I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3272 

To reauthorize the National Windstorm Impact Reduction Program, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 27, 2011 

Mr. NEUGEBAUER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, 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 reauthorize the National Windstorm Impact 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 Windstorm 

5 Impact Reduction Act Reauthorization of 2011’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 Section 203(1) of the National Windstorm Impact 

8 Reduction Act of 2004 (42 U.S.C. 15702(1)) is amended 

9 by striking ‘‘Director of the Office of Science and TechVerDate Mar 15 2010 22:48 Oct 27, 2011 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3272.IH H3272

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1 nology Policy’’ and inserting ‘‘Director of the National In2 stitute of Standards and Technology’’. 

3 SEC. 3. NATIONAL WINDSTORM IMPACT REDUCTION PRO4 GRAM. 

5 Section 204 of the National Windstorm Impact Re6 duction Act of 2004 (42 U.S.C. 15703) is amended— 

7 (1) by striking subsections (a), (b), and (c) and 

8 inserting the following: 

9 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established the Na10 tional Windstorm Impact Reduction Program, the purpose 

11 of which is to achieve major measurable reductions in the 

12 losses of life and property from windstorms through a co13 ordinated Federal effort, in cooperation with other levels 

14 of government, academia, and the private sector, aimed 

15 at improving the understanding of windstorms and their 

16 impacts and developing and encouraging the implementa17 tion of cost-effective mitigation measures to reduce those 

18 impacts. 

19 ‘‘(b) RESPONSIBILITIES OF PROGRAM AGENCIES.— 

20 ‘‘(1) LEAD AGENCY.—The National Institute of 

21 Standards and Technology shall have the primary 

22 responsibility for planning and coordinating the Pro23 gram. In carrying out this paragraph, the Director 

24 shall— 


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1 ‘‘(A) ensure that the Program includes the 

2 necessary components to promote the imple3 mentation of windstorm risk reduction meas4 ures by Federal, State, and local governments, 

5 national standards and model building code or6 ganizations, architects and engineers, and oth7 ers with a role in planning and constructing 

8 buildings and lifelines; 

9 ‘‘(B) support the development of perform10 ance-based engineering tools, and work with ap11 propriate groups to promote the commercial ap12 plication of such tools, including through wind13 related model building codes, voluntary stand14 ards, and construction best practices; 

15 ‘‘(C) request the assistance of Federal 

16 agencies other than the Program agencies, as 

17 necessary to assist in carrying out this Act; 

18 ‘‘(D) coordinate all Federal post-windstorm 

19 investigations; and 

20 ‘‘(E) when warranted by research or inves21 tigative findings, issue recommendations to as22 sist in informing the development of model 

23 codes, and provide information to Congress on 

24 the use of such recommendations. 


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1 ‘‘(2) NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND

2 TECHNOLOGY.—In addition to the lead agency re3 sponsibilities described under paragraph (1), the Na4 tional Institute of Standards and Technology shall 

5 be responsible for carrying out research and develop6 ment to improve model building codes, voluntary 

7 standards, and best practices for the design, con8 struction, and retrofit of buildings, structures, and 

9 lifelines. 

10 ‘‘(3) NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION.—The 

11 National Science Foundation shall support research 

12 in engineering and the atmospheric sciences to im13 prove the understanding of the behavior of wind14 storms and their impact on buildings, structures, 

15 and lifelines. 

16 ‘‘(4) NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC

17 ADMINISTRATION.—The National Oceanic and At18 mospheric Administration shall support atmospheric 

19 sciences research to improve the understanding of 

20 the behavior of windstorms and their impact on 

21 buildings, structures, and lifelines. 

22 ‘‘(5) FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT

23 AGENCY.—The Federal Emergency Management 

24 Agency shall support the development of risk assess25 ment tools and effective mitigation techniques, windVerDate Mar 15 2010 22:48 Oct 27, 2011 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3272.IH H3272

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1 storm-related data collection and analysis, public 

2 outreach, information dissemination, and implemen3 tation of mitigation measures consistent with the 

4 Agency’s all-hazards approach.’’; 

5 (2) by redesignating subsection (d) as sub6 section (c); 

7 (3) by inserting after subsection (c), as so re8 designated, the following new subsection: 

9 ‘‘(d) INTERAGENCY COORDINATING COMMITTEE ON

10 WINDSTORM IMPACT REDUCTION.— 

11 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established an 

12 Interagency Coordinating Committee on Windstorm 

13 Impact Reduction, chaired by the Director. 

14 ‘‘(2) MEMBERSHIP.—In addition to the chair, 

15 the Committee shall be composed of— 

16 ‘‘(A) the heads of— 

17 ‘‘(i) the Federal Emergency Manage18 ment Agency; 

19 ‘‘(ii) the National Oceanic and Atmos20 pheric Administration; 

21 ‘‘(iii) the National Science Founda22 tion; 

23 ‘‘(iv) the Office of Science and Tech24 nology Policy; and 


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1 ‘‘(v) the Office of Management and 

2 Budget; and 

3 ‘‘(B) the head of any other Federal agency 

4 the chair considers appropriate. 

5 ‘‘(3) MEETINGS.—The Committee shall meet 

6 not less than 2 times a year at the call of the Direc7 tor of the National Institute of Standards and Tech8 nology. 

