I 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 3980

To establish a National Windstorm Impact Reduction Program. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 17, 2004

Mr. NEUGEBAUER (for himself and Mr. MOORE) 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 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, in-
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1 jury, destruction of property, and economic and so2 cial disruption. All States and regions are vulnerable 

3 to these hazards. 

4 (2) The United States currently sustains sev5 eral billion dollars in economic damages each year 

6 due to these windstorms. In recent decades, rapid 

7 development and population growth in high-risk 

8 areas has greatly increased overall vulnerability to 

9 windstorms. 

10 (3) Improved windstorm impact reduction 

11 measures have the potential to reduce these losses 

12 through—

13 (A) cost-effective and affordable design 

14 and construction methods and practices; 

15 (B) effective mitigation programs at the 

16 local, State, and national level; 

17 (C) improved data collection and analysis 

18 and impact prediction methodologies; 

19 (D) engineering research on improving new 

20 structures and retrofitting existing ones to bet21 ter withstand windstorms, atmospheric-related 

22 research to better understand the behavior and 

23 impact of windstorms on the built environment, 

24 and subsequent application of those research re25 sults; and 
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1 (E) public education and outreach. 

2 (4) There is an appropriate role for the Federal 

3 Government in supporting windstorm impact reduc4 tion. An effective Federal program in windstorm im5 pact reduction will require interagency coordination, 

6 and input from individuals, academia, the private 

7 sector, and other interested non-Federal entities. 

8 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

9 In this Act: 

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

11 the Office of Science and Technology Policy. 

12 (2) The term ‘‘State’’ means each of the States 

13 of the United States, the District of Columbia, the 

14 Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States 

15 Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Com16 monwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and 

17 any other territory or possession of the United 

18 States. 

19 (3) The term ‘‘windstorm’’ means any storm 

20 with a damaging or destructive wind component, 

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

22 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 (in this Act 

5 referred to as the ‘‘Program’’). 

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

7 achievement of major measurable reductions in losses of 

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

9 achieved through a coordinated Federal effort, in coopera10 tion with other levels of government, academia, and the 

11 private sector, aimed at improving the understanding of 

12 windstorms and their impacts and developing and encour13 aging implementation of mitigation measures to reduce 

14 those impacts. 

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

16 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Direc17 tor shall establish an Interagency Working Group con18 sisting of representatives of the National Science Founda19 tion, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra20 tion, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, 

21 the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and other 

22 Federal agencies as appropriate. The Director shall des23 ignate an agency to serve as Chair of the Working Group 

24 and be responsible for the planning, management, and co25 ordination of the Program, including budget coordination. 

26 Specific agency roles and responsibilities under the Pro-
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1 gram shall be defined in the implementation plan required 

2 under subsection (e). General agency responsibilities shall 

3 include the following: 

4 (1) The National Institute of Standards and 

5 Technology shall support research and development 

6 to improve building codes and standards and prac7 tices for buildings, structures, 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 Oceanographic and Atmos14 pheric Administration shall support atmospheric 

15 sciences research to improve the understanding of 

16 the behavior of windstorms and their impact on 

17 buildings, structures, and lifelines. 

18 (4) The Federal Emergency Management Agen19 cy shall support windstorm-related data collection 

20 and analysis, public outreach, and information dis21 semination. 

22 (d) PROGRAM COMPONENTS.—

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Program shall consist 

24 of three primary mitigation components: improved 

25 understanding of windstorms, windstorm impact as-
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1 sessment, and windstorm impact reduction. The 

2 components shall be implemented through activities 

3 such as data collection and analysis, outreach, tech4 nology transfer, and research and development. To 

5 the extent practicable, research activities authorized 

6 under this Act shall be peer-reviewed, and the com7 ponents shall be designed to be complementary to, 

8 and avoid duplication of, other public and private 

9 hazard reduction efforts. 

10 (2) UNDERSTANDING OF WINDSTORMS.—Activi11 ties to enhance the understanding of windstorms 

12 shall include research to improve knowledge of and 

13 data collection on the impact of severe wind on 

14 buildings, structures, and infrastructure. 

15 (3) WINDSTORM IMPACT ASSESSMENT.—Activi16 ties to improve windstorm impact assessment shall 

17 include—

18 (A) development of mechanisms for col19 lecting and inventorying information on the per20 formance of buildings, structures, and infra21 structure in windstorms and improved collection 

22 of pertinent information from sources, including 

23 the design and construction industry, insurance 

24 companies, and building officials; 
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1 (B) research and development to improve 

2 loss estimation and risk assessment systems; 

3 and 

4 (C) research and development to improve 

5 simulation and computational modeling of wind6 storm impacts. 

