I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2020

To reduce the impacts of hurricanes, tornadoes, and related hazards through 

a program of research and development and technology transfer, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 7, 2003

Mr. MOORE (for himself, Mr. MARIO DIAZ-BALART of Florida, Ms. MCCARTHY of Missouri, Ms. HART, Mr. CARSON of Oklahoma, Mr. SNYDER, Mr. 

GRAVES, Mr. TANNER, Mr. RYUN of Kansas, Mr. SKELTON, Mr. LUCAS

of Oklahoma, and Mr. MCINTYRE) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on Science, and in addition to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 

provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL

To reduce the impacts of hurricanes, tornadoes, and related 

hazards through a program of research and development 

and technology transfer, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Hurricane, Tornado, 

5 and Related Hazards Research Act’’. 
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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 The Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) Natural disasters cause enormous loss of 

4 life. Almost all States and territories are at risk 

5 from the effects of 1 or more types of natural dis6 aster. Coastal States and many island States and 

7 territories are vulnerable to the hazards of wind8 storms. All Midwest, Southern, and Mid-Atlantic 

9 States are vulnerable to the hazards of tornadoes 

10 and thunderstorms and increased building activity is 

11 occurring in high-risk areas such as the seashore 

12 and ‘‘tornado alley’’. 

13 (2) Hurricanes, which combine high winds and 

14 flooding, and related natural disasters cause enor15 mous loss of life, injury, destruction of property, and 

16 economic and social disruption, as evidenced by the 

17 56 deaths and $6,000,000,000 in property damage 

18 in 1999 from Hurricane Floyd. From 1990 to 1999 

19 hurricanes caused an average of 14 deaths and 

20 $4,970,000,000 in property losses annually while 

21 tornadoes and other windstorms caused over 58 

22 deaths and $871,000,000 in property losses annu23 ally. 

24 (3) Improved windstorm and related hazard re25 duction measures have the potential over the next 10 

26 years to reduce these losses that will only increase 
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1 if steps are not taken to help communities reduce 

2 their vulnerability. These measures include—

3 (A) cost-effective and affordable design 

4 and construction methods and practices; 

5 (B) effective mitigation programs at the 

6 local, State, and national level; 

7 (C) informed land use decisions; 

8 (D) impact prediction methodologies and 

9 early warning systems; 

10 (E) application of research results; and 

11 (F) public education and outreach pro12 grams. 

13 (4) Engineering research needs to address both 

14 improving new structures and retrofitting existing 

15 ones. 

16 (5) There is an appropriate role for the Federal 

17 Government in the collection, preparation, coordina18 tion, and dissemination of windstorm and related 

19 hazards reduction information in order to protect 

20 public health and safety and in increasing public 

21 awareness of the dangers of these hazards and of af22 fordable steps homeowners can take to preserve life 

23 and property. Improved outreach and implementa24 tion mechanisms are needed to translate existing in25 formation and research findings into usable, state-
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1 of-the-art specifications, criteria, and cost-effective 

2 practices for design and construction professionals, 

3 State and local officials, manufacturers, and the 

4 public. 

5 (6) An effective Federal program in windstorm 

6 and related hazard reduction will require interagency 

7 coordination, input from individuals and institutions 

8 outside the Federal Government who are expert in 

9 the sciences of natural hazards reduction and in the 

10 practical application of mitigation measures, and im11 proved mechanisms for the transfer of new knowl12 edge to State and local officials, to homeowners, and 

13 to the design and construction industry. Tax credits 

14 are an effective incentive for helping homeowners 

15 apply mitigation measures. 

16 (7) Windstorms and related hazards are a 

17 worldwide problem, and international cooperation is 

18 desirable for mutual learning and mitigation. 

19 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

20 In this Act: 

21 (1) The term ‘‘Director’’ means the Director of 

22 the Office of Science and Technology Policy. 

23 (2) The term ‘‘related hazards’’ means any nat24 urally destructive environmental phenomena related 

25 to windstorms such as flooding, wildfires, and hail, 
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1 and any major hazard of human origin potentially 

2 resulting in similar destruction, including terrorist 

3 acts. 

