108TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 3980
AN ACT
To establish a National Windstorm Impact
Reduction Program.
108TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 3980
AN ACT
To establish a National Windstorm Impact Reduction
Program.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Windstorm
Impact Reduction Act of 2004’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds the following:
(1) Hurricanes, tropical storms, tornadoes, and
thunderstorms can cause significant loss of life, in-
jury, destruction of property, and economic and so-
cial disruption. All States and regions are vulnerable
to these hazards.
(2) The United States currently sustains sev-
eral billion dollars in economic damages each year
due to these windstorms. In recent decades, rapid
development and population growth in high-risk
areas has greatly increased overall vulnerability to
windstorms.
(3) Improved windstorm impact reduction
measures have the potential to reduce these losses
through—
(A) cost-effective and affordable design
and construction methods and practices;
(B) effective mitigation programs at the
local, State, and national level;
(C) improved data collection and analysis
and impact prediction methodologies;
(D) engineering research on improving new
structures and retrofitting existing ones to bet-
ter withstand windstorms, atmospheric-related
research to better understand the behavior and
impact of windstorms on the built environment,
and subsequent application of those research re-
sults; and
(E) public education and outreach.
(4) There is an appropriate role for the Federal
Government in supporting windstorm impact reduc-
tion. An effective Federal program in windstorm im-
pact reduction will require interagency coordination,
and input from individuals, academia, the private
sector, and other interested non-Federal entities.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) The term ‘‘Director’’ means the Director of
the Office of Science and Technology Policy.
(2) The term ‘‘State’’ means each of the States
of the United States, the District of Columbia, the
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States
Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Com-
monwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and
any other territory or possession of the United
States.
(3) The term ‘‘windstorm’’ means any storm
with a damaging or destructive wind component,
such as a hurricane, tropical storm, tornado, or
thunderstorm.
SEC. 4. NATIONAL WINDSTORM IMPACT REDUCTION PRO-
GRAM.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established the Na-
tional Windstorm Impact Reduction Program (in this Act
referred to as the ‘‘Program’’).
(b) OBJECTIVE.—The objective of the Program is the
achievement of major measurable reductions in losses of
life and property from windstorms. The objective is to be
achieved through a coordinated Federal effort, in coopera-
tion with other levels of government, academia, and the
private sector, aimed at improving the understanding of
windstorms and their impacts and developing and encour-
aging implementation of cost-effective mitigation meas-
ures to reduce those impacts.
(c) INTERAGENCY WORKING GROUP.—Not later than
90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Direc-
tor shall establish an Interagency Working Group con-
sisting of representatives of the National Science Founda-
tion, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra-
tion, the National Institute of Standards and Technology,
the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and other
Federal agencies as appropriate. The Director shall des-
ignate an agency to serve as Chair of the Working Group
and be responsible for the planning, management, and co-
ordination of the Program, including budget coordination.
Specific agency roles and responsibilities under the Pro-
gram shall be defined in the implementation plan required
under subsection (e). General agency responsibilities shall
include the following:
(1) The National Institute of Standards and
Technology shall support research and development
to improve building codes and standards and prac-
tices for design and construction of buildings, struc-
tures, and lifelines.
(2) The National Science Foundation shall sup-
port research in engineering and the atmospheric
sciences to improve the understanding of the behav-
ior of windstorms and their impact on buildings,
structures, and lifelines.
(3) The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad-
ministration shall support atmospheric sciences re-
search to improve the understanding of the behavior
of windstorms and their impact on buildings, struc-
tures, and lifelines.
(4) The Federal Emergency Management Agen-
cy shall support the development of risk assessment
tools and effective mitigation techniques, windstorm-
related data collection and analysis, public outreach,
information dissemination, and implementation of
mitigation measures consistent with the Agency’s
all-hazards approach.
(d) PROGRAM COMPONENTS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Program shall consist
of three primary mitigation components: improved
understanding of windstorms, windstorm impact as-
sessment, and windstorm impact reduction. The
components shall be implemented through activities
such as data collection and analysis, risk assess-
ment, outreach, technology transfer, and research
and development. To the extent practicable, research
activities authorized under this Act shall be peer-re-
viewed, and the components shall be designed to be
complementary to, and avoid duplication of, other
public and private hazard reduction efforts.
