I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2608

To reauthorize the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 26, 2003

Mr. SMITH of Michigan (for himself and Mr. BAIRD) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Science, and in addition to 

the Committee on Resources, 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 reauthorize the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction 

Program, 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 ‘‘National Earthquake 

5 Hazards Reduction Program Reauthorization Act of 

6 2003’’. 
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1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 Section 4 of the Earthquake Hazards Reduction Act 

3 of 1977 (42 U.S.C. 7701 et seq.) is amended by adding 

4 at the end the following new paragraphs: 

5 ‘‘(8) The term ‘Interagency Coordinating Com6 mittee’ means the Interagency Coordinating Com7 mittee on Earthquake Hazards Reduction estab8 lished under section 5(a). 

9 ‘‘(9) The term ‘Advisory Committee’ means the 

10 Advisory Committee established under section 

11 5(a)(5).’’. 

12 SEC. 3. NATIONAL EARTHQUAKE HAZARDS REDUCTION 

13 PROGRAM. 

14 Section 5 of the Earthquake Hazards Reduction Act 

15 of 1977 (42 U.S.C. 7704(b)) is amended—

16 (1) by amending subsection (a) to read as fol17 lows: 

18 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is established the 

20 National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program. 

21 ‘‘(2) PROGRAM ACTIVITIES.—The activities of 

22 the Program shall be designed to—

23 ‘‘(A) develop effective measures for earth24 quake hazards reduction; 

25 ‘‘(B) promote the adoption of earthquake 

26 hazards reduction measures by Federal, State, 
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1 and local governments, national standards and 

2 model code organizations, architects and engi3 neers, building owners, and others with a role 

4 in planning and constructing buildings and life5 lines through—

6 ‘‘(i) grants, contracts, cooperative 

7 agreements, and technical assistance; 

8 ‘‘(ii) development of standards and 

9 guidelines for earthquake hazards reduc10 tion for structures and lifelines; and 

11 ‘‘(iii) development and maintenance of 

12 a repository of information, including tech13 nical data, on seismic risk and hazards re14 duction; and 

15 ‘‘(C) improve the understanding of earth16 quakes and their effects on buildings and life17 lines. 

18 ‘‘(3) INTERAGENCY COORDINATING COMMITTEE

19 ON EARTHQUAKE HAZARDS REDUCTION.—

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—There is established 

21 an Interagency Coordinating Committee on 

22 Earthquake Hazards Reduction chaired by the 

23 Director of the National Institute of Standards 

24 and Technology (referred to in this subsection 

25 as the ‘Director’). 
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1 ‘‘(B) MEMBERSHIP.—The committee shall 

2 be composed of the directors of—

3 ‘‘(i) the Federal Emergency Manage4 ment Agency; 

5 ‘‘(ii) the United States Geological 

6 Survey; 

7 ‘‘(iii) the National Science Founda8 tion; 

9 ‘‘(iv) the Office of Science and Tech10 nology Policy; and 

11 ‘‘(v) the Office of Management and 

12 Budget. 

13 ‘‘(C) MEETINGS.—The Committee shall 

14 meet not less than 3 times a year at the call of 

15 the Director. 

16 ‘‘(D) PURPOSE AND DUTIES.—The Inter17 agency Coordinating Committee shall oversee 

18 the planning, management, and coordination of 

19 the Program. The Interagency Coordinating 

20 Committee shall—

21 ‘‘(i) develop, not later than 6 months 

22 after the date of enactment of this Act, 

23 and update periodically—

24 ‘‘(I) a strategic plan that estab25 lishes goals and priorities for the Pro-
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1 gram activities described under sub2 section (a)(2); and 

3 ‘‘(II) a detailed management plan 

4 to implement such strategic plan; and 

5 ‘‘(ii) develop a coordinated inter6 agency budget for the Program that will 

7 ensure appropriate balance among the Pro8 gram activities described under subsection 

9 (a)(2), and submit such budget to the Di10 rector of the Office of Management and 

11 Budget at the time designated by that of12 fice for agencies to submit annual budgets. 

13 ‘‘(4) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Interagency Co14 ordinating Committee shall transmit, at the time of 

15 the President’s budget request to Congress, an an16 nual report to the Committee on Science and the 

17 Committee on Resources of the House of Represent18 atives, and the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

