II 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2711 

To establish a National Windstorm Impact Reduction Program. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 21, 2004 

Mr. NELSON of Florida introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 

referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To establish a National Windstorm Impact Reduction 

Program. 

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 Windstorm 

5 Impact Reduction Act of 2004’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) Hurricanes, tropical storms, tornadoes, and 

9 thunderstorms can cause significant loss of life, in10 jury, destruction of property, and economic and so-
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1 cial disruption. All States and regions are vulnerable 

2 to these hazards. 

3 (2) The United States currently sustains sev4 eral billion dollars in economic damages each year 

5 due to these windstorms. In recent decades, rapid 

6 development and population growth in high-risk 

7 areas has greatly increased overall vulnerability to 

8 windstorms. 

9 (3) Improved windstorm impact reduction 

10 measures have the potential to reduce these losses 

11 through— 

12 (A) cost-effective and affordable design 

13 and construction methods and practices; 

14 (B) effective mitigation programs at the 

15 local, State, and national level; 

16 (C) improved data collection and analysis 

17 and impact prediction methodologies; 

18 (D) engineering research on improving new 

19 structures and retrofitting existing ones to bet20 ter withstand windstorms, atmospheric-related 

21 research to better understand the behavior and 

22 impact of windstorms on the built environment, 

23 and subsequent application of those research re24 sults; and 

25 (E) public education and outreach. 
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1 (4) There is an appropriate role for the Federal 

2 Government in supporting windstorm impact reduc3 tion. An effective Federal program in windstorm im4 pact reduction will require interagency coordination, 

5 and input from individuals, academia, the private 

6 sector, and other interested non-Federal entities. 

7 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

8 In this Act: 

9 (1) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 

10 the Director of the Office of Science and Technology 

11 Policy. 

12 (2) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘Program’’ means 

13 the National Windstorm Impact Reduction Program 

14 established by section 4(a). 

15 (3) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 

16 the States of the United States, the District of Co17 lumbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the 

18 United States Virgin Islands, Guam, American 

19 Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 

20 Islands, and any other territory or possession of the 

21 United States. 

22 (4) WINDSTORM.—The term ‘‘windstorm’’ 

23 means any storm with a damaging or destructive 

24 wind component, such as a hurricane, tropical 

25 storm, tornado, or thunderstorm. 
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1 SEC. 4. NATIONAL WINDSTORM IMPACT REDUCTION PRO2 GRAM. 

3 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established the Na4 tional Windstorm Impact Reduction Program. 

5 (b) OBJECTIVE.—The objective of the Program is the 

6 achievement of major measurable reductions in losses of 

7 life and property from windstorms. The objective is to be 

8 achieved through a coordinated Federal effort, in coopera9 tion with other levels of government, academia, and the 

10 private sector, aimed at improving the understanding of 

11 windstorms and their impacts and developing and encour12 aging implementation of cost-effective mitigation meas13 ures to reduce those impacts. 

14 (c) INTERAGENCY WORKING GROUP.—Not later than 

15 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Direc16 tor shall establish an Interagency Working Group con17 sisting of representatives of the National Science Founda18 tion, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra19 tion, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, 

20 the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and other 

21 Federal agencies as appropriate. The Director shall des22 ignate an agency to serve as Chair of the Working Group 

23 and be responsible for the planning, management, and co24 ordination of the Program, including budget coordination. 

25 Specific agency roles and responsibilities under the Pro26 gram shall be defined in the implementation plan required 
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1 under subsection (e). General agency responsibilities shall 

2 include the following: 

3 (1) The National Institute of Standards and 

4 Technology shall support research and development 

5 to improve building codes and standards and prac6 tices for design and construction of buildings, struc7 tures, and lifelines. 

8 (2) The National Science Foundation shall sup9 port research in engineering and the atmospheric 

10 sciences to improve the understanding of the behav11 ior of windstorms and their impact on buildings, 

12 structures, and lifelines. 

13 (3) The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad14 ministration shall support atmospheric sciences re15 search to improve the understanding of the behavior 

16 of windstorms and their impact on buildings, struc17 tures, and lifelines. 

