Date: 1999-04-21
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Chairman. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman. I rise in strong support of H.R. 1184. the reauthorization of the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program. NEHRP. It has been over 20 years since the Congress first authorized the Earthquake Hazards Reduction Act. and.- during the intervening two decades. the program has made tremendous strides in combating these natural disasters. We now have maps that inform engineers. architects. and builders of seismic hazards. model building codes. and greater understanding of the science of earthquake hazards and the response of buildings to seismic movement. In practical terms. federally funded research in geosciences. social sciences. and engineering has saved countless lives. in addition to saving personal property and* critical infrastructures. I am certain that with continued -support we can make even greater strides in the innovative areas that FEMA. the U.S. Geological Survey. the National Seismic Foundation. and NIST are currently exploring. Advances such as early warning of seismic events.. more structurally sound buildings. regional analysis of seismic risk. mobile research centers. and widespread use of the Internet and our other telecommunication capabilities are going to make marked reductions in the impacts of not just earthquakes. but almost all natural and manmade disasters. But the story does not end there. While our increased understanding of earthquake kinematics and the mitigation procedures proves that we have made progress. there are still challenges we must face and assessments that must be made periodically to make sure that we are doing everything that 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 and socioeconomic status and physical limitations still exist. For these reasons and more. the earthquake programs must continue to evolve to address these new challenges. I feel that the bill before us today will help us meet these new needs. In addition to authorizing increased funding for these base NEHRP programs. the bill authorizes the Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation. an effort by the National Science Foundation to modernize earthquake engineering research facilities. the Advanced Seismic Research and Monitoring System. which will enable the Geological Survey to upgrade and expand our seismic monitoring networks to reflect the needs across the Nation. and a study on elements of NEHRP that address the needs of atrisk populations. Todays bill will not solve all of these challenges that remain. but it will move us in the right direction. In closing. Mr. Chairman. let me say that while natural disasters are inevitable. the extent of the damage is not. We inust attack the problem from all sides with renewed efforts to implement seismically safe building standards. to increase our pool of data on natural disasters. to respond rapidly to disasters when they strike. and. in general. to understand the risks associated with earthquakes in whatever form they may manifest themselves. Mr. Chairman. I commend the gentleman from Wisconsin . the gentleman from Michigan . our subcommittee chair. for their work. and certainly our leader. the gentleman from California