19 and Transportation of the Senate. Such report shall 

20 include—

21 ‘‘(A) the Program budget for the current 

22 fiscal year for each agency that participates in 

23 the Program, and for each major goal estab24 lished for the Program activities under subpara25 graph (3)(A); 
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1 ‘‘(B) the proposed Program budget for the 

2 next fiscal year for each agency that partici3 pates in the Program, and for each major goal 

4 established for the Program activities under 

5 subparagraph (3)(A); 

6 ‘‘(C) a description of the activities and re7 sults of the Program during the previous year, 

8 including an assessment of the effectiveness of 

9 the Program in furthering the goals established 

10 in the strategic plan under (3)(A); 

11 ‘‘(D) a description of the extent to which 

12 the Program has incorporated the recommenda13 tions of the Advisory Committee; and 

14 ‘‘(E) a description of activities, including 

15 budgets for the current fiscal year and proposed 

16 budgets for the next fiscal year, that are carried 

17 out by Program agencies and contribute to the 

18 Program, but are not included in the Program. 

19 ‘‘(5) ADVISORY COMMITTEE.—

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall es21 tablish an Advisory Committee on Earthquake 

22 Hazards Reduction consisting of non-Federal 

23 members, including representatives of research 

24 and academic institutions, industry, and State 

25 and local government, who are qualified to pro-
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1 vide advice on earthquake hazards reduction. 

2 The recommendations of the Advisory Com3 mittee shall be considered by Federal agencies 

4 in implementing the Program. 

5 ‘‘(B) ASSESSMENT.—The Advisory Com6 mittee shall assess—

7 ‘‘(i) trends and developments in the 

8 science and engineering of earthquake haz9 ards reduction; 

10 ‘‘(ii) effectiveness of the Program in 

11 carrying out the activities under (a)(2); 

12 ‘‘(iii) the need to revise the Program; 

13 and 

14 ‘‘(iv) the management, coordination, 

15 implementation, and activities of the Pro16 gram. 

17 ‘‘(C) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year 

18 after the date of enactment of this Act and at 

19 least once every 2 years thereafter, the Advisory 

20 Committee shall report to the Director on its 

21 findings of the assessment carried out under 

22 subparagraph (B) and its recommendations for 

23 ways to improve the Program. In developing 

24 recommendations, the Committee shall consider 

25 the recommendations of the United States Geo-
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1 logical Survey Scientific Earthquake Studies 

2 Advisory Committee. 

3 ‘‘(D) FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT

4 APPLICATION.—Section 14 of the Federal Advi5 sory Committee Act (5 App. U.S.C. 14) shall 

6 not apply to the Advisory Committee.’’; 

7 (2) in subsection (b)—

8 (A) in paragraph (1)—

9 (i) by striking ‘‘Federal Emergency 

10 Management Agency’’ and all that follows 

11 through ‘‘of the Agency’’ and inserting 

12 ‘‘National Institute of Standards and 

13 Technology shall have the primary respon14 sibility for planning and coordinating the 

15 Program. In carrying out this paragraph, 

16 the Director of the Institute’’; 

17 (ii) by striking subparagraphs (B) and 

18 (C) and redesignating subparagraphs (D) 

19 and (E) as subparagraphs (C) and (D), re20 spectively; 

21 (iii) by inserting after subparagraph 

22 (A) the following: 

23 ‘‘(B) support the development of perform24 ance-based seismic engineering tools, and work 

25 with appropriate groups to promote the com-
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1 mercial application of such tools, through earth2 quake-related building codes, standards, and 

3 construction practices;’’; and 

4 (iv) by striking ‘‘The principal official 

5 carrying out the responsibilities described 

6 in this paragraph shall be at a level no 

7 lower than that of Associate Director.’’; 

8 and 

9 (v) in subparagraph (D), as redesig10 nated by clause (ii), by striking ‘‘National 

11 Science Foundation, the National Insti12 tutes of Standards and Technology’’ and 

13 inserting ‘‘Federal Emergency Manage14 ment Agency, the National Science Foun15 dation’’; 

16 (B) in paragraph (2)(A) by striking ‘‘In 

17 addition to the lead’’ and all that follows 

18 through ‘‘Agency’’ and inserting ‘‘The Director 

19 of the Federal Emergency Management Agency 

20 (in this Act referred to as the ‘Agency’)’’; 

21 (C) in paragraph (3)—

22 (i) by inserting ‘‘and other activities’’ 