18 (4) The Federal Emergency Management Agen19 cy shall support the development of risk assessment 

20 tools and effective mitigation techniques, windstorm21 related data collection and analysis, public outreach, 

22 information dissemination, and implementation of 

23 mitigation measures consistent with the Agency’s 

24 all-hazards approach. 

25 (d) PROGRAM COMPONENTS.— 
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Program shall consist 

2 of three primary mitigation components: improved 

3 understanding of windstorms, windstorm impact as4 sessment, and windstorm impact reduction. The 

5 components shall be implemented through activities 

6 such as data collection and analysis, risk assess7 ment, outreach, technology transfer, and research 

8 and development. To the extent practicable, research 

9 activities authorized under this Act shall be peer-re10 viewed, and the components shall be designed to be 

11 complementary to, and avoid duplication of, other 

12 public and private hazard reduction efforts. 

13 (2) UNDERSTANDING OF WINDSTORMS.—Activi14 ties to enhance the understanding of windstorms 

15 shall include research to improve knowledge of and 

16 data collection on the impact of severe wind on 

17 buildings, structures, and infrastructure. 

18 (3) WINDSTORM IMPACT ASSESSMENT.—Activi19 ties to improve windstorm impact assessment shall 

20 include— 

21 (A) development of mechanisms for col22 lecting and inventorying information on the per23 formance of buildings, structures, and infra24 structure in windstorms and improved collection 

25 of pertinent information from sources, including 
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1 the design and construction industry, insurance 

2 companies, and building officials; 

3 (B) research, development, and technology 

4 transfer to improve loss estimation and risk as5 sessment systems; and 

6 (C) research, development, and technology 

7 transfer to improve simulation and computa8 tional modeling of windstorm impacts. 

9 (4) WINDSTORM IMPACT REDUCTION.—Activi10 ties to reduce windstorm impacts shall include— 

11 (A) development of improved outreach and 

12 implementation mechanisms to translate exist13 ing information and research findings into cost14 effective and affordable practices for design and 

15 construction professionals, and State and local 

16 officials; 

17 (B) development of cost-effective and af18 fordable windstorm-resistant systems, struc19 tures, and materials for use in new construction 

20 and retrofit of existing construction; and 

21 (C) outreach and information dissemina22 tion related to cost-effective and affordable con23 struction techniques, loss estimation and risk 

24 assessment methodologies, and other pertinent 

25 information regarding windstorm phenomena to 
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1 Federal, State, and local officials, the construc2 tion industry, and the general public. 

3 (e) IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.—Not later than 1 year 

4 after date of enactment of this Act, the Interagency Work5 ing Group shall develop and transmit to the Congress an 

6 implementation plan for achieving the objectives of the 

7 Program. The plan shall include— 

8 (1) an assessment of past and current public 

9 and private efforts to reduce windstorm impacts, in10 cluding a comprehensive review and analysis of 

11 windstorm mitigation activities supported by the 

12 Federal Government; 

13 (2) a description of plans for technology trans14 fer and coordination with natural hazard mitigation 

15 activities supported by the Federal Government; 

16 (3) a statement of strategic goals and priorities 

17 for each Program component area; 

18 (4) a description of how the Program will 

19 achieve such goals, including detailed responsibilities 

20 for each agency; and 

21 (5) a description of plans for cooperation and 

22 coordination with interested public and private sec23 tor entities in each program component area. 

24 (f) BIENNIAL REPORT.—The Interagency Working 

25 Group shall, on a biennial basis, and not later than 180 
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1 days after the end of the preceding 2 fiscal years, transmit 

2 a report to the Congress describing the status of the wind3 storm impact reduction program, including progress 

4 achieved during the preceding two fiscal years. Each such 

5 report shall include any recommendations for legislative 

6 and other action the Interagency Working Group con7 siders necessary and appropriate. In developing the bien8 nial report, the Interagency Working Group shall consider 

9 the recommendations of the Advisory Committee estab10 lished under section 5. 

