[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 32 (Tuesday, March 2, 1999)]
[House]
[Pages H842-H845]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              DISASTER MITIGATION COORDINATION ACT OF 1999

  Mr. TALENT. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 818) to amend the Small Business Act to authorize a pilot 
program for the implementation of disaster mitigation measures by small 
businesses.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                                H.R. 818

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Disaster Mitigation 
     Coordination Act of 1999''.

     SEC. 2. PILOT PROGRAM.

       (a) In General.--Section 7(b)(1) of the Small Business Act 
     (15 U.S.C. 636(b)(1)) is amended--
       (1) in subparagraph (B), by adding ``and'' at the end; and
       (2) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(C) during fiscal years 2000 through 2004, to establish a 
     disaster mitigation program to make such loans (either 
     directly or in cooperation with banks or other lending 
     institutions through agreements to participate on an 
     immediate or deferred (guaranteed) basis) as the 
     Administrator may determine to be necessary or appropriate to 
     enable small business concerns to implement mitigation 
     measures pursuant to a formal disaster mitigation program 
     established by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, 
     except that no loan or guarantee may be extended to a small 
     business concern under this subparagraph unless the 
     Administration finds the concern is otherwise unable to 
     obtain credit for the purposes described in this 
     subparagraph.''.
       (b) Authorization of Appropriations.--Section 20 of the 
     Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 631 note) is amended by adding 
     at the end the following:
       ``(f) Disaster Mitigation Pilot Program.--The following 
     program levels are authorized for loans under section 
     7(b)(1)(C):
       ``(1) $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2000.
       ``(2) $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2001.
       ``(3) $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2002.
       ``(4) $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2003.
       ``(5) $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2004.''.
       (c) Evaluation.--
       (1) In general.--On January 31, 2003, the Administrator of 
     the Small Business Administration shall submit to the 
     Committees on Small Business of the House of Representatives 
     and the Senate a report on the effectiveness of the pilot 
     program authorized by section 7(b)(1)(C) of the Small 
     Business Act, as added by subsection (a) of this section.
       (2) Contents of report.--The report shall include--
       (1) information relating to--
       (A) the areas served under the pilot program;
       (B) the number and dollar value of loans made under the 
     pilot program; and
       (C) the estimated savings to the Federal Government 
     resulting from the pilot program; and
       (2) such other information as the Administrator determines 
     to be appropriate for evaluating the pilot program.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Missouri (Mr. Talent) and the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Baird) 
each will control 20 minutes.

[[Page H843]]

