{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://jones.house.gov/press-release/jones-defends-enc-data-buoy", "JONES DEFENDS ENC DATA BUOY", "2013-11-07", "2013", "2013-11", "Republican", "House", "NC", "Walter Jones", "J000255", "jones.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 Today, Congressman Walter B. Jones (NC-3) spoke out in defense of a widely-used data buoy located off the coast of Jacksonville, North Carolina, that is in danger of being removed due to a lack of maintenance funding.\u00a0 Buoy 41036 provides meteorological and oceanographic data to the National Weather Service, U.S. Coast Guard, Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, and local fishermen and boaters.\u00a0 According to estimates by popular North Carolina fishing web site www.FryingPanTower.com, the buoy\u2019s information is accessed as many as 32 million times each year.\u00a0\nThe Coastal Ocean Research and Monitoring Program (CORMP) at the University of North Carolina Wilmington facilitated the original deployment of buoy 41036 in 2005 and has since provided financial support to maintain the buoy.\u00a0 However, CORMP is no longer able to provide the necessary funds after a recent rise in the cost of maintenance \u2013 from 40 thousand to 60 thousand dollars annually.\u00a0 In a letter to National Weather Service Director Dr. Louis W. Uccellini, Congressman Jones requested a meeting to discuss all options for allowing the buoy to remain in its current location.\u00a0\n\u201cThis buoy regularly provides critical information to a wide variety of Eastern North Carolinians,\u201d said Congressman Jones.\u00a0 \u201cThe Marine Corps uses data from the buoy for training activities and flight planning, while fishermen depend on it for information about current sea conditions.\u00a0 I am committed to finding an alternative funding solution that will allow residents of Eastern North Carolina to continue to benefit from the crucial services provided by this buoy.\u201d \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\nThe full text of the letter is available at the link below.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["http://jones.house.gov/press-release/jones-defends-enc-data-buoy"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.0858788155019283, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}