IV 
109TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. CON. RES. 406 
Expressing the sense of Congress that the needs of children affected by 
major disasters are unique and should be given special consideration 
in conducting disaster preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation 
activities, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 17, 2006 
Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi submitted the following concurrent resolution; 
which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 
Expressing the sense of Congress that the needs of children 
affected by major disasters are unique and should be 
given special consideration in conducting disaster pre-
paredness, response, recovery, and mitigation activities, 
and for other purposes. 
Whereas the average annual number of major disasters de-
clared by President was 38 in the 1980s, 46 in the 
1990s, and 52 during the first half of this decade; 
Whereas the annual number of major disasters in the United 
States is expected to continue to increase; 
Whereas major disasters in the United States affect 
2,000,000 to 3,000,000 people each year (as measured by 
the Federal Emergency Management Agency), even ex-
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cluding the truly catastrophic events that occurred on the 
Gulf Coast in 2005; 
Whereas 5,192 children were reported to the National Center 
for Missing and Exploited Children as missing or dis-
placed as a result of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and 
it took 6 1⁄2 months to reunite one of these children with 
her family; 
Whereas among these children were 45 children who arrived 
at shelters separated from parents or guardians and 
without any adult supervision, and it took just over a 
month to resolve these cases; 
Whereas 1,100 schools were closed immediately following 
Hurricane Katrina and 372,000 schoolchildren were ini-
tially unable to attend school in New Orleans and the 
Gulf Coast due to the hurricane; 
Whereas 7 percent of these schools remain closed in Mis-
sissippi and 21 percent of these schools remain closed in 
Louisiana; 
Whereas more than 400,000 children under age 5 live in or 
have evacuated from counties or parishes that have been 
declared major disaster areas; 
Whereas the number of licensed child care facilities in areas 
affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita declined by 54 
(4 percent) in Mississippi and 356 (25 percent) in Lou-
isiana after the hurricanes; 
Whereas children are known to benefit from rapid mental 
health programming following disasters to mitigate longer 
term impacts; 
Whereas disaster management in the United States is carried 
out by local, State, and Federal government emergency 
management organizations, and the disaster management 
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programs and activities of these organizations do not 
fully respond to the unique needs of children; 
Whereas local, State, and Federal government emergency 
management professionals lack the technical knowledge, 
support, and contacts to incorporate the unique needs of 
children into their disaster management programs and 
activities; and 
Whereas legislative constraints on Federal disaster response 
and recovery aid programs restrict disaster officials from 
responding to the specific needs of children in a disaster, 
and the Federal Government does not have a liaison or 
program concerning children’s issues in disasters: Now, 
therefore, be it 
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
concurring), That it is the sense of Congress that— 
(1) the needs of children affected by major dis-
asters are unique and should be given special consid-
eration in conducting disaster preparedness, re-
sponse, recovery, and mitigation activities; 
(2) the Federal Emergency Management Agen-
cy, in consultation with appropriate child-focused 
nongovernmental organizations, should conduct ac-
tivities to address the needs of children in major dis-
asters, such as— 
(A) incorporating suggestions from such 
organizations on children’s issues into the Na-
tional Response Plan; 
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(B) addressing the needs of children in 
emergency shelters, trailer parks, and transi-
tional housing sites; 
(C) jointly developing disaster prepared-
ness materials for children, families, and 
schools to support their understanding of the 
impact of disasters on children and strategies to 
mitigate them; and 
(D) jointly developing risk assessment tools 
for communities to use in determining chil-
dren’s specific disaster risks. 
Æ 
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