[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 2 (Wednesday, January 7, 2015)]
[House]
[Pages H83-H87]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    NATIONAL WINDSTORM IMPACT REDUCTION ACT REAUTHORIZATION OF 2015

  Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass 
the bill (H.R. 23) to reauthorize the National Windstorm Impact 
Reduction Program, and for other purposes.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.

[[Page H84]]

  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                H.R. 23

       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 ``National Windstorm Impact 
     Reduction Act Reauthorization of 2015''.

     SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

       (a) Director.--Section 203(1) of the National Windstorm 
     Impact Reduction Act of 2004 (42 U.S.C. 15702(1)) is amended 
     by striking ``Director of the Office of Science and 
     Technology Policy'' and inserting ``Director of the National 
     Institute of Standards and Technology''.
       (b) Lifelines.--Section 203 of the National Windstorm 
     Impact Reduction Act of 2004 (42 U.S.C. 15702) is further 
     amended--
       (1) by redesignating paragraphs (2) through (4) as 
     paragraphs (3) through (5), respectively; and
       (2) by inserting after paragraph (1) the following new 
     paragraph:
       ``(2) Lifelines.--The term `lifelines' means public works 
     and utilities, including transportation facilities and 
     infrastructure, oil and gas pipelines, electrical power and 
     communication facilities and infrastructure, and water supply 
     and sewage treatment facilities.''.

     SEC. 3. NATIONAL WINDSTORM IMPACT REDUCTION PROGRAM.