  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Talent).
  Mr. TALENT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I begin by thanking my colleague, the ranking member on 
the Committee on Small Business, the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. 
Velazquez), for her assistance in moving this bill and also my 
colleague from Washington (Mr. Baird) for his assistance in handling 
it.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 818, the Disaster Mitigation Act of 1999, is a 
common-sense approach to applying the principle of preventive care in 
coping with natural disasters. H.R. 818 is substantially identical to a 
measure reintroduced by Senator Cleland, the measure which actually 
passed the Senate last year. It is part of the administration's budget 
request, and it has substantial bipartisan support.
  Since 1953, the Small Business Administration has administered the 
Disaster Loan Program authorized by section 7(b) of the Small Business 
Act. This program provides loans to help small businesses rebuild after 
natural disasters.
  In past years, the loan program has spent billions of dollars helping 
small businesses recover from natural disasters. For example, in fiscal 
year 1998, the SBA lent $728 million for 30,154 disaster loans. In 
1997, it lent $1.1 billion for 49,515 disaster loans. In 1994, the 
SBA's highest demand came when it loaned over $4.1 billion for damage 
done due to the Northridge Earthquake in California. It was important, 
Mr. Speaker, that we do this to help people recover from the damage 
inflicted by natural disasters.
  We should also recognize that the cost of disaster assistance has 
risen over the past several years due to increases in construction and 
other costs, and it is clear that efforts must be made to help prevent 
this kind of damage in the first place, both to prevent the human 
injury and toll and also to hold down costs to the taxpayers. 
Implementing the program to help small businesses use techniques to 
lessen damages caused by natural disasters offers the potential to save 
much anguish for many people across the United States and also to save 
millions of dollars in the future.
  The Federal Emergency Management Agency currently manages Project 
Impact which works in conjunction with communities and businesses on 
such mitigation policies and techniques. Passage of H.R. 818 will 
complement and further these efforts at mitigation by offering small 
businesses low-interest loans for disaster mitigation through the Small 
Business Administration.
  H.R. 818 authorizes the SBA to establish a pilot program to make 
loans to small businesses for purposes of mitigating the effects of 
natural disasters. These loans will be made in support of the 
mitigation program established at the Federal Emergency Management 
Agency. The mitigation techniques are varied. They include a wide range 
of activities, including building improvements, relocation and the 
like.
  H.R. 818 will authorize SBA to lend up to $15 million each year 
through fiscal year 2004 in support of the Disaster Mitigation Pilot 
Program. These funds will come from existing section 7(b) disaster loan 
appropriations and will be subject to appropriations available for that 
program, so the bill does not authorize any new Federal spending.
  Finally, H.R. 818 will require the SBA to report to Congress on 
January 31, 2003. The report will document the number of loans made, 
the areas served by the pilot and the estimated savings to the 
government as a result of the program.
  I want to again thank my colleagues, the gentlewoman from New York 
(Ms. Velazquez), and my friend, the gentleman from Washington (Mr. 
Baird), for their assistance in moving the measure before us. Mr. 
Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 818.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BAIRD. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  (Mr. BAIRD asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. BAIRD. Mr. Speaker, I want to begin by thanking my distinguished 
colleague from the great State of Missouri, the chairman of the 
Committee on Small Business, for his work in bringing this bill to the 
floor today and for his initiative in seeking measures to assist and 
prevent disasters throughout the country. I would also like to thank my 
colleague from New York, the distinguished ranking member, who has 
joined in working to prevent disasters and provide assistance for the 
victims of disasters.
  Mr. Speaker, today we are talking about the need to adequately 
support people whose lives have been devastated by natural disasters. I 
happen to live in a district where disasters are not uncommon. With 
Mount Saint Helens in our district, with heavy rainfall and, 
unfortunately, with recent landslides, we face a growing need, 
unfortunately, to have our citizens prepared to prevent and to respond 
to disasters when they do occur.
  Just last week I spent dozens of hours working with a group of 
citizens from a neighborhood in Kelso, Washington, whose homes have 
been completely destroyed by a slow-moving landslide. From this 
experience I have learned a great deal about what happens to families 
and to neighborhoods when disaster strikes, and I know how imperative 
it is to help those folks cope with disasters once they occur. I also 
believe that we need to do more to focus on disaster prevention, and it 
is to that issue that we speak today.
  In the past 10 years, FEMA has spent over $20 billion to help rebuild 
communities after natural disasters, and the SBA has approved billions 
more in loans during that same period of time. In 1998 alone, SBA 
approved over 30,000 loans valued at approximately $728 million. As I 
speak to my colleagues today, the Cascade Mountains in Washington State 
are laden with more than two times the normal average snow pack, and if 
we have an unfortunate weather occurrence, the probability of flooding 
is quite high. So clearly any approach, such as that which we are 
discussing today, to minimize damages resulting from natural disasters 
has the potential to reduce costs to all our taxpayers and, more 
importantly, to save peoples' lives and homes.
  For that reason, I have been strongly supportive of the Impact 
Program of FEMA that incorporates a simple philosophy: Invest today in 
long-term prevention so that we may reduce damages resulting from 
natural disasters. By taking modest steps in advance, we really can 
save money; and, more importantly, we can save lives.
  The operative notion today is money spent in prevention will save all 
of us money in post-disaster assistance. This legislation will create a 
demonstration program at SBA. It will provide low-interest loans to 
small businesses to finance measures that might reduce property loss 
and increase worker safety in the event of a natural disaster. It 
authorizes SBA to finance up to $15 million in new loans each year for 
5 years and to award those loans to businesses who want to make the 
necessary changes to reduce disaster impact. This bill also contains an 
accountability measure. It requires the SBA administrator to report to 
Congress in the fourth year of the program regarding the number of 
loans it provided and the estimated savings to the taxpayers and the 
government that will result from the mitigation efforts.
  Mr. Speaker, in our own lives we all try to anticipate risks and try 
to do what we can to prevent them. Today's effort represents a common-
sense, bipartisan approach to minimizing disaster impact. It has the 
support of Republicans and Democrats alike because it has the potential 
to save taxpayers' money and to save the lives of our citizens.
  So, again, I want to express my profound appreciation to the chairman 
and to the ranking member and encourage my colleagues in joining me 
today in support of this legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman 
from New York (Ms. Velazquez).
  Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from 
Washington (Mr. Baird) for yielding this time to me.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 818, the Disaster 
Mitigation Pilot Program.
  Traditionally, business owners have only been able to get help after 
a natural disaster has struck and caused damage to their business. For 
many small businesses, this assistance comes too late to save them from 
economic ruin.

