IB 

Union Calendar No. 136

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2608

[Report No. 108–246, Part I] 

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 

AUGUST 14, 2003

Additional sponsor: Ms. LOFGREN

AUGUST 14, 2003

Reported from the Committee on Science with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

AUGUST 14, 2003

Referral to the Committee on Resources extended for a period ending not later 

than August 14, 2003

AUGUST 14, 2003

The Committee on Resources discharged; referred to the Committee of the 

Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed 

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[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on June 26, 2003] 

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 2003’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 Section 4 of the Earthquake Hazards Reduction Act 

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

9 the end the following new paragraphs: 

10 ‘‘(8) The term ‘Interagency Coordinating Com11 mittee’ means the Interagency Coordinating Com12 mittee on Earthquake Hazards Reduction established 

13 under section 5(a). 

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

15 Advisory Committee established under section 

16 5(a)(5).’’. 

17 SEC. 3. NATIONAL EARTHQUAKE HAZARDS REDUCTION 

18 PROGRAM. 

19 Section 5 of the Earthquake Hazards Reduction Act 

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

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1 (1) by amending subsection (a) to read as fol2 lows: 

3 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is established the Na5 tional Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program. 

6 ‘‘(2) PROGRAM ACTIVITIES.—The activities of the 

7 Program shall be designed to—

8 ‘‘(A) develop effective measures for earth9 quake hazards reduction; 

10 ‘‘(B) promote the adoption of earthquake 

11 hazards reduction measures by Federal, State, 

12 and local governments, national standards and 

13 model code organizations, architects and engi14 neers, building owners, and others with a role in 

15 planning and constructing buildings, structures, 

16 and lifelines through—

17 ‘‘(i) grants, contracts, cooperative 

18 agreements, and technical assistance; 

19 ‘‘(ii) development of standards, guide20 lines, and voluntary consensus codes for 

21 earthquake hazards reduction for buildings, 

22 structures, and lifelines; and 

23 ‘‘(iii) development and maintenance of 

24 a repository of information, including techVerDate jul 14 2003 22:13 Aug 15, 2003 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H2608.RH H2608
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1 nical data, on seismic risk and hazards re2 duction; and 

3 ‘‘(C) improve the understanding of earth4 quakes and their effects on communities, build5 ings, structures, and lifelines, through inter6 disciplinary research that involves engineering, 

7 natural sciences, and social, economic, and deci8 sions sciences. 

9 ‘‘(3) INTERAGENCY COORDINATING COMMITTEE

10 ON EARTHQUAKE HAZARDS REDUCTION.—

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—There is established an 

12 Interagency Coordinating Committee on Earth13 quake Hazards Reduction chaired by the Direc14 tor of the National Institute of Standards and 

15 Technology (referred to in this subsection as the 

16 ‘Director’). 

17 ‘‘(B) MEMBERSHIP.—The committee shall 

18 be composed of the directors of—

19 ‘‘(i) the Federal Emergency Manage20 ment Agency; 

21 ‘‘(ii) the United States Geological Sur22 vey; 

23 ‘‘(iii) the National Science Founda24 tion; 

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1 ‘‘(iv) the Office of Science and Tech2 nology Policy; and 

3 ‘‘(v) the Office of Management and 

4 Budget. 

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

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

7 the Director. 

8 ‘‘(D) PURPOSE AND DUTIES.—The Inter9 agency Coordinating Committee shall oversee the 

10 planning, management, and coordination of the 

11 Program. The Interagency Coordinating Com12 mittee shall—

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

14 after the date of enactment of this Act, and 

15 update periodically—

16 ‘‘(I) a strategic plan that estab17 lishes goals and priorities for the Pro18 gram activities described under sub19 section (a)(2); and 

20 ‘‘(II) a detailed management plan 

21 to implement such strategic plan; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) develop a coordinated interagency 

23 budget for the Program that will ensure ap24 propriate balance among the Program ac25 tivities described under subsection (a)(2), 

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1 and submit such budget to the Director of 

2 the Office of Management and Budget at the 

3 time designated by that office for agencies to 

4 submit annual budgets. 

