[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 406 Introduced in House (IH)]








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 preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation 
                  activities, and for other purposes.

Whereas the average annual number of major disasters declared 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 excluding 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 displaced 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 initially unable to attend school in New 
        Orleans and the Gulf Coast due to the hurricane;
Whereas 7 percent of these schools remain closed in Mississippi 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 Louisiana 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 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 disasters are 
        unique and should be given special consideration in conducting 
        disaster preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation 
        activities;
            (2) the Federal Emergency Management Agency, in 
        consultation with appropriate child-focused nongovernmental 
        organizations, should conduct activities to address the needs 
        of children in major disasters, such as--
                    (A) incorporating suggestions from such 
                organizations on children's issues into the National 
                Response Plan;
                    (B) addressing the needs of children in emergency 
                shelters, trailer parks, and transitional housing 
                sites;
                    (C) jointly developing disaster preparedness 
                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 children's specific 
                disaster risks.
                                 <all>