Recognizing the work and accomplishments of Mr. Britt "Max" Mayfield, Director of the National Hurricane Center's Tropical Prediction Center upon his retirement.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise also in support of House Resolution 72, recognizing the incredible work and the accomplishments of Mr. Max Mayfield, the director of the National Hurricane Center, the Tropical Protection Center, again, of the National Hurricane Center, which is located in Miami, Florida. He has recently retired. I want to also commend my colleague from Florida (Mr. Mahoney) for introducing this timely and very good resolution.

As a Floridian, I am keenly aware, Mr. Speaker, of the wrath that Mother Nature can throw our way when she is so inclined to do so, especially when it comes to hurricanes. We all recall that, for example, in a time of just 2 years, 2 short years, Florida had eight hurricanes that actually hit and made landfall on the State of Florida.

Mr. Mayfield has worked and strived to improve the warning lead times, to increase the understanding of the track of where the hurricanes are going, and also particularly the intensity of those hurricanes.

Mr. Speaker, one of the things that always struck me was that, as these storms were coming our way, coming towards the United States, Director Mayfield would actually personally get on the phone. This was not something that was required by his job. He would pick up the phone and call Governors and call mayors and tell them, Hey, this is a real storm. It is coming your way. Get ready. I don't see that you are ready enough. Get ready. And he would make sure that those governments were prepared and evacuating the people that they needed to evacuate to make sure that the people were safe.

He and his staff have helped protect the lives and the property of millions of people in our country and even of other countries, countries throughout the Caribbean.

He is the epitome of a dedicated public servant, Mr. Speaker. He has received many awards, including in 2005 he received the Presidential Rank Award for Meritorious Service from President George W. Bush.

After more than 30 years of distinguished service to weather forecasting and hurricane forecasting, Mr. Max Mayfield retired in January of 2007. I know that the residents of south Florida and of the entire country and all the Caribbean will miss his calm, clear voice when those hurricanes are threatening our shores. His retirement marks the end of an exceptional career, and his successors at the National Hurricane Center will clearly have very large shoes to fill as Max and his wife Linda now prepare to spend a little bit of time, hopefully a lot of time, with their families, because, again, Max has been on call 24/7, and we are used to seeing him on TV, and one always wondered does that man ever sleep? The answer is, Mr. Speaker, that when there was a storm coming, no, he and his staff did not sleep. Well, now he is going to be spend a little more time with his wife Linda and his family.

I know that my colleagues will join this Congress in wishing both him and his wife and his family all the best. We know they will enjoy their time together.

But on a personal note I just want to say, Max, thank you for a life well

lived. Thank you for a job well done. Millions of people are grateful for your sacrifice, for your hard work. We are indebted to you. Thank you, my friend. Enjoy your retirement. But we will miss you.

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

Mr. Speaker, I will now yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Lincoln Diaz-Balart).

Mr. Speaker, I would now like to yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Ehlers).

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 30 seconds.

We do a lot of important work in Congress, and we pass a lot of good resolutions for good people, but rarely can you actually say that here is a person who has saved thousands upon thousands upon thousands of lives in his work. He is truly a fine, wonderful public servant, and it is wonderful to be able to have the opportunity to now support and vote on this fine resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution honoring Max Mayfield, former director of NOAA's National Hurricane Center.

In less than 2 years, my home State of Florida suffered damage from four tropical storms and eight hurricanes. Likewise, on August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina made landfall near New Orleans, devastating the gulf coast region of the United States. In the days that followed, we learned that Katrina had left nearly 80 percent of the Crescent City under water, caused an immeasurable amount of damage, displaced thousands of families and resulted in the deaths of nearly 1,500 people.

While hurricanes cannot be prevented, accurate storm forecasting has helped millions of people prepare for them and prepare for evacuation. The individual responsible for providing the public with these accurate and easy-to-understand forecasts was Mr. Mayfield, who retired from the National Hurricane Center on January 3 of this year.

Born in Oklahoma, Mr. Mayfield began his forecasting career with the Air Force in 1970 after graduating from the University of Oklahoma with a degree in mathematics. In 1972, he received his master's degree in meteorology from Florida State University.

Mr. Mayfield joined the National Weather Service as a satellite meteorologist in Miami. During his 34-year career at the center, Mr. Mayfield served as a senior forecaster, deputy director and then director.

Mr. Mayfield has received numerous awards for his work in the field of meteorology. In 1996, the American Meteorological Society presented him with the Francis W. Reichelderfer Award for exemplary performance as coordinator of the National Hurricane Center's hurricane preparedness training for emergency preparedness officials and the general public.

He has also received an Outstanding Achievement Award at the 2000 National Hurricane Conference for developing and expanding educational opportunities for the State and local emergency management officials.

In addition, the U.S. Department of Commerce has recognized Mr. Mayfield with gold medals for his work during hurricanes Andrew, Isabel, and a silver medal during Hurricane Gilbert.