[[Page H844]]

 The loss of revenue and time needed to recover causes countless 
businesses to fail. Instead of being able to rebuild, many communities 
are faced with a loss of jobs as many businesses permanently close 
after a disaster.
  We have seen this happen again and again over the past few years. 
Hurricanes, floods and wildfires have threatened economic stability and 
the future of communities across this Nation. However, until today, 
businesses have only been able to get help after it is too late. 
Today's legislation will change this story.
  Mr. Speaker, today we are taking an important step in being proactive 
rather than just reactive to natural disasters. H.R. 818, the Disaster 
Mitigation Pilot Program, authorizes $75 million to be used by SBA in 
cooperation with FEMA over the next 5 years to help businesses in 
disaster-prone areas take preventive measures to avert or minimize 
damage should disaster strike. By enabling businesses to take 
preventive measures which mitigate the damages caused by floods, 
hurricanes and other disasters, this program would allow them to 
recover much faster. Therefore, instead of going out of business, they 
will be able to get back to business much quicker than ever before.
  The Disaster Mitigation Program is a common-sense approach to helping 
businesses cope with disasters. The program also makes fiscal sense. 
Some estimates show that every dollar spent on mitigation saves $2 in 
money that will otherwise have to be spent on post-disaster response. 
Not only will businesses and taxpayers come out ahead, but the American 
economy will as well.
  Finally, I would like to thank the gentleman from Washington (Mr. 
Baird) and the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Talent). Their constituents 
face the threat of natural disaster, and their insight and hard work on 
this legislation have been a great help to all of us. I strongly 
support H.R. 818, and I urge my colleagues to vote for this important 
piece of legislation.
  Mr. BAIRD. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the 
gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands (Mrs. Christensen).

