation and especially to my home state of Alaska.”

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