4 (3) The term ‘‘State’’ means each of the States 

5 of the United States, the District of Columbia, the 

6 Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States 

7 Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Com8 monwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and 

9 any other territory or possession of the United 

10 States. 

11 (4) The term ‘‘windstorm’’ means any storm 

12 with a damaging or destructive wind component, 

13 such as a hurricane, tropical storm, tornado, or 

14 thunderstorm. 

15 SEC. 4. NATIONAL WINDSTORM AND RELATED HAZARD IM16 PACT REDUCTION PROGRAM. 

17 (a) INTERAGENCY GROUP.—Not later than 90 days 

18 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director 

19 shall establish an Interagency Group consisting of rep20 resentatives of appropriate Federal agencies, including the 

21 National Science Foundation, the National Oceanic and 

22 Atmospheric Administration, the National Institute of 

23 Standards and Technology, the Department of Energy, 

24 and other agencies with jurisdiction over housing, con25 struction, and natural disaster mitigation and relief, to be
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1 responsible for the development and implementation of a 

2 coordinated Federal windstorm and related hazards reduc3 tion research, development, and technology transfer pro4 gram based on identified public needs. In establishing the 

5 Interagency Group, the Director is encouraged, where ap6 propriate, to designate lead agencies and to preserve exist7 ing programs and functions of Federal agencies and orga8 nizations, and shall ensure regular agency coordination 

9 and information sharing. 

10 (b) OBJECTIVE.—The objective of the windstorm and 

11 related hazard impact reduction program is the achieve12 ment, within 10 years after the date of the enactment of 

13 this Act, of major measurable reductions in losses that 

14 would otherwise have occurred to life and property from 

15 windstorms and related hazards. The objective is to be 

16 achieved through the creation of a program involving co17 operation among governments at all levels and the private 

18 sector featuring—

19 (1) pertinent basic research and applied re20 search based on identified public needs, which takes 

21 into account locality-specific weather, susceptibility 

22 to natural hazards, design and construction prac23 tices, and performance of the built environment dur24 ing windstorms and related hazards; 
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1 (2) better understanding of costs and benefits 

2 associated with natural hazard impact reduction; 

3 (3) systematic collection of physical and per4 formance data for buildings and other structures for 

5 use in developing and deploying mitigation meas6 ures; 

7 (4) an ongoing program of information dissemi8 nation on cost-effective and affordable hazard reduc9 tion research results and hazard-resistant building 

10 construction techniques to industry, State and local 

11 governments, homeowners, and the general public; 

12 (5) improved technology for loss estimation, 

13 risk assessment, hazard identification, prediction, 

14 warnings, advanced planning, and disaster response; 

15 (6) increased public awareness of the dangers 

16 of windstorms and related hazards, and the value of 

17 taking preventative action to preserve affected prop18 erty and life; and 

19 (7) priority attention to critical lifelines, includ20 ing infrastructure and utilities, that are especially 

21 needed in time of disaster. 

22 (c) RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT ELEMENTS.—

23 The research and development elements of the program 

24 may include—
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1 (1) peer-reviewed research and development on 

2 and demonstration of disaster-resistant systems, 

3 based on identified public needs, and materials for 

4 new construction and retrofit of existing construc5 tion, including composite materials; building enve6 lope components, including windows, doors, and 

7 roofs; structural design; and design and construction 

8 techniques, through physical testing and postdisaster 

9 assessments, and through computer simulation when 

10 appropriate, taking into consideration life safety and 

11 cost-effectiveness, affordability, and regional dif12 ferences including susceptibility to windstorm and 

13 related hazards; 

14 (2) development of quantitative assessment 

15 techniques to evaluate the direct, indirect, and soci16 etal costs and benefits associated with natural haz17 ards, including exploration of mitigation measures 

18 that could reduce windstorm vulnerability, and to ef19 fectively exploit existing and developing mitigation 

20 techniques; 