       Section 204 of the National Windstorm Impact Reduction Act 
     of 2004 (42 U.S.C. 15703) is amended--
       (1) by striking subsections (a), (b), and (c) and inserting 
     the following:
       ``(a) Establishment.--There is established the National 
     Windstorm Impact Reduction Program, the purpose of which is 
     to achieve major measurable reductions in the losses of life 
     and property from windstorms through a coordinated Federal 
     effort, in cooperation with other levels of government, 
     academia, and the private sector, aimed at improving the 
     understanding of windstorms and their impacts and developing 
     and encouraging the implementation of cost-effective 
     mitigation measures to reduce those impacts.
       ``(b) Responsibilities of Program Agencies.--
       ``(1) Lead agency.--The National Institute of Standards and 
     Technology shall have the primary responsibility for planning 
     and coordinating the Program. In carrying out this paragraph, 
     the Director shall--
       ``(A) ensure that the Program includes the necessary 
     components to promote the implementation of windstorm risk 
     reduction measures by Federal, State, and local governments, 
     national standards and model building code organizations, 
     architects and engineers, and others with a role in planning 
     and constructing buildings and lifelines;
       ``(B) support the development of performance-based 
     engineering tools, and work with appropriate groups to 
     promote the commercial application of such tools, including 
     through wind-related model building codes, voluntary 
     standards, and construction best practices;
       ``(C) request the assistance of Federal agencies other than 
     the Program agencies, as necessary to assist in carrying out 
     this Act;
       ``(D) coordinate all Federal post-windstorm investigations; 
     and
       ``(E) when warranted by research or investigative findings, 
     issue recommendations to assist in informing the development 
     of model codes, and provide information to Congress on the 
     use of such recommendations.
       ``(2) National institute of standards and technology.--In 
     addition to the lead agency responsibilities described under 
     paragraph (1), the National Institute of Standards and 
     Technology shall be responsible for carrying out research and 
     development to improve model building codes, voluntary 
     standards, and best practices for the design, construction, 
     and retrofit of buildings, structures, and lifelines.
       ``(3) National science foundation.--The National Science 
     Foundation shall support research in--
       ``(A) engineering and the atmospheric sciences to improve 
     the understanding of the behavior of windstorms and their 
     impact on buildings, structures, and lifelines; and
       ``(B) economic and social factors influencing windstorm 
     risk reduction measures.
       ``(4) National oceanic and atmospheric administration.--The 
     National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shall support 
     atmospheric sciences research to improve the understanding of 
     the behavior of windstorms and their impact on buildings, 
     structures, and lifelines.
       ``(5) Federal emergency management agency.--The Federal 
     Emergency Management Agency shall--
       ``(A) support--
       ``(i) the development of risk assessment tools and 
     effective mitigation techniques;
       ``(ii) windstorm-related data collection and analysis;
       ``(iii) public outreach and information dissemination; and
       ``(iv) promotion of the adoption of windstorm preparedness 
     and mitigation measures, including for households, 
     businesses, and communities, consistent with the Agency's 
     all-hazards approach; and
       ``(B) work closely with national standards and model 
     building code organizations, in conjunction with the National 
     Institute of Standards and Technology, to promote the 
     implementation of research results and promote better 
     building practices within the building design and 
     construction industry, including architects, engineers, 
     contractors, builders, and inspectors.'';
       (2) by redesignating subsection (d) as subsection (c), and 
     by striking subsections (e) and (f); and
       (3) by inserting after subsection (c), as so redesignated, 
     the following new subsections:
       ``(d) Budget Activities.--The Director of the National 
     Institute of Standards and Technology, the Director of the 
     National Science Foundation, the Director of the National 
     Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the Director of 
     the Federal Emergency Management Agency shall each include in 
     their agency's annual budget request to Congress a 
     description of their agency's projected activities under the 
     Program for the fiscal year covered by the budget request, 
     along with an assessment of what they plan to spend on those 
     activities for that fiscal year.
       ``(e) Interagency Coordinating Committee on Windstorm 
     Impact Reduction.--
       ``(1) Establishment.--There is established an Interagency 
     Coordinating Committee on Windstorm Impact Reduction, chaired 
     by the Director.
       ``(2) Membership.--In addition to the chair, the Committee 
     shall be composed of--
       ``(A) the heads of--
       ``(i) the Federal Emergency Management Agency;
       ``(ii) the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration;
       ``(iii) the National Science Foundation;
       ``(iv) the Office of Science and Technology Policy; and
       ``(v) the Office of Management and Budget; and
       ``(B) the head of any other Federal agency the chair 
     considers appropriate.
       ``(3) Meetings.--The Committee shall meet not less than 2 
     times a year at the call of the Director of the National 
     Institute of Standards and Technology.
       ``(4) General purpose and duties.--The Committee shall 
     oversee the planning and coordination of the Program.
       ``(5) Strategic plan.--The Committee shall develop and 
     submit to Congress, not later than one year after the date of 
     enactment of the National Windstorm Impact Reduction Act 
     Reauthorization of 2015, a Strategic Plan for the Program 
     that includes--
       ``(A) prioritized goals for the Program that will mitigate 
     against the loss of life and property from future windstorms;
       ``(B) short-term, mid-term, and long-term research 
     objectives to achieve those goals;
       ``(C) a description of the role of each Program agency in 
     achieving the prioritized goals;
       ``(D) the methods by which progress towards the goals will 
     be assessed; and
       ``(E) an explanation of how the Program will foster the 
     transfer of research results into outcomes, such as improved 
     model building codes.
       ``(6) Progress report.--Not later than 18 months after the 
     date of enactment of the National Windstorm Impact Reduction 
     Act Reauthorization of 2015, the Committee shall submit to 
     the Congress a report on the progress of the Program that 
     includes--
       ``(A) a description of the activities funded under the 
     Program, a description of how these activities align with the 
     prioritized goals and research objectives established in the 
     Strategic Plan, and the budgets, per agency, for these 
     activities;
       ``(B) the outcomes achieved by the Program for each of the 
     goals identified in the Strategic Plan;
       ``(C) a description of any recommendations made to change 
     existing building codes that were the result of Program 
     activities; and
       ``(D) a description of the extent to which the Program has 
     incorporated recommendations from the Advisory Committee on 
     Windstorm Impact Reduction.
       ``(7) Coordinated budget.--The Committee shall develop a 
     coordinated budget for the Program, which shall be submitted 
     to the Congress at the time of the President's budget 
     submission for each fiscal year.''.

     SEC. 4. NATIONAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON WINDSTORM IMPACT 
                   REDUCTION.

       Section 205 of the National Windstorm Impact Reduction Act 
     of 2004 (42 U.S.C. 15704) is amended to read as follows:

     ``SEC. 205. NATIONAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON WINDSTORM IMPACT 
                   REDUCTION.

       ``(a) In General.--The Director of the National Institute 
     of Standards and Technology shall establish an Advisory 
     Committee on Windstorm Impact Reduction, which shall be 
     composed of at least 7 members, none of whom may be employees 
     of the Federal Government, including representatives of 
     research and academic institutions, industry standards 
     development organizations, emergency management agencies, 
     State and local government, and business communities who are 
     qualified to provide advice on windstorm impact reduction and 
     represent all related scientific, architectural, and 
     engineering disciplines. The recommendations of the Advisory 
     Committee shall be considered by Federal agencies in 
     implementing the Program.
       ``(b) Assessments.--The Advisory Committee on Windstorm 
     Impact Reduction shall offer assessments on--
       ``(1) trends and developments in the natural, engineering, 
     and social sciences and practices of windstorm impact 
     mitigation;
       ``(2) the priorities of the Program's Strategic Plan;
       ``(3) the coordination of the Program; and

[[Page H85]]

       ``(4) any revisions to the Program which may be necessary.
       ``(c) Compensation.--The members of the Advisory Committee 
     established under this section shall serve without 
     compensation.
       ``(d) Reports.--At least every 2 years, the Advisory 
     Committee shall report to the Director on the assessments 
     carried out under subsection (b) and its recommendations for 
     ways to improve the Program.
       ``(e) Charter.--Notwithstanding section 14(b)(2) of the 
     Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.), the Advisory 
     Committee shall not be required to file a charter subsequent 
     to its initial charter, filed under section 9(c) of such Act, 
     before the termination date specified in subsection (f) of 
     this section.
       ``(f) Termination.--The Advisory Committee shall terminate 
     on September 30, 2017.
       ``(g) Conflict of Interest.--An Advisory Committee member 
     shall recuse himself from any Advisory Committee activity in 
     which he has an actual pecuniary interest.''.

     SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

       Section 207 of the National Windstorm Impact Reduction Act 
     of 2004 (42 U.S.C. 15706) is amended to read as follows:

     ``SEC. 207. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

       ``(a) Federal Emergency Management Agency.--There are 
     authorized to be appropriated to the Federal Emergency 
     Management Agency for carrying out this title--
       ``(1) $5,332,000 for fiscal year 2015;
       ``(2) $5,332,000 for fiscal year 2016; and
       ``(3) $5,332,000 for fiscal year 2017.
       ``(b) National Science Foundation.--There are authorized to 
     be appropriated to the National Science Foundation for 
     carrying out this title--
       ``(1) $9,682,000 for fiscal year 2015;
       ``(2) $9,682,000 for fiscal year 2016; and
       ``(3) $9,682,000 for fiscal year 2017.
       ``(c) National Institute of Standards and Technology.--
     There are authorized to be appropriated to the National 
     Institute of Standards and Technology for carrying out this 
     title--
       ``(1) $4,120,000 for fiscal year 2015;
       ``(2) $4,120,000 for fiscal year 2016; and
       ``(3) $4,120,000 for fiscal year 2017.
       ``(d) National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.--
     There are authorized to be appropriated to the National 
     Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for carrying out this 
     title--
       ``(1) $2,266,000 for fiscal year 2015;
       ``(2) $2,266,000 for fiscal year 2016; and
       ``(3) $2,266,000 for fiscal year 2017.''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. Smith) and the gentlewoman from Oregon (Ms. Bonamici) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Texas.


                             General Leave

  Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all 
Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks 
and to include extraneous material on H.R. 23, the bill now under 
consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Texas?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 23, the National Windstorm Impact Reduction Act 
Reauthorization of 2015, reauthorizes the activities of the National 
Windstorm Impact Reduction Program through 2017.
  Representative Randy Neugebauer, my Texas colleague, has championed 
this program for over a decade. In the last Congress, he and 
Representative Frederica Wilson's bipartisan efforts helped move this 
legislation through the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology and 
to successfully pass the House. It is because of their past work that 
we are able to bring this bill to the House floor so early in this 
Congress.
  The National Windstorm Impact Reduction Program supports Federal 
research and development efforts to help mitigate the loss of life and 
property due to wind-related hazards. Millions of Americans live in 
areas vulnerable to hurricanes, tornadoes, and other windstorms. The 
National Weather Service reported 91 deaths and 892 injuries in 2013 
due to tornadoes, thunderstorm wind, and high wind.
  We all remember that in 2011 that was the year marred by loss due to 
windstorms. According to the National Science and Technology Council's 
biennial report to Congress, in 2011 only, windstorms in the United 
States took nearly 700 lives, injured nearly 7,000 people, and caused 
an estimated $11 billion in total direct property losses.
  In Texas, we are all too familiar with the harm that excess wind can 
cause. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 
Storm Prediction Center, 128 tornadoes and 1,366 windstorms were 
reported in Texas in the last 2 years. The effects of these disasters 
can be felt for a long time.
  Initially established in 2004, the National Windstorm Impact 
Reduction Program supports activities to improve our understanding of 
windstorms and their impacts and helps to develop and encourage the 
implementation of cost-effective mitigation measures.
  H.R. 23 establishes the National Institute of Standards and 
Technology as the lead agency for the program, improves coordination 
and planning of agency activities in a fiscally responsible manner, and 
improves transparency for how much money is being spent on windstorm 
research.
  I want to thank Representative Neugebauer for his continued efforts 
to support this program. I encourage my colleagues to support the bill, 
and I reserve the balance of my time.

         Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, House of 
           Representatives,
                                  Washington, DC, January 6, 2015.
     Hon. Lamar Smith,
     Chairman, Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, 
         Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. Chairman: I write concerning H.R. 23, the National 
     Windstorm Impact Reduction Act Reauthorization of 2015. Thank 
     you for working with us to incorporate mutually agreeable 
     provisions within the Rule X jurisdiction of the Committee on 
     Transportation and Infrastructure.
       In order to expedite the House's consideration of H.R. 23, 
     the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure will forgo 
     action on this bill. However, this is conditional on our 
     mutual understanding that forgoing consideration of the bill 
     does not prejudice the Committee with respect to the 
     appointment of conferees or to any future jurisdictional 
     claim over the subject matters contained in the bill or 
     similar legislation that fall within the Committee's Rule X 
     jurisdiction. I request you urge the Speaker to name members 
     of the Committee to any conference committee named to 
     consider such provisions.
       I would appreciate your response to this letter, confirming 
     this understanding, and would request that you insert our 
     exchange of letters on this matter into the Congressional 
     Record during consideration of this bill on the House floor.
           Sincerely,
                                                     Bill Shuster,
     Chairman.
                                  ____

         House of Representatives, Committee on Science, Space, 
           and Technology.
                                  Washington, DC, January 6, 2015.
     Hon. Bill Shuster,
     Chairman, Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, 
         Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC.
       Dear Chairman Shuster: Thank you for your letter regarding 
     H.R. 23, the National Windstorm Impact Reduction Act 
     Reauthorization of 2015. I appreciate your support in 
     bringing this legislation before the House of 
     Representatives, and accordingly, understand that the 
     Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure will forego 
     action on the bill.
       The Committee on Science, Space, and Technology concurs 
     with the mutual understanding that by foregoing consideration 
     of H.R. 23 at this time, the Committee on Transportation and 
     Infrastructure does not waive any jurisdiction over the 
     subject matter contained in this bill or similar legislation 
     in the future. In addition, should a conference on this bill 
     be necessary, I would support your request to have the 
     Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure represented on 
     the conference committee.
       I will insert copies of this exchange in the Congressional 
     Record during consideration of this bill on the House floor. 
     I appreciate your cooperation regarding this legislation and 
     look forward to continuing to work with the Transportation 
     Committee as the bill moves through the legislative process.
           Sincerely,
                                                      Lamar Smith,
                                                         Chairman.

  Ms. BONAMICI. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I rise in support of H.R. 23, legislation to reauthorize the National 
Windstorm Impact Reduction Program.
  First I want to thank Representatives Neugebauer and Wilson for their 
hard work on this important legislation that will benefit our 
constituents.
  Americans face significant exposure to windstorms. According to the 
National Weather Service, between the years of 2003 and 2013, thousands 
of Americans lost their lives from the impacts of windstorms. Along 
with the loss of life, windstorms during that time caused billions of 
dollars of damage to property, including a severely negative impact on 
agricultural crops.
  Although we cannot stop a windstorm from happening, there is much we 
can do to save both lives and property when windstorms and other 
natural disasters do happen. In addition to

[[Page H86]]