5 ‘‘(4) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Interagency Coordi6 nating Committee shall transmit, at the time of the 

7 President’s budget request to Congress, an annual re8 port to the Committee on Science and the Committee 

9 on Resources of the House of Representatives, and the 

10 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor11 tation of the Senate. Such report shall include—

12 ‘‘(A) the Program budget for the current fis13 cal year for each agency that participates in the 

14 Program, and for each major goal established for 

15 the Program activities under subparagraph 

16 (3)(A); 

17 ‘‘(B) the proposed Program budget for the 

18 next fiscal year for each agency that participates 

19 in the Program, and for each major goal estab20 lished for the Program activities under subpara21 graph (3)(A); 

22 ‘‘(C) a description of the activities and re23 sults of the Program during the previous year, 

24 including an assessment of the effectiveness of the 

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1 Program in furthering the goals established in 

2 the strategic plan under (3)(A); 

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

4 Program has incorporated the recommendations 

5 of the Advisory Committee; 

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

7 budgets for the current fiscal year and proposed 

8 budgets for the next fiscal year, that are carried 

9 out by Program agencies and contribute to the 

10 Program, but are not included in the Program; 

11 and 

12 ‘‘(F) a description of the activities, includ13 ing budgets for the current fiscal year and pro14 posed budgets for the following fiscal year, re15 lated to the grant program carried out under 

16 subsection (b)(2)(A)(i). 

17 ‘‘(5) ADVISORY COMMITTEE.—

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall es19 tablish an Advisory Committee on Earthquake 

20 Hazards Reduction consisting of non-Federal 

21 members, including representatives of research 

22 and academic institutions, industry standards 

23 development organizations, State and local gov24 ernment, and financial communities who are 

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1 ards reduction. The recommendations of the Ad2 visory Committee shall be considered by Federal 

3 agencies in implementing the Program. 

4 ‘‘(B) ASSESSMENT.—The Advisory Com5 mittee shall assess—

6 ‘‘(i) trends and developments in the 

7 science and engineering of earthquake haz8 ards reduction; 

9 ‘‘(ii) effectiveness of the Program in 

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

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

12 and 

13 ‘‘(iv) the management, coordination, 

14 implementation, and activities of the Pro15 gram. 

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

17 the date of enactment of this Act and at least 

18 once every 2 years thereafter, the Advisory Com19 mittee shall report to the Director on its findings 

20 of the assessment carried out under subpara21 graph (B) and its recommendations for ways to 

22 improve the Program. In developing rec23 ommendations, the Committee shall consider the 

24 recommendations of the United States Geological 

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1 Survey Scientific Earthquake Studies Advisory 

2 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 not 

6 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 ‘‘Na12 tional Institute of Standards and Tech13 nology shall have the primary responsibility 

14 for planning and coordinating the Program. 

15 In carrying out this paragraph, the Direc16 tor 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 

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1 cial application of such tools, through earth2 quake-related building codes, standards, and con3 struction practices;’’; 

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.’’; and 

8 (v) in subparagraph (D), as redesig9 nated by clause (ii), by striking ‘‘National 

10 Science Foundation, the National Institutes 

11 of Standards and Technology’’ and insert12 ing ‘‘Federal Emergency Management Agen13 cy, the National Science Foundation’’; 

14 (B) in paragraph (2)(A)—

15 (i) by striking ‘‘In addition to the 

16 lead’’ and all that follows through ‘‘Agency’’ 

17 and inserting ‘‘The Director of the Federal 

18 Emergency Management Agency (in this 

19 Act referred to as the ‘Agency’)’’; and 

20 (ii) by amending clause (iii) to read as 

21 follows: 

22 ‘‘(iii) assist the National Institute of 

23 Standards and Technology, other Federal 

24 agencies, and private sector groups in the 

25 preparation and wide dissemination of 

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1 building codes and practices for structures 

2 and lifelines, and aid in the development of 

3 performance based codes for buildings, 

4 structures, and lifelines that are cost effec5 tive and affordable;’’; 

6 (C) in paragraph (3)—

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

8 after ‘‘shall conduct research’’; 

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

10 striking ‘‘the Agency’’ both places it appears 

11 and inserting ‘‘the Director of the Federal

12 Emergency Management Agency and the 

13 Director of the National Institute of Stand14 ards and Technology’’; 

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

16 ‘‘establish, using existing facilities, a Center 

17 for the International Exchange of Earth18 quake Information’’ and inserting ‘‘operate, 

19 using the National Earthquake Information 

20 Center, a forum for the international ex21 change of earthquake information’’; 

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

23 ‘‘Network’’ and inserting ‘‘System’’; and 

24 (v) by inserting after subparagraph 

25 (H) the following new subparagraphs: 

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

2 coordinate Program activities with similar 

3 eathquake hazards reduction efforts in other 

4 countries, to ensure that the Program benefits 

5 from relevant information and advances in those 

6 countries; and 

7 ‘‘(J) maintain suitable seismic hazard maps 

8 in support of building codes for structures and 

9 lifelines, including additional maps needed for 

10 performance based design approaches.’’; 

11 (D) in paragraph (4)—

12 (i) by redesignating subparagraphs 

13 (D), (E), and (F) as subparagraphs (E), 

14 (F), and (H), respectively; 