Maybe more important than the many awards, however, are the countless lives that have been saved by the work of Mr. Mayfield and his team at the National Hurricane Center. The Nation is truly grateful to Mr. Mayfield; his wife, Linda; for a lifetime of love and dedication to the National Hurricane Center, and the people in this great country are thankful for his service.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank Chairman Gordon and his staff and my colleagues who have helped me put together this resolution and to honor Mr. Mayfield.

I would just like to conclude by saying that we wish Mr. Mayfield a wonderful retirement with his wife Linda and their three kids. And, again, I would like to congratulate him for his exemplary service and his distinguished career at the National Weather Service and National Hurricane Center. The Nation is going to miss him.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Mr. Britt ``Max'' Mayfield on an exemplary career of service to his fellow citizens, and to wish him well in his much-deserved retirement.

In his 34 years of service to the Nation, Max Mayfield has personified the dedication and excellence that make the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Weather Service one of the crown jewels of the Federal Government.

Since he began forecasting weather for the Air Force in 1970 and over more than three decades with the National Weather Service, Max has helped push forward the science of forecasting to help make our Nation a safer place. But just making better forecasts has never been enough for Max, because a forecast does no good if no one hears it. Mr. Mayfield has also dedicated his career to making sure that his always- improving forecasts got out quickly, as quickly as possible, to the people who need them. He understands not only the science of forecasting hurricanes, but the science of communication.

There is no doubt in my mind that Max Mayfield's exemplary efforts and those of his hardworking staff at the National Hurricane Center's Tropical Prediction Center have helped communities prepare for impending disasters and have saved lives in communities around the country and around the world.

I am not alone in my esteem for Mr. Mayfield. The American Meteorology Society, the National Association of Government Communicators, ABC Television, the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, the National Hurricane Conference, the Department of Commerce, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and President George W. Bush have all presented Max with formal awards for his outstanding achievements and service to his craft and to society. And those are just the formal awards. They do not include the many personal ``thank yous'' that he has received from the very people he has spent his life serving, and from the people whose lives he has helped save.

My colleagues, in Congress we think we are busy, and, indeed, we are. But I understand that in the thick of storm season, Mr. Mayfield sometimes did more than 100 interviews in 1 day. Now, that is busy. I am certain he is looking forward to retirement.

I am pleased to express my deepest gratitude to Max Mayfield and to his endlessly supportive family for sharing him with us for this time.

Max, God bless you and the work you have done. I wish you calm weather and smooth sailing in your retirement.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Res. 72, which honors Dr. Britt ``Max'' Mayfield upon his retirement from his position as the Director of the National Hurricane Center. This resolution recognizes his leadership at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Tropical Prediction Center.

Although we continue to mourn the loss of the thousands of victims who perished in Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath, because of Max Mayfield's cool head and steady hand the lives of the countless thousands were saved since they were able to heed Dr. Mayfield's warnings and evacuate the area. His accurate forecasts and persistent warnings have hundreds of thousands of lives over the last three decades and it is fitting that we honor him today.

Dr. Mayfield began working at the National Hurricane Center 34 years ago as an intern. Through hard work and demonstrated performance, Max Mayfield was promoted through the ranks of the National Hurricane Center: forecaster, senior forecaster, deputy director, and finally, director.

His extensive work in the field of meteorology has earned him numerous awards. In 1996, the American Meteorological Society honored him for his outstanding performance as coordinator of the National Hurricane Center's hurricane preparedness training. In 2000, he received an Outstanding Achievement Award for his work in the development and expansion of educational opportunities for state and local emergency management officials. Dr. Mayfield has also been recognized by the U.S. Department of Commerce with Gold and Silver Medals for his work during some of this nation's most destructive hurricanes.

Dr. Mayfield retired one month ago, and we will surely miss his outstanding service and leadership at the National Hurricane Center. I thank the gentleman from Florida, Mr. Mahoney, for introducing this legislation to honor Dr. Max Mayfield for his dedication to meteorology and his 34 year career of distinguished service to NOAA and our nation. For these reasons, I strongly support H. Res. 72 and urge all members to do likewise.

Mr. Speaker, I have got some very important visitors in my office at this time, but I mentioned to them, and I know they understand, that I wanted to come down to speak a minute on someone who has long been south Florida's treasure and really became the national treasure, Max Mayfield, who has saved countless lives.

And with his demeanor and professionalism even in those extraordinarily tense moments, Mr. Speaker, when storms are approaching or have arrived, Max was that great sea of tranquility that helped our communities wherever those storms were approaching through those tense moments. And he is really an extraordinary human being with a wonderful team. So my heart goes out to that team that he helped build and is still there doing great work.

And to Max, as he begins this new chapter in his life, Godspeed, with our profound gratitude for having helped so many for so many years with your very important work, Max Mayfield.