Subcommittee Democrats Oppose Republican Hazards Bill, Decry Inadequate Authorization Levels and Lack of Bipartisanship
(Washington, DC) – Today, the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology’s Subcommittee on Technology and Innovation considered a Committee Print of the Natural Hazards Risk Reduction Act of 2011. This bill would reauthorize the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP) and the National Windstorm Impact Reduction Program (NWIRP). Although Subcommittee Democrats applauded both NEHRP and NWIRP and expressed their strong support for reauthorizing the programs, they were unanimous in their opposition to the Republican Committee Print and urged consideration of the bipartisan reauthorization bill from last Congress.
Under Democratic leadership last Congress, the Natural Hazards Risk Reduction Act of 2009 (H.R. 3820) had bipartisan cosponsors, passed out of the Full Committee by voice vote, and was subsequently considered under suspension of the rules on the House floor where it passed by an overwhelming bipartisan majority of 335-50 on March 2, 2010. This Congress, Senator Barbara Boxer introduced legislation (S.646) identical to H.R. 3820, which has been passed out of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation with bipartisan support and is expected to pass by unanimous consent before the end of this session.
Ranking Member Donna Edwards (D-MD) introduced an Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute to replace the text of the Republican Committee Print with the text of the bipartisan bill from last Congress.
“The bill from last Congress was the product of extensive bipartisan negotiations between Members of this Committee,” said Ranking Member Edwards. “We sought to make the bill something of which all of the Members of this Committee could be proud…Last Congress, we made changes to our authorization numbers to ensure it had bipartisan support. Unfortunately, the Majority has not shown a similar willingness this time around.” Ranking Member Edwards’ amendment failed by recorded vote along party lines.
Rep. Daniel Lipinski (D-IL) introduced an amendment to ensure that the results of social science research are used in the development of outreach and implementation efforts and in mitigation, response, and recovery activities. He said, “We can and must do more to increase the disaster resiliency of our communities. The social sciences have an essential role in these efforts.” Mr. Lipinski’s amendment passed by voice vote.
Rep. Ben Luján (D-NM) introduced an amendment that would update NIST’s fire research responsibilities to ensure that NIST continues to conduct research on fires occurring specifically in the wildland-urban interface, where homes and communities are intermixed with wildlands such as forests and grasslands. An identical provision was included in H.R. 3820 as a fire research title. He said, “As more and more communities near forests and wildlands are becoming threatened by fire hazards, it is more critical than ever that we conduct this important research.” Mr. Luján withdrew his amendment only after Chairman Quayle, who had concerns with the amendment, promised to work with him to address the growing risks associated with wildland-urban fires before the bill comes before the Full Committee.
Subcommittee Democrats stressed the importance of reauthorizing the NEHRP and NWIRP programs. “The reauthorization of these programs is very timely as there have been a record number of declared Federal disasters in the U.S. this year, resulting in economic damage exceeding $45 billion. For example, it is already the deadliest year for tornadoes in the U.S. since 1936, with 550 fatalities so far.” said Ranking Member Donna Edwards (D-MD). “The best way to minimize the loss of lives and property caused by natural disasters, as well as reduce disruptions to our economy, is to create communities that are disaster resilient. NEHRP and NWIRP support research and development programs to better understand earthquakes and windstorms and their impact and to improve the resiliency of buildings and critical lifelines. This work has led to advancements in monitoring and building practices, and it has increased awareness and preparation by the public.”
Subcommittee Democrats urged the Majority to move a version of the bill that could gain bipartisan support in the House and the Senate.
Ranking Member Edwards closed her opening statement, “I sincerely hope that the members of this subcommittee can move forward in a productive and bipartisan manner in the future, particularly on issues such as these which have historically benefited from bipartisan support. That’s what produces good policy, and that’s what our constituents want us to do.”
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