7 (4) WINDSTORM IMPACT REDUCTION.—Activi8 ties to reduce windstorm impacts shall include—

9 (A) development of improved outreach and 

10 implementation mechanisms to translate exist11 ing information and research findings into cost12 effective and affordable practices for design and 

13 construction professionals, and State and local 

14 officials; 

15 (B) development of cost-effective and af16 fordable windstorm-resistant systems, struc17 tures, and materials for use in new construction 

18 and retrofit of existing construction; and 

19 (C) outreach and information dissemina20 tion related to cost-effective and affordable con21 struction techniques, loss estimation and risk 

22 assessment methodologies, and other pertinent 

23 information regarding windstorm phenomena to 

24 Federal, State, and local officials, the construc25 tion industry, and the general public. 
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1 (e) IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.—Not later than 1 year 

2 after date of enactment of this Act, the Interagency Work3 ing Group shall develop and transmit to the Congress an 

4 implementation plan for achieving the objectives of the 

5 Program. The plan shall include—

6 (1) an assessment of past and current public 

7 and private efforts to reduce windstorm impacts, in8 cluding a comprehensive review and analysis of 

9 windstorm mitigation activities supported by the 

10 Federal Government; 

11 (2) a statement of strategic goals and priorities 

12 for each Program component area; 

13 (3) a description of how the Program will 

14 achieve such goals, including detailed responsibilities 

15 for each agency; and 

16 (4) a description of plans for cooperation and 

17 coordination with interested public and private sec18 tor entities in each program component area. 

19 (f) BIENNIAL REPORT.—The Interagency Working 

20 Group shall, on a biennial basis, transmit a report to the 

21 Congress describing the status of the windstorm impact 

22 reduction program, including progress achieved during the 

23 preceding two fiscal years. Each such report shall include 

24 any recommendations for legislative and other action the 

25 Interagency Working Group considers necessary and ap-
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1 propriate. In developing the biennial report, the Inter2 agency Working Group shall consider the recommenda3 tions of the Advisory Committee established under section 

4 5. 

5 SEC. 5. NATIONAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON WINDSTORM 

6 IMPACT REDUCTION. 

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

8 National Advisory Committee on Windstorm Impact Re9 duction, consisting of not less than 11 and not more than 

10 15 non-Federal members representing a broad cross sec11 tion of interests such as the research, technology transfer, 

12 design and construction, and financial communities; mate13 rials and systems suppliers; State, county, and local gov14 ernments; the insurance industry; and other representa15 tives as designated by the Director. 

16 (b) ASSESSMENT.—The Advisory Committee shall as17 sess—

18 (1) trends and developments in the science and 

19 engineering of windstorm impact reduction; 

20 (2) the effectiveness of the Program in carrying 

21 out the activities under section 3(d); 

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

23 (4) the management, coordination, implementa24 tion, and activities of the Program. 
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1 (c) BIENNIAL REPORT.—At least once every two 

2 years, the Advisory Committee shall report to Congress 

3 and the Interagency Working Group on the assessment 

4 carried out under subsection (b). 

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

6 Advisory Committee Act shall not apply to the Advisory 

7 Committee established under this section. 

8 SEC. 6. SAVINGS CLAUSE. 

9 Nothing in this Act supersedes any provision of the 

10 National Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety 

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

12 practice, technology, material, mitigation methodology, or 

13 hazard reduction measure of any kind developed under 

14 this Act shall be required for a home certified under sec15 tion 616 of the National Manufactured Housing Construc16 tion and Safety Standards Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5415), 

17 pursuant to standards issued under such Act, without 

18 being subject to the consensus development process and 

19 rulemaking procedures of that Act. 

20 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

21 (a) FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGEN22 CY.—From sums otherwise authorized to be appropriated, 

23 there are authorized to be appropriated to the Federal 

24 Emergency Management Agency for carrying out this 

25 Act—
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1 (1) $8,000,000 for fiscal year 2005; 

2 (2) $8,700,000 for fiscal year 2006; and 

3 (3) $9,400,000 for fiscal year 2007. 

4 (b) NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION.—From sums 

5 otherwise authorized to be appropriated, there are author6 ized to be appropriated to the National Science Founda7 tion for carrying out this Act—

8 (1) $8,000,000 for fiscal year 2005; 

9 (2) $8,700,000 for fiscal year 2006; and 

10 (3) $9,400,000 for fiscal year 2007. 

11 (c) NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND

12 TECHNOLOGY.—From sums otherwise authorized to be 

13 appropriated, there are authorized to be appropriated to 

14 the National Institute of Standards and Technology for 

15 carrying out this Act—

16 (1) $2,000,000 for fiscal year 2005; 

17 (2) $3,000,000 for fiscal year 2006; and 

18 (3) $4,000,000 for fiscal year 2007. 

19 (d) NATIONAL OCEANOGRAPHIC AND ATMOSPHERIC

20 ADMINISTRATION.—From sums otherwise authorized to 

21 be appropriated, there are authorized to be appropriated 

22 to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 

23 for carrying out this Act—

24 (1) $2,000,000 for fiscal year 2005; 

25 (2) $2,100,000 for fiscal year 2006; and 
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1 (3) $2,200,000 for fiscal year 2007.

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