15 (ii) by inserting after subparagraph 

16 (C) the following: 

17 ‘‘(D) support research that improves the 

18 safety and performance of buildings, structures, 

19 and lifeline systems using large-scale experi20 mental and computational facilities;’’; 

21 (iii) in subparagraph (F) (as so redes22 ignated), by striking ‘‘; and’’ and inserting 

23 a semicolon; and 

24 (iv) by inserting after subparagraph 

25 (F) (as so redesignated) the following: 

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1 ‘‘(G) include to the maximum extent prac2 ticable diverse institutions, including Histori3 cally Black Colleges and Universities and those 

4 serving large proportions of Hispanics, Native 

5 Americans, Asian-Pacific Americans, and other 

6 underrepresented populations; and’’; and 

7 (E) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘The Na8 tional’’ and inserting ‘‘In addition to the lead 

9 agency responsibilities described under para10 graph (1), the National’’; and 

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

12 and inserting ‘‘Interagency Coordinating Committee’’. 

13 SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

14 (a) Section 12 of the Earthquake Hazards Reduction 

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

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

17 (7) the following new paragraph: 

18 ‘‘(8) There are authorized to be appropriated to the 

19 Federal Emergency Management Agency for carrying out 

20 this Act $19,000,000 for fiscal year 2004; $21,000,000 for 

21 fiscal year 2005; and $23,000,000 for fiscal year 2006. Of 

22 such amounts appropriated, not less than $3,000,000 shall 

23 be made available each such fiscal year for supporting the 

24 development of performance-based, cost-effective, and afford25 able codes for buildings, structures, and lifelines.’’; 

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

2 following: ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated to 

3 the United States Geological Survey for carrying out 

4 this Act $80,000,000 for fiscal year 2004, of which 

5 not less than $30,000,000 shall be made available for 

6 completion of the Advanced National Seismic Re7 search and Monitoring System established under sec8 tion 13; $83,500,000 for fiscal year 2005, of which 

9 not less than $30,000,000 shall be made available for 

10 completion of the Advanced National Seismic Re11 search and Monitoring System established under sec12 tion 13; $93,000,000 for fiscal year 2006, of which 

13 not less than $36,000,000 shall be made available for 

14 completion of the Advanced National Seismic Re15 search and Monitoring System established under sec16 tion 13; such sums as may be necessary for fiscal year 

17 2007, of which not less than $36,000,000 shall be 

18 made available for completion of the Advanced Na19 tional Seismic Research and Monitoring System es20 tablished under section 13; and such sums as may be 

21 necessary for fiscal year 2008, of which not less than 

22 $36,000,000 shall be made available for completion of 

23 the Advanced National Seismic Research and Moni24 toring System established under section 13.’’; 

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

2 following: ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated to 

3 the National Science Foundation for carrying out this 

4 Act $39,000,000 for fiscal year 2004; $44,000,000 for 

5 fiscal year 2005; and $47,500,000 for fiscal year 

6 2006.’’; and 

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

8 following: ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated to 

9 the National Institute of Standards and Technology 

10 for carrying out this Act $8,000,000 for fiscal year 

11 2004; $9,600,000 for fiscal year 2005; and 

12 $12,500,000 for fiscal year 2006. Of such amounts ap13 propriated, not less than $2,000,000 shall be made 

14 available each such fiscal year for supporting the de15 velopment of performance-based, cost-effective, and af16 fordable codes for buildings, structures, and lifelines.’’. 

17 (b) Section 13 of the Earthquake Hazards Reduction 

18 Act of 1977 (42 U.S.C. 7707) is amended by striking sub19 section (c). 

20 (c) Section 14(b) of the Earthquake Hazards Reduc21 tion Act of 1977 (42 U.S.C. 7708(b)) is amended—

22 (1) in paragraph (3) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

23 end; and 

24 (2) by striking paragraph (4) and inserting the 

25 following: 

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1 ‘‘(4) $8,000,000 for fiscal year 2004; 

2 ‘‘(5) $20,000,000 for fiscal year 2005, all of 

3 which shall be available for operations and 

4 maintenance; and 

5 ‘‘(6) $20,000,000 for fiscal year 2006, all of 

6 which shall be available for operations and 

7 maintenance.’’.

Union Calendar No. 136

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2608

[Report No. 108

–246, Part I] 

A BILL

To reauthorize the National Earthquake Hazards 

Reduction Program, and for other purposes. 

AUGUST 14, 2003

Reported from the Committee on Science with an 

amendment 

AUGUST 14, 2003

Referral to the Committee on Resources extended for a 

period ending not later than August 14, 2003

AUGUST 14, 2003

The Committee on Resources discharged; referred to the 

Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed