Date: 2000-10-26
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. the U.S. Fire Administration and the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program have long enjoyed the bipartisan support of the Congress because of their vital mission. to improve safety for all citizens. I would like to acknowledge the collegial approach taken by the gentleman from Michigan . the chairman of the Subcommittee on Basic Research. in developing H.R. 1550. It has been a pleasure. working with him on the bill. I also want to thank the chairman. of the committee. the gentleman from Wisconsin . and the ranking democratic member. the gentleman from Texas .. for their efforts to bring it before the House for its consideration tonight. � The Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 was intended to address a serious problem affecting the safety of all Americans. Much progress has been made during the past 25 years in public education about fire safety and improvement in the effectiveness of fire services and the wider use of home fire safety devices. Nevertheless. the United States still has one of the highest fire death rates among advanced nations. In 1997. 4.000 Americans died and nearly 24.000 were injured in fires. Moreover. the approximately 2 million fires reported each year result in direct property loss estimated at well over $8 billion. with a total direct and indirect cost reaching $100 billion annually. . The bill before the House seeks to reinvigorate the efforts of the fire administration. I am pleased that it endorses the Presidents fiscal year 2000 proposal and brings the budget level to $50 million by fiscal year 2003. Although this is a 12 percent increase over 3 years. it still pales compared to the scale of activity originally contemplated for the agency. Nevertheless. H.R. 1550 is a good start. We are improving the level of resources the fire administration needs to carry out its important mission. It will enable the agency to increase support for its critical responsibility for firefighter training- through the National Fire Academy The budget growth will enable the agency to reverse the steep decline in support for fire research and for public education programs. Regarding public education. the fire administration must enlarge and improve its efforts to reduce losses. and I will put my complete remarks in the record. Mr. Speaker. I would also like to specifically express my support for title I of H.R. 1550 which *authorizes the national earthquake hazard � reduQtion program. Through the efforts of the scientists and engineers funded by NEHRP programs. we now have maps that inform engineers. architects and builders of seismic hazards. We have model. building codes. and we have a greater understanding of the science of earthquake hazards and the response of buildings to the seismic movement. Advances such as early warning of seismic events. more structurally sound buildings. regional analysis of seismic risk. mobile research centers and widespread use of Internet and other telecommunications capability are going to make a marked reduction in the earthquakes. As my former colleague. the gentleman from California. Mr. Brown. would say. there are still challenges we must face and assessments that must be made periodically to make sure that we are doing everything we can to ensure the safety and security of the American people. There are still earthquakeprone communities that have not adopted appropriate building codes. monitoring in earthquakeprone areas is still done with less tha n stateoftheart equipment. and disparities in earthquake losses due to age. socioeconomic status. and physical limitations still exist. Fortunately. I feel that the bill before us today will help us meet these needs. In addition to authorizing increased funding for the base program. the bill authorizes the Advanced Seismic Research and Monitoring System to upgrade and expand our seismic monitoring. and the Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation to modernize earthquake engineering research facilities. The full title of the network for the earthquake engineering simulation is actually the George E. Brown. Jr. Network and Earthquake Engineering Simulation. in recognition of one of this legislative bodys most active and vigilant champions of initiative preparedness. the late Representative George E. Brown. Jr. Mr. Brown began the crusade for earthquake preparedness and mitigation in the 1960s at a time in which many people labeled him as an alarmist. but as we all know. Mr. Brown was always a step ahead in his view of the world around us. Through his works and through him serving as one of the original drafters of the Earthquake Hazards Reduction Act of 1977. Mr. HI1326 Brown has improved the lives of countless Americans that reside in seismically active or potentially active regions of the country. Therefore. it is only fitting that this recognition be given to a man who served as one of the greatest contributors to the current earthquake hazards reduction infrastructure. In closing. Mr. Speaker. let me say that H.R. 1550 is a good bill that comes to the floor at this time. and it is with bipartisan support. and I am pleased to recommend that all of the Members support this measure. Mr. Speaker. the U.S. Fire Administration and The National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program have long enjoyed the bipartisan support of the Congress because of their vital mission to improve the safety of all our citizens. I Would like to acknowledge the collegial approach taken by Mr. SMITH. the chairman of the Basic Research Subcommittee. in developing H.R. 1550. It has been a pleasure working with him on the bill. I also want to thank the chairman of the committee. Mr. SENSENBRENNER. and the Ranking Democratic Member. Mr. HALL. for their efforts in bringing it before the House for its consideration today. The Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 was intended to address a serious problem affecting the safety of all Americans. Much progress has been made during the past 25 years in public education about fire safety. improvement in the effectiveness of fire services. and the wider use of home fire safety devices. Nevertheless. the United States still has one of the highest fire death rates among advanced nations. In 1997. 4.000 Americans died and neariy 24.000 were injured in fires. Moreover. the approximately 2 million fires reported each year result in direct property losses estimated at well over $8 billion. with total direct and indirect costs reaching $100 billion annually. The bill before the House seeks to reinvigorate the efforts of the Fire Administration. I am pleased that it endorses the Presidents fiscal year 2001 proposal and brings the budget level to $50 million by fiscal year 2003. Although this is a 12 percent increase over three years. it still pales compared to the scale of activity originally contemplated for the agency. Nevertheless. H.R. 1550 is a good start for providing the level of resources the Fire Administration needs to carry out its important mission. It will enable the agency to increase support for its critical responsibility for firefighter training through the National Fire Academy. Moreover. the- budget growth will enable the agency to reverse the steep decline in support for fire research and for public education programs. Regarding public education. the Fire Administration must enlarge and improve its efforts to reduce losses for the population groups most at risk from fire death and injury. We know that the elderly. the very young. and the poor are the most vulnerable. I included language in the report accompanying the original Housepassed version of the bill tasking the Fire Administration to carefully assess whether research and additional data collection activities could improve understanding of the factors that lead to increased fire risk. Effective. targeted fire prevention campaigns can be developed only from a sound knowledge base. In addition to resources. the bill provides for the agency to develop a management plan and establish the program priorities that will help to ensure the increased resources are used to maximum effect. An important component of the plan is the requirement for consultation with the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the fire service organizations to establish a prioritized set of research goals. Mr. Speaker. I would also like to specifically express my support of Title II of HR 1550. which reauthorizes the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP). Through the efforts of the scientists and engineers funded by NEHRP programs. we now have maps that inform engineers. architects. and builders of seismic hazards. we have model building codes. and we have a greater understanding of the science of earthquake hazards and the response of buildings to seismic movement. Advances such as early waming of seismic events. more structurally sound buildings. regional analysis of seismic risk. mobile research centers. and widespread use of the Intemet and other telecommunications capabilities are going to make marked reductions in the impacts of earthquakes. However. as my former colleague Mr. Brown of California would say. there are still challenges we must face and assessments that must be made periodically to make sure that we are doing everything we can to ensure the safety and security of the American people. There are still earthquakeprone communities that have not adopted appropriate building codes. monitoring in earthquakeprone areas is still done with less than stateoftheart equipment. and disparities in earthquake losses due to age. socioeconomic status. and physical limitations still exist. Fortunately. I feel that the bill before us today will help us meet these needs. In addition to authorizing increased funding for the base program. the bill authorizes (1) the "Advanced Seismic Research and Monitoring System" to upgrade and expand our seismic monitoring. and (2) the "Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation" to modemize earthquake engineering research facilities. The full title of the Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation is actually the George E. Brown. Jr. Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation in recognition of one of this legislative bodys most active and vigilant champions of earthquake preparedness. the late Representative George E. Brown. Jr. Mr. Brown began the crusade for earthquake preparedness and mitigation in the 1960s. at a time in which many people labeled him an alarmist. But as we all know Mr. Brown was always a step ahead in his view of the world around us. Through his worksincluding serving as one of the original drafters of the Earthquake Hazards Reduction Act of 1977Mr. Brown has improved the lives of countless Americans that reside in seismically active. or potentially active. regions of the country. Therefore. it is only fitting that this recognition be given to a man who served as one of the greatest contributors to the current "earthquake hazard reduction" infrastructure. In closing. Mr. Speaker. let me say that H.R. 1550 is a good bill that comes to the Floor with bipartisan support and that authorizes programs that advance public safety. I am pleased to recommend the measure to my colleagues for their approval.