(2) UNDERSTANDING OF WINDSTORMS.—Activi-
ties to enhance the understanding of windstorms
shall include research to improve knowledge of and
data collection on the impact of severe wind on
buildings, structures, and infrastructure.
(3) WINDSTORM IMPACT ASSESSMENT.—Activi-
ties to improve windstorm impact assessment shall
include—
(A) development of mechanisms for col-
lecting and inventorying information on the per-
formance of buildings, structures, and infra-
structure in windstorms and improved collection
of pertinent information from sources, including
the design and construction industry, insurance
companies, and building officials;
(B) research, development, and technology
transfer to improve loss estimation and risk as-
sessment systems; and
(C) research, development, and technology
transfer to improve simulation and computa-
tional modeling of windstorm impacts.
(4) WINDSTORM IMPACT REDUCTION.—Activi-
ties to reduce windstorm impacts shall include—
(A) development of improved outreach and
implementation mechanisms to translate exist-
ing information and research findings into cost-
effective and affordable practices for design and
construction professionals, and State and local
officials;
(B) development of cost-effective and af-
fordable windstorm-resistant systems, struc-
tures, and materials for use in new construction
and retrofit of existing construction; and
(C) outreach and information dissemina-
tion related to cost-effective and affordable con-
struction techniques, loss estimation and risk
assessment methodologies, and other pertinent
information regarding windstorm phenomena to
Federal, State, and local officials, the construc-
tion industry, and the general public.
(e) IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.—Not later than 1 year
after date of enactment of this Act, the Interagency Work-
ing Group shall develop and transmit to the Congress an
implementation plan for achieving the objectives of the
Program. The plan shall include—
(1) an assessment of past and current public
and private efforts to reduce windstorm impacts, in-
cluding a comprehensive review and analysis of
windstorm mitigation activities supported by the
Federal Government;
(2) a description of plans for technology trans-
fer and coordination with natural hazard mitigation
activities supported by the Federal Government;
(3) a statement of strategic goals and priorities
for each Program component area;
(4) a description of how the Program will
achieve such goals, including detailed responsibilities
for each agency; and
(5) a description of plans for cooperation and
coordination with interested public and private sec-
tor entities in each program component area.
(f) BIENNIAL REPORT.—The Interagency Working
Group shall, on a biennial basis, and not later than 180
days after the end of the preceding 2 fiscal years, transmit
a report to the Congress describing the status of the wind-
storm impact reduction program, including progress
achieved during the preceding two fiscal years. Each such
report shall include any recommendations for legislative
and other action the Interagency Working Group con-
siders necessary and appropriate. In developing the bien-
nial report, the Interagency Working Group shall consider
the recommendations of the Advisory Committee estab-
lished under section 5.
SEC. 5. NATIONAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON WINDSTORM
IMPACT REDUCTION.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Director shall establish a
National Advisory Committee on Windstorm Impact Re-
duction, consisting of not less than 11 and not more than
15 non-Federal members representing a broad cross sec-
tion of interests such as the research, technology transfer,
design and construction, and financial communities; mate-
rials and systems suppliers; State, county, and local gov-
ernments; the insurance industry; and other representa-
tives as designated by the Director.
(b) ASSESSMENT.—The Advisory Committee shall
assess—
(1) trends and developments in the science and
engineering of windstorm impact reduction;
(2) the effectiveness of the Program in carrying
out the activities under section 4(d);
(3) the need to revise the Program; and
(4) the management, coordination, implementa-
tion, and activities of the Program.
(c) BIENNIAL REPORT.—At least once every two
years, the Advisory Committee shall report to Congress
and the Interagency Working Group on the assessment
carried out under subsection (b).
(d) SUNSET EXEMPTION.—Section 14 of the Federal
Advisory Committee Act shall not apply to the Advisory
Committee established under this section.
SEC. 6. SAVINGS CLAUSE.
Nothing in this Act supersedes any provision of the
National Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety