[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 153 (Thursday, September 25, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1941]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          EARMARK DECLARATION

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                         HON. BRIAN P. BILBRAY

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 24, 2008

  Mr. BILBRAY. Madam Speaker, I submit the following:
  Requesting Member: Congressman Brian Bilbray.
  Bill Number: H.R. 2638 (The Consolidated Security, Disaster 
Assistance, and Continuing Appropriations Act).
  Account: Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Predisaster 
Mitigation.
  Legal Name of Requesting Entity: The City of San Diego, CA.
  Address of Requesting Entity: 202 C Street, San Diego, CA 92101, USA.
  Description of Request: As you may know, San Diego County suffered 
through one of the worst fire storms in our nation's history last 
October destroying more than 1,500 homes at a cost of more than $1 
billion. This funding would implement wildfire fuels reduction and 
brush management to create 100 feet of defensible space on 1,180 acres 
of open space property owned by the City, prioritized based on fire 
threat mapping by the Fire Chief.
  Recent history has proven that major wildland fire events have 
exceptional costs to all involved, including private property owners, 
local, state and federal governments. Major disasters such as the ones 
experienced in San Diego last fall cost the federal government 
significant amounts in response and recovery. While final expenditures 
are not known, FEMA received applications from thousands in the San 
Diego region. By thinning the brush in the wildland urban area 
interface, structures stand a better chance of being defended. By 
saving these structures, fewer FEMA and SBA dollars will need to be 
extended to property owners for recovery purposes.
  I secured a member's request of $1,000,000 to expedite City of San 
Diego completion of wildfire fuels reduction and vegetation management 
strategies in order to prevent future wildfires like those experienced 
in October 2003 and 2007. The project meets the intended and authorized 
purpose of the FEMA Predisaster Mitigation account, and FEMA program 
guidelines (June 28, 2008) explicitly cite vegetation management as an 
eligible mitigation project activity. The City of San Diego has 
approved $2 million from its general fund for this project during 
FY2009.




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