Weatherizing Infrastructure in the North and Terrorism Emergency Readiness Act of 2019

Floor Speech

I rise today in support of H.R. 3669, the Weatherizing Infrastructure in the North and Terrorism Emergency Readiness Act--the WINTER Act--of 2019.

This legislation seeks to better position the United States government and relevant State, local, and private sector agencies to be able to respond to a terrorist attack during an extreme cold weather event.

An extreme weather event, such as a polar vortex, has the potential to severely impact our daily lives, damage our critical infrastructure, and leave America incredibly vulnerable to terrorist attack.

H.R. 3669 requires the Secretary of Homeland Security to develop and conduct an exercise to respond to terrorism during extreme weather events.

The bill also requires the Secretary to produce an after-action report to Congress, presenting the findings of the exercise and plans for quickly incorporating those lessons learned for future operations of the Department.

As the threat of terrorism continues to evolve, we must be prepared to respond to any scenario.

I thank the gentlewoman from Michigan for her leadership on this bill. I urge all Members to join me in supporting the bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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Mr. HIGGINS of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I would like the Congresswoman to be aware that I have no further speakers, and I am prepared to close.

I urge adoption of the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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