9 ‘‘(4) GENERAL PURPOSE AND DUTIES.—The 

10 Committee shall oversee the planning and coordina11 tion of the Program. 

12 ‘‘(5) STRATEGIC PLAN.—The Committee shall 

13 develop and submit to Congress, not later than one 

14 year after the date of enactment of the National 

15 Windstorm Impact Reduction Act Reauthorization of 

16 2011, a Strategic Plan for the Program that in17 cludes— 

18 ‘‘(A) prioritized goals for the Program that 

19 will mitigate against the loss of life and prop20 erty from future windstorms; 

21 ‘‘(B) short-term, mid-term, and long-term 

22 research objectives to achieve those goals; 

23 ‘‘(C) a description of the role of each Pro24 gram agency in achieving the prioritized goals; 


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1 ‘‘(D) the methods by which progress to2 wards the goals will be assessed; and 

3 ‘‘(E) an explanation of how the Program 

4 will foster the transfer of research results into 

5 outcomes, such as improved model building 

6 codes. 

7 ‘‘(6) PROGRESS REPORT.—Not later than 18 

8 months after the date of enactment of the National 

9 Windstorm Impact Reduction Act Reauthorization of 

10 2011, the Committee shall submit to the Congress a 

11 report on the progress of the Program that in12 cludes— 

13 ‘‘(A) a description of the activities funded 

14 under the Program, a description of how these 

15 activities align with the prioritized goals and re16 search objectives established in the Strategic 

17 Plan, and the budgets, per agency, for these ac18 tivities; 

19 ‘‘(B) the outcomes achieved by the Pro20 gram for each of the goals identified in the 

21 Strategic Plan; 

22 ‘‘(C) a description of any recommendations 

23 made to change existing building codes that 

24 were the result of Program activities; and 


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

2 the Program has incorporated recommendations 

3 from the Advisory Committee on Windstorm 

4 Impact Reduction. 

5 ‘‘(7) COORDINATED BUDGET.—The Committee 

6 shall develop a coordinated budget for the Program, 

7 which shall be submitted to the Congress at the time 

8 of the President’s budget submission for each fiscal 

9 year.’’; and 

10 (4) by striking subsections (e) and (f). 

11 SEC. 4. NATIONAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON WINDSTORM 

12 IMPACT REDUCTION. 

13 Section 205 of the National Windstorm Impact Re14 duction Act of 2004 (42 U.S.C. 15704) is amended to 

15 read as follows: 

16 ‘‘SEC. 205. NATIONAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON WIND17 STORM IMPACT REDUCTION. 

18 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the National In19 stitute of Standards and Technology shall establish an Ad20 visory Committee on Windstorm Impact Reduction, which 

21 shall be composed of at least 7 members, none of whom 

22 may be employees of the Federal Government, including 

23 representatives of research and academic institutions, in24 dustry standards development organizations, emergency 

25 management agencies, State and local government, and 


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1 business communities who are qualified to provide advice 

2 on windstorm impact reduction and represent all related 

3 scientific, architectural, and engineering disciplines. The 

4 recommendations of the Advisory Committee shall be con5 sidered by Federal agencies in implementing the Program. 

6 ‘‘(b) ASSESSMENTS.—The Advisory Committee on 

7 Windstorm Impact Reduction shall offer assessments on— 

8 ‘‘(1) trends and developments in the natural 

9 and engineering sciences and practices of windstorm 

10 impact mitigation; 

11 ‘‘(2) the priorities of the Program’s Strategic 

12 Plan; 

13 ‘‘(3) the coordination of the Program; and 

14 ‘‘(4) any revisions to the Program which may 

15 be necessary. 

16 ‘‘(c) COMPENSATION.—The members of the Advisory 

17 Committee established under this section shall serve with18 out compensation. 

19 ‘‘(d) REPORTS.—At least every 2 years, the Advisory 

20 Committee shall report to the Director on the assessments 

21 carried out under subsection (b) and its recommendations 

22 for ways to improve the Program. 

23 ‘‘(e) CHARTER.—Notwithstanding section 14(b)(2) of 

24 the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App), the 

25 Advisory Committee shall not be required to file a charter 


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1 subsequent to its initial charter, filed under section 9(c) 

2 of such Act, before the termination date specified in sub3 section (f) of this section. 

4 ‘‘(f) TERMINATION.—The Advisory Committee shall 

5 terminate on September 30, 2014.’’. 

6 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

7 Section 207 of the National Windstorm Impact Re8 duction Act of 2004 (42 U.S.C. 15706) is amended to 

9 read as follows: 

10 ‘‘SEC. 207. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

11 ‘‘(a) FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGEN12 CY.—There are authorized to be appropriated to the Fed13 eral Emergency Management Agency for carrying out this 

14 title— 

15 ‘‘(1) $4,000,000 for fiscal year 2012; 

16 ‘‘(2) $4,000,000 for fiscal year 2013; and 

17 ‘‘(3) $4,000,000 for fiscal year 2014. 

18 ‘‘(b) NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION.—There are 

19 authorized to be appropriated to the National Science 

20 Foundation for carrying out this title— 

21 ‘‘(1) $9,400,000 for fiscal year 2012; 

22 ‘‘(2) $9,400,000 for fiscal year 2013; and 

23 ‘‘(3) $9,400,000 for fiscal year 2014. 

24 ‘‘(c) NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND

25 TECHNOLOGY.—There are authorized to be appropriated 


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1 to the National Institute of Standards and Technology for 

2 carrying out this title— 

3 ‘‘(1) $5,300,000 for fiscal year 2012; 

4 ‘‘(2) $5,300,000 for fiscal year 2013; and 

5 ‘‘(3) $5,300,000 for fiscal year 2014. 

6 ‘‘(d) NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMIN7 ISTRATION.—There are authorized to be appropriated to 

8 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for 

9 carrying out this title— 

10 ‘‘(1) $2,700,000 for fiscal year 2012; 

11 ‘‘(2) $2,700,000 for fiscal year 2013; and 

12 ‘‘(3) $2,700,000 for fiscal year 2014.’’. 

Æ 


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