IB 

Union Calendar No. 337 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 3980 

[Report No. 108–575, Part I] 

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 

JUNE 28, 2004 

Additional sponsors: Mr. MANZULLO, Mr. LAMPSON, Mr. STENHOLM, Mr. 

MARIO DIAZ-BALART of Florida, Mr. GORDON, Mr. HONDA, Mr. SMITH

of Texas, Mr. BOEHLERT, Mr. CASE, Mr. ACEVEDO-VILA ́, Mr. JOHN, Mr. 

MCINTYRE, Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. HILL, 

Mr. GOODE, Mr. COOPER, Mr. BURGESS, Ms. HART, Mr. COLE, Mr. SESSIONS, Ms. GRANGER, Mr. THORNBERRY, Mr. BRADY of Texas, Mr. SAM

JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. PEARCE, Mr. HALL, Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN, Mr. 

CARTER, Mr. PRICE of North Carolina, Mr. CULBERSON, Mrs. CAPITO, 

Mr. LUCAS of Oklahoma, Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida, Ms. 

LOFGREN, Mr. UDALL of Colorado, Mr. MEEK of Florida, Mr. DEUTSCH, 

Ms. CORRINE BROWN of Florida, Mr. HASTINGS of Florida, Mr. DAVIS

of Tennessee, Mr. GOODLATTE, and Mrs. JO ANN DAVIS of Virginia 

JUNE 28, 2004 

Reported from the Committee on Science with an amendment 

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

JUNE 28, 2004 

Referral to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure extended for 

a period ending not later than June 28, 2004 
2 

•HR 3980 RH 

JUNE 28, 2004 

The Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure discharged; committed 

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

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on March 17, 2004] 

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 Im5 pact 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 social 

11 disruption. All States and regions are vulnerable to 

12 these hazards. 

13 (2) The United States currently sustains several 

14 billion dollars in economic damages each year due to 

15 these windstorms. In recent decades, rapid develop16 ment and population growth in high-risk areas has 

17 greatly increased overall vulnerability to windstorms. 
3 

•HR 3980 RH 

1 (3) Improved windstorm impact reduction meas2 ures have the potential to reduce these losses 

3 through— 

4 (A) cost-effective and affordable design and 

5 construction methods and practices; 

6 (B) effective mitigation programs at the 

7 local, State, and national level; 

8 (C) improved data collection and analysis 

9 and impact prediction methodologies; 

10 (D) engineering research on improving new 

11 structures and retrofitting existing ones to better 

12 withstand windstorms, atmospheric-related re13 search to better understand the behavior and im14 pact of windstorms on the built environment, 

15 and subsequent application of those research re16 sults; and 

17 (E) public education and outreach. 

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

19 Government in supporting windstorm impact reduc20 tion. An effective Federal program in windstorm im21 pact reduction will require interagency coordination, 

22 and input from individuals, academia, the private 

23 sector, and other interested non-Federal entities. 

24 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

25 In this Act: 
4 

•HR 3980 RH 

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

2 the Office of Science and Technology Policy. 

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

4 of the United States, the District of Columbia, the 

5 Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States Vir6 gin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Common7 wealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and any 

8 other territory or possession of the United States. 

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

10 with a damaging or destructive wind component, such 

11 as a hurricane, tropical storm, tornado, or thunder12 storm. 

13 SEC. 4. NATIONAL WINDSTORM IMPACT REDUCTION PRO14 GRAM. 

15 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established the Na16 tional Windstorm Impact Reduction Program (in this Act 

17 referred to as the ‘‘Program’’). 

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

19 achievement of major measurable reductions in losses of life 

20 and property from windstorms. The objective is to be 

21 achieved through a coordinated Federal effort, in coopera22 tion with other levels of government, academia, and the pri23 vate sector, aimed at improving the understanding of wind24 storms and their impacts and developing and encouraging 
5 

•HR 3980 RH 

1 implementation of mitigation measures to reduce those im2 pacts. 

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

4 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director 

5 shall establish an Interagency Working Group consisting of 

6 representatives of the National Science Foundation, the Na7 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Na8 tional Institute of Standards and Technology, the Federal 

9 Emergency Management Agency, and other Federal agen10 cies as appropriate. The Director shall designate an agency 

11 to serve as Chair of the Working Group and be responsible 

12 for the planning, management, and coordination of the Pro13 gram, including budget coordination. Specific agency roles 

14 and responsibilities under the Program shall be defined in 

15 the implementation plan required under subsection (e). 