21 (3) development of mechanisms for collecting 

22 and inventorying information on building systems 

23 and materials performance in windstorms and re24 lated hazards, information on identified public miti25 gation priorities, and other pertinent information 
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1 from sources such as the construction industry, in2 surance companies, and building officials; 

3 (4) development of cost-effective and affordable 

4 planning, design, construction, rehabilitation, and 

5 retrofit methods and procedures, including utiliza6 tion of mitigation measures, for critical lifelines and 

7 facilities such as hospitals, schools, public utilities, 

8 and other structures that are especially needed in 

9 time of disaster; 

10 (5) research and development on wind charac11 terization and micro-climates and on techniques, 

12 methodologies, and new technologies for the map13 ping in finer detail of windstorms and related hazard 

14 risks, to be coordinated with the mapping of other 

15 natural and manmade hazards; 

16 (6) development of improved loss estimation 

17 and risk assessment systems for predicting and eval18 uating damaging windstorm impacts and for identi19 fying, evaluating, and reliably characterizing wind20 storm hazards; and 

21 (7) development of improved approaches for 

22 providing emergency services, reconstruction, and re23 development after a windstorm or related hazard 

24 event. 
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1 (d) TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER.—The technology 

2 transfer elements of the program shall include—

3 (1) the collection, classification, presentation, 

4 and dissemination in a usable form to Federal, 

5 State, and local officials, community leaders, the de6 sign and construction industry, contractors, home 

7 owners, and the general public, of research results, 

8 cost-effective construction techniques, loss estimation 

9 and risk assessment methodologies, and other perti10 nent information regarding windstorm phenomena, 

11 the identification of locations and features which are 

12 especially susceptible to natural hazard damage, 

13 ways to reduce the adverse consequences of natural 

14 hazards, and related matters; 

15 (2) in coordination with the private sector, aca16 demia, and the States, curriculum development and 

17 related measures to facilitate the training of employ18 ees of the design and construction industry, the in19 surance industry, and State and local governments, 

20 and other interested persons; and 

21 (3) development of an outreach effort to in22 crease public and community awareness, including 

23 information related to windstorm and related hazard 

24 mitigation.
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1 (e) IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.—The Interagency 

2 Group established under subsection (a) shall refine, in 

3 conjunction with appropriate representatives of State and 

4 local units of government and private sector organizations, 

5 the objective stated in subsection (b), develop measure6 ments related to the objective, including emphasis on safe7 ty, cost-effectiveness, and affordability, and develop a 10-

8 year implementation plan for achieving the objective with 

9 a strategic review of goals and objectives every 3 years, 

10 working in coordination with the private sector and State 

11 and local government for implementation in all appro12 priate instances. Not later than 210 days after the date 

13 of the enactment of this Act, the Interagency Group shall 

14 submit to the Congress the implementation plan. The plan 

15 shall include—

16 (1) a statement of strategic research and devel17 opment goals and priorities;

18 (2) plans for the development of improved fore19 casting techniques for windstorms, early warning 

20 systems, and systems for comprehensive response; 

21 (3) plans for the development of a systematic 

22 method for collecting an inventory of buildings, 

23 building components, and damage to buildings from 

24 natural hazards; 
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1 (4) a strategy to implement the transfer of 

2 technology and information to State, county, local, 

3 and regional governmental units and the private sec4 tor for appropriate implementation of research and 

5 development results; 

6 (5) provisions for outreach and dissemination, 

7 on a timely basis, of—

8 (A) information and technology in a form 

9 that is of use to the design professions, the con10 struction industry, and other interested parties; 

11 and 

12 (B) other information and knowledge of in13 terest to the public to reduce vulnerability to 

14 wind and related hazards; 

15 (6) a description of how Federal disaster relief 

16 and emergency assistance programs will incorporate 

17 research and development results; 

18 (7) establishment, consistent with this Act, of 

19 goals, priorities, and target dates for implementation 

20 of the program; 

21 (8) assignment of responsibilities with respect 

22 to each element of the program that does not al23 ready have a Federal lead agency; 

24 (9) a description of plans for cooperation and 

25 coordination in all phases of the program with inter-
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1 ested governmental entities in all States, particularly 

2 those containing areas of high or moderate wind and 

3 related hazard risk; and 

4 (10) staffing plans for the program and its 

5 components. 