11 SEC. 5. NATIONAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON WINDSTORM 

12 IMPACT REDUCTION. 

13 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Director shall establish a 

14 National Advisory Committee on Windstorm Impact Re15 duction, consisting of not less than 11 and not more than 

16 15 non-Federal members representing a broad cross sec17 tion of interests such as the research, technology transfer, 

18 design and construction, and financial communities; mate19 rials and systems suppliers; State, county, and local gov20 ernments; the insurance industry; and other representa21 tives as designated by the Director. 

22 (b) ASSESSMENT.—The Advisory Committee shall as23 sess— 

24 (1) trends and developments in the science and 

25 engineering of windstorm impact reduction; 
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1 (2) the effectiveness of the Program in carrying 

2 out the activities under section 4(d); 

3 (3) the need to revise the Program; and 

4 (4) the management, coordination, implementa5 tion, and activities of the Program. 

6 (c) BIENNIAL REPORT.—At least once every two 

7 years, the Advisory Committee shall report to Congress 

8 and the Interagency Working Group on the assessment 

9 carried out under subsection (b). 

10 (d) SUNSET EXEMPTION.—Section 14 of the Federal 

11 Advisory Committee Act shall not apply to the Advisory 

12 Committee established under this section. 

13 SEC. 6. SAVINGS CLAUSE. 

14 Nothing in this Act supersedes any provision of the 

15 National Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety 

16 Standards Act of 1974. No design, construction method, 

17 practice, technology, material, mitigation methodology, or 

18 hazard reduction measure of any kind developed under 

19 this Act shall be required for a home certified under sec20 tion 616 of the National Manufactured Housing Construc21 tion and Safety Standards Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5415), 

22 pursuant to standards issued under such Act, without 

23 being subject to the consensus development process and 

24 rulemaking procedures of that Act. 
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1 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

2 (a) FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGEN3 CY.—There are authorized to be appropriated to the Fed4 eral Emergency Management Agency for carrying out this 

5 Act— 

6 (1) $8,700,000 for fiscal year 2006; 

7 (2) $9,400,000 for fiscal year 2007; and 

8 (3) $9,400,000 for fiscal year 2008. 

9 (b) NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION.—There are 

10 authorized to be appropriated to the National Science 

11 Foundation for carrying out this Act— 

12 (1) $8,700,000 for fiscal year 2006; 

13 (2) $9,400,000 for fiscal year 2007; and 

14 (3) $9,400,000 for fiscal year 2008. 

15 (c) NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND

16 TECHNOLOGY.—There are authorized to be appropriated 

17 to the National Institute of Standards and Technology for 

18 carrying out this Act— 

19 (1) $3,000,000 for fiscal year 2006; 

20 (2) $4,000,000 for fiscal year 2007; and 

21 (3) $4,000,000 for fiscal year 2008. 

22 (d) NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMIN23 ISTRATION.—There are authorized to be appropriated to 

24 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for 

25 carrying out this Act— 

26 (1) $2,100,000 for fiscal year 2006; 
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1 (2) $2,200,000 for fiscal year 2007; and 

2 (3) $2,200,000 for fiscal year 2008. 

3 SEC. 8. BIENNIAL REPORT. 

4 Section 37(a) of the Science and Engineering Equal 

5 Opportunities Act (42 U.S.C. 1885d(a)) is amended by 

6 striking ‘‘By January 30, 1982, and biennially thereafter’’ 

7 and inserting ‘‘By January 30 of each odd-numbered 

8 year’’. 

9 SEC. 9. COORDINATION. 

10 The Secretary of Commerce, the Director of the Na11 tional Institute of Standards and Technology, the Director 

12 of the Office of Science and Technology Policy and the 

13 heads of other Federal departments and agencies carrying 

14 out activities under this Act and the statutes amended by 

15 this Act shall work together to ensure that research, tech16 nologies, and response techniques are shared among the 

17 programs authorized in this Act in order to coordinate the 

18 Nation’s efforts to reduce vulnerability to the hazards de19 scribed in this Act. 

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