Hazards Bill Reauthorization

Floor Speech

Hazards Bill Reauthorization

Mr. SMITH of Nebraska. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3820, the Natural Hazards Risk Reduction Act of 2009, which we will be taking up later today.

This legislation reauthorizes and amends the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Act and the National Windstorm Impact Reduction Act, ensuring agencies as diverse as FEMA, the U.S. Geological Survey, and the National Institute of Science and Technology have continuing appropriate authorizations to research the causes and forecasting of natural disasters, as well as ways to limit their negative impact.

The recent earthquakes in Haiti and Chile have certainly demonstrated the importance of developing improved methods of predicting and mitigating natural disasters. The contrast in outcomes between these two quakes has also demonstrated the clear benefit of preparedness and scientifically based building codes in containing casualties from a major disaster, if not the economic losses.

Nearly every part of the United States is susceptible to natural disasters in some form or another, and reauthorizing the programs in H.R. 3820 will ensure we remain at the forefront of this important research.

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