On August 11, 2005 PMEL hosted members of 4 congressional staffs on a half-day visit to the Laboratory. Members of Congress being represented are: Senators Wyden (OR), Sununu (NH) and Salazar(CO) and Representative Udall (CO). This visit featured lively discussions of the lab's: tropical climate, ocean carbon, tsunami modeling and observing, fisheries oceanography/climate and ecosystems, and hydrothermal vents/ocean exploration programs. Staff members readily asked scientists numerous, well-thought out questions. Chris Meinig, PMEL Lead Engineer took the group on a short walking tour to get a close up view of the fixed buoys of the tsunami, TAO, and CO₂ programs and an ARGO float, as well as improved buoy designs under development. Demonstrations comparing tsunami models with observed data demonstrated the value of NOAA's research that is being transitioned to NOAA operations today. The visit was an opportunity to make an increasing number of Congressional staff aware of the value and benefits of NOAA research.