16 General agency responsibilities shall include the following: 

17 (1) The National Institute of Standards and 

18 Technology shall support research and development to 

19 improve building codes and standards and practices 

20 for buildings, structures, and lifelines. 

21 (2) The National Science Foundation shall sup22 port research in engineering and the atmospheric 

23 sciences to improve the understanding of the behavior 

24 of windstorms and their impact on buildings, struc25 tures, and lifelines. 
6 

•HR 3980 RH 

1 (3) The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad2 ministration shall support atmospheric sciences re3 search to improve the understanding of the behavior 

4 of windstorms and their impact on buildings, struc5 tures, and lifelines. 

6 (4) The Federal Emergency Management Agency 

7 shall support the development of risk assessment tools 

8 and effective mitigation techniques, windstorm-related 

9 data collection and analysis, public outreach, and in10 formation dissemination. 

11 (d) PROGRAM COMPONENTS.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Program shall consist of 

13 three primary mitigation components: improved un14 derstanding of windstorms, windstorm impact assess15 ment, and windstorm impact reduction. The compo16 nents shall be implemented through activities such as 

17 data collection and analysis, risk assessment, out18 reach, technology transfer, and research and develop19 ment. To the extent practicable, research activities au20 thorized under this Act shall be peer-reviewed, and the 

21 components shall be designed to be complementary to, 

22 and avoid duplication of, other public and private 

23 hazard reduction efforts. 

24 (2) UNDERSTANDING OF WINDSTORMS.—Activi25 ties to enhance the understanding of windstorms shall 
7 

•HR 3980 RH 

1 include research to improve knowledge of and data 

2 collection on the impact of severe wind on buildings, 

3 structures, and infrastructure. 

4 (3) WINDSTORM IMPACT ASSESSMENT.—Activi5 ties to improve windstorm impact assessment shall 

6 include— 

7 (A) development of mechanisms for col8 lecting and inventorying information on the per9 formance of buildings, structures, and infrastruc10 ture in windstorms and improved collection of 

11 pertinent information from sources, including 

12 the design and construction industry, insurance 

13 companies, and building officials; 

14 (B) research, development, and technology 

15 transfer to improve loss estimation and risk as16 sessment systems; and 

17 (C) research, development, and technology 

18 transfer to improve simulation and computa19 tional modeling of windstorm impacts. 

20 (4) WINDSTORM IMPACT REDUCTION.—Activities 

21 to reduce windstorm impacts shall include— 

22 (A) development of improved outreach and 

23 implementation mechanisms to translate existing 

24 information and research findings into cost-effec25 tive and affordable practices for design and con-
8 

•HR 3980 RH 

1 struction professionals, and State and local offi2 cials; 

3 (B) development of cost-effective and afford4 able windstorm-resistant systems, structures, and 

5 materials for use in new construction and ret6 rofit of existing construction; and 

7 (C) outreach and information dissemination 

8 related to cost-effective and affordable construc9 tion techniques, loss estimation and risk assess10 ment methodologies, and other pertinent infor11 mation regarding windstorm phenomena to Fed12 eral, State, and local officials, the construction 

13 industry, and the general public. 

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

15 after date of enactment of this Act, the Interagency Working 

16 Group shall develop and transmit to the Congress an imple17 mentation plan for achieving the objectives of the Program. 

18 The plan shall include— 

19 (1) an assessment of past and current public and 

20 private efforts to reduce windstorm impacts, includ21 ing a comprehensive review and analysis of wind22 storm mitigation activities supported by the Federal 

23 Government; 

24 (2) a statement of strategic goals and priorities 

25 for each Program component area; 
9 

•HR 3980 RH 

1 (3) a description of how the Program will 

2 achieve such goals, including detailed responsibilities 

3 for each agency; and 

4 (4) a description of plans for cooperation and co5 ordination with interested public and private sector 

6 entities in each program component area. 