                              {time}  1315

  Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Mr. Speaker, I thank my esteemed colleague, the 
gentleman from Washington (Mr. Baird) for yielding time to me.
  I also want to take this opportunity to commend our hard-working 
chairman, the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Jim Talent), and the ranking 
member, the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Nydia Velazquez) for their 
leadership and creativity which is providing unprecedented support for 
small businesses across the country.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to join my colleagues and express my strong 
support for H.R. 818, a bill which authorizes $15 million for the 
Disaster Mitigation Pilot Program of the Small Business Administration. 
Although there is hardly a part of this country that has not been 
victimized by natural disasters, as Members know, I represent a 
district, the U.S. Virgin Islands, which has been devastated by over 5 
major hurricanes over the past 10 years. I therefore know firsthand the 
importance of the Small Business Disaster Assistance Program.
  As a matter of fact, the Virgin Islands has utilized $388 million in 
disaster loan assistance since that time, third only to California and 
Florida.
  Mr. Speaker, we need to pass this legislation. Once H.R. 818 is 
enacted into law, the SBA will be joining FEMA's Project IMPACT in 
providing a means for businesses to mitigate the effects of hurricanes. 
It will be reducing the overall damage to the community that these 
storms can cause.
  I am a resident of the island of St. Croix, which is a Project IMPACT 
designee, and has been cited by FEMA for its successful mitigation 
efforts in decreasing damage, injuries, and recovery costs to that 
agency. Hurricane Georges came through the Virgin Islands, but we heard 
very little about it because we were prepared. We are a testimony to 
the fact that mitigation works.
  This is a program that I know will be embraced by communities across 
the country as they try to deal with disasters. I urge the passage of 
H.R. 818.
  Mr. BAIRD. Mr. Speaker, it is encouraging to hear how successful this 
program can be.
  Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to yield such time as he may consume to 
the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis).
  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for 
yielding time to me.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 818, the Small Business 
Disaster Mitigation Coordination Act. This is a $15 million effort to 
help small businesses in disaster-prone areas to take preventative 
measures to avert and minimize damage due to natural disasters.
  This bill, as we have already heard, will further assist FEMA and the 
SBA in reducing disaster losses by focusing the energy of these 
departments on the importance of helping small businesses prepare and 
recover from natural disasters.
  By passing H.R. 818, Congress will help FEMA and the SBA provide more 
disaster assistance to one of the most vulnerable segments of our 
society, small and very small businesses.
  For instance, on August 16th, 1997, severe thunderstorms released 
heavy amounts of rain in a short period of time. The National Weather 
Service reported that over 4 inches of rain fell in less than 2 hours 
on the West Side of Chicago and in neighboring suburban communities. As 
much as 6.1 inches of rain were recorded in some areas.
  The rate of rainfall produced flash flooding that severely overloaded 
the stormwater drainage system. With nowhere else to flow, the 
rainwater backed up into literally thousands of basements in the city 
of Chicago, destroying homes and businesses alike. This bill will 
enable these businesses to apply and receive loans to prepare before 
disasters like this one strike.
  Mr. Speaker, I think this is an excellent proposal put forth by the 
Committee on Small Business. I think once again this committee has 
risen to the occasion. It saw a need, recognized a problem, and got in 
front of it. So I want to commend the gentleman from Missouri (Chairman 
Talent) and the ranking member, the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. 
Velazquez) for making sure that we as Congress do our part to prevent 
disasters from devastating the small businesses of our Nation.
  Mr. BAIRD. Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to yield such time as she 
may consume to the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Napolitano).
  Mrs. NAPOLITANO. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding time 
to me.
  Mr. Speaker, this is a very important issue for California, and I am 
sure Members understand that California has been through floods, fire, 
and earthquakes in the last 5 years that have necessitated the heavy 
assistance from FEMA that comes in reactively.
  We certainly endorse the thrust of this H.R. 818, and commend both 
sides for the effort they are putting into working effectively to help 
small businesses be able to be proactive in an area that is of vital 
concern to the whole Nation, not just California.
  This would enable my small businesses to be able to move some of 
their infrastructure to where the damage, whether it is a fire or 
flood, will be less devastating, and in earthquakes, be able to assist 
a small business survive the rock and rolling that happens in an 
earthquake in California by being able to strap down their most 
important pieces of equipment, so they are not damaged.
  So it is very essential for us, and I would hope that it would be a 
slightly larger amount than $15 million a year for 5 years. I think 
California alone would be able to use that amount, but the effort is 
what counts. I am sure that both sides will understand, and small 
business will thank their representatives for being able to understand 
how important this piece of legislation will be.
  I heartily ask both sides to consider that this bill will be a very 
highly proactive small business bill, because it will be small business 
that will benefit from it.
  Mr. BAIRD. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
gentleman from Guam (Mr. Underwood).
  Mr. UNDERWOOD. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding time 
to me.
  Mr. Speaker, I stand in strong support of H.R. 818, and I 
congratulate the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Talent), the chairman, 
the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Velazquez), and the

[[Page H845]]

gentleman from Washington (Mr. Baird) for their efforts in this regard.
  For many people nationwide, I think Guam is synonymous with a number 
of things. One of them is certainly natural disasters. Guam's location 
as the ``center arrow'' of the Pacific Ocean's typhoon alley has made 
my island community prone to disasters, sometimes on an annual basis. 
In this decade alone, Guam has been subjected to at least a dozen 
typhoons. At one time, five had hit Guam in the span of 3 months.
  As many may recall, the most recent storm, Typhoon Paka, devastated 
the island in December of 1997 and caused property damage of over $100 
million. On top of these storms, Guam also became a victim of an 8.2 
earthquake in 1994, which has been one of the strongest recorded in the 
Pacific in this century.
  H.R. 818 is good legislation. It is proactive, and it will prepare 
communities, and in particular small businesses, for recovery. SBA 
already assists my island community by giving SBA disaster loans, and 
along with FEMA, SBA provides a Federal team that almost every citizen 
in Guam knows about. I think very few communities could state that 
their citizens know of what FEMA and SBA disaster loans are all about.
  This legislation will help small businesses prepare for disasters, 
perhaps reducing expenses at the other end of disasters, help 
communities recover quickly, because small businesses help generate 
economic activity, which will cause immediate recovery.
  Reacting to a storm plagues many communities with confusion. This 
pilot program aims to empower the business community with information 
and mitigation activities which will prevent serious losses.
  As the previous speaker noted, $15 million is a very small amount, 
and we understand that this is a pilot project. We understand, too, 
that the territories are full partners in this program. We certainly 
hope that in coming years the amounts will be expanded, and we will do 
everything we can to make sure this pilot project is a success.
  I thank both sides for their efforts in this regard.
  Mr. BAIRD. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, as the statements of my colleagues clearly indicated, 
the need for preventative, proactive, advanced measures to prevent the 
damages of natural disasters is clear.
  I would like to commend the chairman of this committee for his 
foresight, his initiative, in moving this bill forward. I would like to 
thank him and thank the ranking member, the gentlewoman from New York 
(Ms. Velazquez) for her support as well. This is a bill that has common 
sense, it will save the taxpayers money, and it has bipartisan support. 
I strongly urge my colleagues on both sides to support it.
  Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back 
the balance of my time.
  Mr. TALENT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I will close briefly. I appreciate very much the 
comments from my colleagues in support of this legislation.
  I want to make a couple of points in closing, Mr. Speaker. One is 
that we certainly are given to understand that it is the intention of 
the administration to implement this legislation quickly, and I would 
hope that is the case.
  It is just a pilot program. There is no reason why it should not be 
more than a pilot program. It makes perfect sense, and it is going to 
help a lot of people. That is what it comes down to. So we hope that 
the administration, the executive branch, will move quickly in 
implementing this, and the Committee on both sides of the aisle is 
going to assist in any way that we can.
  The second point I wanted to emphasize, Mr. Speaker, is as we have 
all noted, we hope that this does save dollars for the Federal 
government, for the Federal Treasury. I am confident it will do that. 
But the human cost of disasters is what we really have to look at here.
  On a very practical level, to the extent we can make this program a 
working program, it means that small business people on flood plains, 
small business people on coasts that are consistently battered by 
typhoons or hurricanes, will have the opportunity to prevent this 
damage from occurring. They can get glass windows replaced by 
plexiglass. If they are a small accounting firm in a building, they can 
get the building raised so that the flood does not affect them as much 
as it otherwise would.
  Anybody, Mr. Speaker, who has talked to individuals whose lives have 
been devastated by natural disasters knows how important it is that we 
give them an opportunity to prevent that from occurring in the first 
place. That is what H.R. 818 does. I commend it to all the Members of 
the House.
  I thank, once again, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, 
and in particular, the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Velazquez) for 
her assistance.
  Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back 
the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Stearns). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Talent) that the House 
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 818.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________