23 after ‘‘shall conduct research’’; 

24 (ii) in subparagraphs (C) and (D), by 

25 striking ‘‘the Agency’’ both places it ap-
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1 pears and inserting ‘‘the Director of the 

2 Federal Emergency Management Agency 

3 and the Director of the National Institute 

4 for Standards and Technology’’; 

5 (iii) in subparagraph (E), by striking 

6 ‘‘establish, using existing facilities, a Cen7 ter for the International Exchange of 

8 Earthquake Information’’ and inserting 

9 ‘‘operate, using the National Earthquake 

10 Information Center, a forum for the inter11 national exchange of earthquake informa12 tion’’; 

13 (iv) in subparagraph (F), by striking 

14 ‘‘Network’’ and inserting ‘‘System’’; and 

15 (v) by inserting after subparagraph 

16 (H) the following new subparagraph: 

17 ‘‘(I) work with other Program agencies to 

18 coordinate Program activities with similar 

19 eathquake hazards reduction efforts in other 

20 countries, to ensure that the Program benefits 

21 from relevant information and advances in 

22 those countries.’’; and 

23 (D) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘The 

24 National’’ and inserting ‘‘In addition to the 
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1 lead agency responsibilities described under 

2 paragraph (1), the National’’; and 

3 (3) in subsection (c)(1), by striking ‘‘Agency’’ 

4 and inserting ‘‘Interagency Coordinating Com5 mittee’’. 

6 SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

7 (a) Section 12 of the Earthquake Hazards Reduction 

8 Act of 1977 (42 U.S.C. 7706) is amended—

9 (1) in subsection (a), by adding after paragraph 

10 (7) the following new paragraph: 

11 ‘‘(8) There are authorized to be appropriated to 

12 the Federal Emergency Management Agency for car13 rying out this Act $18,500,000 for fiscal year 2004, 

14 $20,500,000 for fiscal year 2005, and $22,500,000 

15 for fiscal year 2006.’’; 

16 (2) in subsection (b), by adding at the end the 

17 following: ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated 

18 to the United States Geological Survey for carrying 

19 out this Act $80,000,000 for fiscal year 2004, of 

20 which not less than $30,000,000 shall be made 

21 available for completion of the Advanced National 

22 Seismic Research and Monitoring System established 

23 under section 13; $83,500,000 for fiscal year 2005, 

24 of which not less than $30,000,000 shall be made 

25 available for completion of the Advanced National 
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1 Seismic Research and Monitoring System established 

2 under section 13; $93,000,000 for fiscal year 2006, 

3 of which not less than $36,000,000 shall be made 

4 available for completion of the Advanced National 

5 Seismic Research and Monitoring System established 

6 under section 13; such sums as may be necessary for 

7 fiscal year 2007, of which not less than $36,000,000 

8 shall be made available for completion of the Ad9 vanced National Seismic Research and Monitoring 

10 System established under section 13; and such sums 

11 as may be necessary for fiscal year 2008, of which 

12 not less than $36,000,000 shall be made available 

13 for completion of the Advanced National Seismic Re14 search and Monitoring System established under 

15 section 13.’’; 

16 (3) in subsection (c), by adding at the end the 

17 following: ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated 

18 to the National Science Foundation for carrying out 

19 this Act $39,000,000 for fiscal year 2004; 

20 $44,000,000 for fiscal year 2005; and $47,500,000 

21 for fiscal year 2006.’’; and 

22 (4) in subsection (d) by adding at the end the 

23 following: ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated 

24 to the National Institute of Standards and Tech25 nology for carrying out this Act $8,000,000 for fis-
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1 cal year 2004; $9,600,000 for fiscal year 2005; and 

2 $12,500,000 for fiscal year 2006.’’. 

3 (b) Section 13 of the Earthquake Hazards Reduction 

4 Act of 1977 (42 U.S.C. 7707) is amended by striking sub5 section (c). 

6 (c) Section 14(b) of the Earthquake Hazards Reduc7 tion Act of 1977 (42 U.S.C. 7708(b)) is amended by strik8 ing paragraph (4) and inserting the following: 

9 ‘‘(4) $8,000,000 for fiscal year 2004; 

10 ‘‘(5) $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2005, all of 

11 which shall be available for operations and mainte12 nance; and 

13 ‘‘(6) $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2006, all of 

14 which shall be available for operations and mainte15 nance.’’.

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