6 (f) PARTICIPATION.—The implementation plan shall 

7 complement existing Federal research programs and shall 

8 avoid duplication of existing programs including earth9 quake programs whenever possible and assign responsibil10 ities to Federal agencies with existing expertise. 

11 (g) BUDGET COORDINATION.—The Director shall 

12 each year, after consulting with the Interagency Group es13 tablished under section 4(a), provide guidance to the other 

14 program agencies concerning the preparation of requests 

15 for appropriations for activities related to this Act, and 

16 shall prepare, in conjunction with the other program agen17 cies, an annual program budget to be submitted to the 

18 Office of Management and Budget. Each program agency 

19 shall include with its annual request for appropriations 

20 submitted to the Office of Management and Budget a re21 port that—

22 (1) identifies each element of the proposed pro23 gram activities of the agency; 

24 (2) specifies how each of these activities con25 tributes to the program; and 
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1 (3) states the portion of its request for appro2 priations allocated to each element of the program. 

3 (h) MANUFACTURED HOUSING STANDARDS.—Noth4 ing in this Act supersedes any provision of the National 

5 Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Stand6 ards Act of 1974. No design, construction method, prac7 tice, technology, material, mitigation methodology, or haz8 ard reduction measure of any kind developed under this 

9 Act shall be required for a home certified under section 

10 616 of the National Manufactured Housing Construction 

11 and Safety Standards Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5415), pur12 suant to standards issued under such Act, without being 

13 subject to the consensus development process and rule14 making procedures of that Act. 

15 SEC. 5. NATIONAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR WINDSTORM 

16 AND RELATED HAZARDS IMPACT REDUC17 TION. 

18 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—A National Advisory Com19 mittee shall be established to review progress made under 

20 the program established under section 4, advise on any 

21 improvements that should be made to that program, and 

22 report to the Congress on actions that have been taken 

23 to advance the Nation’s capability to reduce the impacts 

24 of windstorm and related hazards. 
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1 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—The Advisory Committee shall be 

2 composed of no more than 21 members to be appointed 

3 by the President (one of whom shall be designated by the 

4 President as chair). The members shall include represent5 atives of a broad cross-section of interests such as the re6 search, technology transfer, architectural, engineering, 

7 and financial communities; materials and systems sup8 pliers; State, county, and local governments concerned 

9 with the reduction of windstorm and related hazards; the 

10 residential, multifamily, and commercial sectors of the 

11 construction industry; and the insurance industry, and 

12 other representatives (not including members of Federal 

13 agencies) from areas impacted by windstorms and related 

14 hazards. 

15 (c) COORDINATION.—The Advisory Committee shall 

16 coordinate with existing advisory committees of the Fed17 eral Government and of the National Academies of Science 

18 and Engineering. 

19 (d) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Advisory Committee 

20 shall provide a summary report to Congress each year. 

21 (e) EXEMPTION.—Section 14 of the Federal Advisory 

22 Committee Act shall not apply to the Advisory Committee 

23 established under this section. 
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1 SEC. 6. ANNUAL REPORT. 

2 The Interagency Group established under section 

3 4(a) shall, within 180 days after the end of each fiscal 

4 year, submit a report to the Congress describing the status 

5 of the windstorm and related hazards reduction program, 

6 describing progress achieved during the preceding fiscal 

7 year, by government at all levels and by the private sector, 

8 toward achieving the objective stated in section 4(b) and 

9 implementing the plan developed under section 4(e), and 

10 including any amendments to the implementation plan. 

11 Each such report shall include any recommendations for 

12 legislative and other action the Interagency Group con13 siders necessary and appropriate. 

14 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

15 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

16 activities under this Act $25,000,000 for fiscal year 2004, 

17 $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2005, and $100,000,000 for 

18 fiscal year 2006.

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