7 (f) BIENNIAL REPORT.—The Interagency Working 

8 Group shall, on a biennial basis, and not later than 180 

9 days after the end of the preceding 2 fiscal years, transmit 

10 a report to the Congress describing the status of the wind11 storm impact reduction program, including progress 

12 achieved during the preceding two fiscal years. Each such 

13 report shall include any recommendations for legislative 

14 and other action the Interagency Working Group considers 

15 necessary and appropriate. In developing the biennial re16 port, the Interagency Working Group shall consider the rec17 ommendations of the Advisory Committee established under 

18 section 5. 

19 SEC. 5. NATIONAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON WINDSTORM 

20 IMPACT REDUCTION. 

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

22 National Advisory Committee on Windstorm Impact Re23 duction, consisting of not less than 11 and not more than 

24 15 non-Federal members representing a broad cross section 

25 of interests such as the research, technology transfer, design 
10 

•HR 3980 RH 

1 and construction, and financial communities; materials 

2 and systems suppliers; State, county, and local govern3 ments; the insurance industry; and other representatives as 

4 designated by the Director. 

5 (b) ASSESSMENT.—The Advisory Committee shall as6 sess— 

7 (1) trends and developments in the science and 

8 engineering of windstorm impact reduction; 

9 (2) the effectiveness of the Program in carrying 

10 out the activities under section 4(d); 

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

12 (4) the management, coordination, implementa13 tion, and activities of the Program. 

14 (c) BIENNIAL REPORT.—At least once every two years, 

15 the Advisory Committee shall report to Congress and the 

16 Interagency Working Group on the assessment carried out 

17 under subsection (b). 

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

19 Advisory Committee Act shall not apply to the Advisory 

20 Committee established under this section. 

21 SEC. 6. SAVINGS CLAUSE. 

22 Nothing in this Act supersedes any provision of the 

23 National Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety 

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

25 practice, technology, material, mitigation methodology, or 
11 

•HR 3980 RH 

1 hazard reduction measure of any kind developed under this 

2 Act shall be required for a home certified under section 616 

3 of the National Manufactured Housing Construction and 

4 Safety Standards Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5415), pursuant 

5 to standards issued under such Act, without being subject 

6 to the consensus development process and rulemaking proce7 dures of that Act. 

8 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

9 (a) FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY.— 

10 From sums otherwise authorized to be appropriated, there 

11 are authorized to be appropriated to the Federal Emergency 

12 Management Agency for carrying out this Act— 

13 (1) $8,000,000 for fiscal year 2005; 

14 (2) $8,700,000 for fiscal year 2006; and 

15 (3) $9,400,000 for fiscal year 2007. 

16 (b) NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION.—From sums 

17 otherwise authorized to be appropriated, there are author18 ized to be appropriated to the National Science Foundation 

19 for carrying out this Act— 

20 (1) $8,000,000 for fiscal year 2005; 

21 (2) $8,700,000 for fiscal year 2006; and 

22 (3) $9,400,000 for fiscal year 2007. 

23 (c) NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND TECH24 NOLOGY.—From sums otherwise authorized to be appro25 priated, there are authorized to be appropriated to the Na-
12 

•HR 3980 RH 

1 tional Institute of Standards and Technology for carrying 

2 out this Act— 

3 (1) $2,000,000 for fiscal year 2005; 

4 (2) $3,000,000 for fiscal year 2006; and 

5 (3) $4,000,000 for fiscal year 2007. 

6 (d) NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINIS7 TRATION.—From sums otherwise authorized to be appro8 priated, there are authorized to be appropriated to the Na9 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for car10 rying out this Act— 

11 (1) $2,000,000 for fiscal year 2005; 

12 (2) $2,100,000 for fiscal year 2006; and 

13 (3) $2,200,000 for fiscal year 2007. 

14 SEC. 8. BIENNIAL REPORT. 

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

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

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

18 and inserting ‘‘By January 30 of each odd-numbered year’’. 

Union Calendar No. 337 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 3980 

[Report No. 108–575, Part I] 

A BILL 

To establish a National Windstorm Impact 

Reduction Program. 

JUNE 28, 2004 

Reported from the Committee on Science with an 

amendment 

JUNE 28, 2004 

Referral to the Committee on Transportation and InfraJune 28, 2004 structure extended for a period ending not later than 

JUNE 28, 2004 

The Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

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