I 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 652 
To amend the Public Health Service Act to establish a comprehensive national 
system for skilled construction workers to assist first responders in disasters. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 22, 2009 
Mr. KING of New York introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Com-
mittee on Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be subse-
quently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 
provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To amend the Public Health Service Act to establish a com-
prehensive national system for skilled construction work-
ers to assist first responders in disasters. 
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 ‘‘Skilled Trades Second 
Responders Act of 2009’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
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(1) Skilled construction workers are essential to 
effectively providing rescue and recovery following 
manmade and natural disasters, and are vital to the 
cleanup, demolition, rehabilitation, and reconstruc-
tion of disaster sites after recovery operations. 
(2) Construction craft workers bring essential 
skills in support of first responders, including demo-
lition (such as welding, cutting, burning, and rig-
ging), electrical and pipeline maintenance, hazardous 
waste cleanup, equipment operations, and traffic 
control. 
(3) Construction contractors and employers also 
provide essential equipment to disaster response ef-
forts, such as welding machines, backhoes, cranes, 
dozers, skilled workers, and essential supplies for 
site-specific needs. 
(4) Historically, construction craft workers have 
provided support skills to first response operations 
after natural disasters, such as Hurricanes Katrina 
and Rita; terrorist attacks, such as Oklahoma City, 
the World Trade Center, and the Pentagon; and 
manmade disasters, such as the Minneapolis bridge 
collapse. However, there are no systems in place to 
mobilize this workforce or ensure the effective inte-
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gration of construction craft workers with first re-
sponder operations. 
(5) The experience of earlier disasters reveals 
the need for a cohesive national, State, and local 
system of construction craft workers ready to serve 
their country and assist first responders in response 
to a disaster. The system should be designed to 
identify, train, certify, register, and integrate skilled 
craft workers into disaster preparedness and re-
sponse activities, as well as provide training of con-
struction craft workers in health and safety proce-
dures to assist rescue, recovery, and cleanup activi-
ties. 
SEC. 3. SECOND RESPONDER PROGRAM IN THE NATIONAL 
INSTITUTE 
OF 
ENVIRONMENTAL 
HEALTH 
SCIENCES. 
Subpart 12 of part C of title IV of the Public Health 
Service Act (42 U.S.C. 285l et seq.) is amended by adding 
at the end the following: 
‘‘SEC. 463C. SECOND RESPONDER TRAINING AND INTEGRA-
TION PROGRAM. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Institute 
shall establish, as part of the Worker Education and 
Training Program of the Institute, a national program for 
the training, certification, registration, tracking, and inte-
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gration of skilled construction workers to assist first re-
sponders in responding to disasters, including natural and 
manmade disasters and terrorist attacks. 
‘‘(b) CONTENT OF PROGRAM.—As part of the na-
tional program established under subsection (a), the Di-
rector shall— 
‘‘(1) develop a national plan for integrating 
construction activities into State and local disaster- 
response plans; 
‘‘(2) provide training for construction trainers 
and workers, foremen, supervisors, and other indus-
try personnel on how to assist first responders and 
integrate their efforts with first responders during 
emergency response, rescue, recovery, and cleanup 
activities; 
‘‘(3) provide specialized safety, health, and 
skills training to construction workers on how to 
protect themselves, coworkers, and the public from 
safety and health hazards inherent in disaster re-
sponse activities; 
‘‘(4)(A) establish community-based registries of 
certified skilled workers who are considered on call 
and who can be identified and mobilized when need-
ed; and 
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‘‘(B) pilot integration of such community-based 
registries into a national registry system; 
‘‘(5) establish a national, State, and local sys-
tem to maintain the readiness of construction per-
sonnel and equipment through regular training, re-
certification, and exercises with first responders; and 
‘‘(6) develop agreements with construction in-
dustry contractors and joint labor-management orga-
nizations that have disaster response capabilities and 
with designated first response coordinating agencies 
for on-call responses in the event of a disaster. 
‘‘(c) COORDINATION.—In developing the national 
program under subsection (a), the Director shall coordi-
nate and consult with the Department of Homeland Secu-
rity, including the Federal Emergency Management Agen-
cy, other relevant agencies, and private organizations, in-
cluding construction industry contractors, joint labor- 
management training funds, and building trade unions, 
that are experienced in providing rescue and recovery as-
sistance to first responders, and in the cleanup, demoli-
tion, rehabilitation, and reconstruction of disaster sites 
after recovery operations. 
‘‘(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 
$35,000,000 for fiscal year 2010 and each subsequent fis-
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