II 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1685 

To ensure the evacuation of individuals with special needs in times of 

emergency. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 12, 2005 

Mr. OBAMA (for himself, Mr. BAYH, Mr. HARKIN, Mr. LEVIN, Mr. CORZINE, 

Mr. FEINGOLD, Mr. BINGAMAN, Mr. KENNEDY, Mrs. MURRAY, and Mr. 

SALAZAR) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

A BILL

To ensure the evacuation of individuals with special needs 

in times of emergency.

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

3 SECTION 1. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 

4 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find5 ings: 

6 (1) The catastrophic Hurricane Katrina, which 

7 hit the Gulf Coast of the United States, caused mas8 sive damage to the States of Louisiana, Mississippi, 

9 and Alabama. 
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1 (2) The total loss of life in the area is still un2 known. The economic loss is still uncalculated, but 

3 is estimated to be in the tens to hundreds of billions 

4 of dollars. 

5 (3) Many of the lives lost to the hurricane and 

6 the flooding that ensued could have been prevented 

7 had everyone been evacuated before the hurricane 

8 came ashore. 

9 (4) Many of those people who were not evacu10 ated lacked the resources to evacuate. Many of those 

11 people who lacked the resources to evacuate did not 

12 have access to any means of transportation to evac13 uate. They had neither a vehicle nor the funding to 

14 pay for transportation out of the threatened areas. 

15 They did not have access to, nor could they afford, 

16 temporary accommodations outside the threatened 

17 areas. 

18 (5) Many elderly and disabled individuals, in19 cluding those in hospitals and nursing homes, were 

20 physically incapable of leaving on their own. 

21 (6) In St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana, an esti22 mated 32 of 60 residents in the St. Rita nursing 

23 home perished in the rising flood waters in the after24 math of Hurricane Katrina. 
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1 (7) A more effective pre-disaster and post-dis2 aster plan for evacuation that addressed the require3 ments of those with special needs, such as those 

4 without transportation or those with physical disabil5 ities, could have helped save lives. 

6 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to ensure 

7 the preparation of communities for future natural, acci8 dental, or deliberate disasters by ensuring that the States 

9 prepare for the evacuation of individuals with special 

10 needs. 

11 SEC. 2. EVACUATION PLANS FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH SPE12 CIAL NEEDS. 

13 The Secretary of Homeland Security shall, acting 

14 through the Office of State and Local Government Coordi15 nation and Preparedness, take appropriate actions to en16 sure that each State, in its Homeland Security Strategy 

17 or other homeland security plan, provides detailed and 

18 comprehensive information regarding its pre-disaster and 

19 post-disaster plans for the evacuation of individuals with 

20 special needs, including low-income individuals and fami21 lies, disabled individuals, the homeless, individuals who do 

22 not speak English, and the elderly, in emergencies that 

23 would warrant their evacuation, including plans for the 

24 provision of food, water, and shelter for evacuees. 
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1 SEC. 3. REPORT TO CONGRESS. 

2 Not later than one year after the date of enactment 

3 of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall sub4 mit to Congress a report setting forth the plans of the 

5 States to evacuate individuals with special needs in emer6 gencies that would warrant their evacuation. The report 

7 shall include a discussion of— 

8 (1) whether or not the States have the re9 sources necessary to implement fully their evacu10 ation plans; and 

11 (2) the manner in which the plans of the States 

12 are integrated with the response plans of the Fed13 eral Government for emergencies that would require 

14 the evacuation of individuals with special needs.

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