responding quickly and with sufficient resources in the aftermath of a 
natural disaster, we must also invest in preparedness and resilience.
  Studies of FEMA's Pre-Disaster Mitigation program have shown that for 
every dollar invested in mitigation activities, $3 to $4 in recovery 
costs can be saved.
  The National Windstorm Reduction Program Act is primarily a 
mitigation program. It has the potential to lessen the loss of life and 
economic damage by supporting research and development on windstorms 
and their impacts and helping to ensure that this research is 
translated into improving building codes and emergency planning, but 
this program needs robust investment to achieve that result.
  The bill today includes a lower total authorization level than was 
authorized for this program in fiscal year 2008. We can and we should 
do better than that. One of our responsibilities as a government should 
be to assist our constituents with disaster mitigation and response and 
preparedness, and that means investing in programs we already have in 
place to carry out these responsibilities. Nevertheless, I understand 
the need to reauthorize this important program, and I thank my 
colleagues for agreeing to maintain the authorization levels negotiated 
last Congress.
  I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this 
important bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman 
from Texas (Mr. Neugebauer), who is the lead sponsor of this 
legislation and also a member of the Committee on Science, Space, and 
Technology.
  Mr. NEUGEBAUER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of my bill, the 
National Windstorm Impact Reduction Act, H.R. 23. I also want to thank 
Chairman Smith for his leadership on this issue, and I appreciate him 
agreeing to bring this back up early in the 114th Congress.
  I think we have already heard of a number of people quote a lot of 
statistics about the amount of damage that occurs from windstorms in 
this country and the loss of lives. You know, particularly 2011 was a 
very bad year. As it was pointed out, we had a number of people that 
were killed that year and over $28 billion in damage to property alone.
  What is happening is the risk is growing because our population 
centers are growing. You know, a tornado that goes through a town 
center does a lot more damage than one that goes through an empty 
prairie. As these storms are getting costlier over time, at a time 
where we are $18 trillion in debt, it is important that we utilize the 
taxpayers' resources in an effective way. This particular program, as 
it was mentioned, is reauthorized at a fixed level, the level from 
previous reauthorization, but also it is designed to make the program 
more efficient and effective in the future.
  When a family loses a home, you know, they don't have to just rebuild 
the house; they have to rebuild their lives. We know a lot of people 
have either experienced losses of property or life, loved ones, or they 
know people that have.
  In particular, it is a personal thing for me because, on May 11th of 
1970, I had just taken my last final for that semester at Texas Tech 
University, and 3 hours or 4 hours later, a major tornado ripped 
through Lubbock, Texas, and killed 26 people, including destroying the 
apartment complex that I lived in.
  I was fortunately unharmed in that event, but what I did get to 
witness is the tremendous amount of damage that can happen from these 
storms and the loss of life. You saw things that you didn't think were 
possible--cars in parking lots that were rolled up and swirled up like 
an ice cream cone.
  So one of the things that later on, to me, in the building business, 
one of the things that we began to learn is, from important research 
that was done, that we were able to use certain building techniques 
that made houses more wind resistant, made buildings more wind 
resistant, and that is exactly what this bill, NWIRP, does. It takes 
these four agencies that currently have jurisdiction over that--and 
those include NOAA, the National Science Foundation, FEMA, and NIST--
and makes sure that they are using those funds appropriately and that 
there is not a lot of duplication in the research going on. Each one of 
them has an area of expertise. We want to do a better job of predicting 
these storms. We want to do a better job of learning how we can 
mitigate the damage from those.
  One of the things that happened right after the May 11 tornado in 
Lubbock is that Texas Tech University began doing research on 
windstorms and the effects of different materials, and later on they 
founded the National Wind Institute, which is doing important research 
on simulating cyclones and different kinds of wind events and the 
impact that they have on materials and certain building techniques. 
Certainly that will be important to our country as we move forward.
  What does that do for the taxpayers? Well, obviously if we can learn 
more about predicting the outcomes, we can make our buildings stronger, 
but, more importantly, save lives. And one of the things I know from a 
lot of the research that has been going on right now, that designs are 
being incorporated in a lot of buildings.

                              {time}  1415

  Recently I was at a new elementary school in my district, and one of 
the things that we learned is that they incorporated certain building 
techniques within the cafeteria of that new elementary. Basically, the 
cafeteria became a storm shelter for the students going to that 
elementary. Those are the kind of things that will be beneficial from 
this.
  I urge my colleagues to help me reauthorize H.R. 23.
  Ms. BONAMICI. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
Florida (Ms. Wilson), who is a cosponsor of the bill, and also a member 
of the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology.
  Ms. WILSON of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 23. 
This legislation would reauthorize the National Windstorm Impact 
Reduction Program, or NWIRP.
  The Federal Government has an important role in helping Americans 
prepare for and recover from natural hazards. H.R. 23 directs four 
Federal agencies--NIST, NSF, NOAA, and FEMA--to conduct coordinated 
research and development on the nature of windstorms, their effects, 
and on ways to mitigate their impact. The legislation also ensures that 
this research is translated into practice through improved building 
codes and emergency planning.
  I was born and raised in south Florida, and I am a survivor of 
Hurricane Andrew, so I have seen my share of severe weather. I know 
firsthand that natural hazards are a leading threat to American lives 
and America's economy.
  While we cannot stop a hurricane or tornado from happening, this 
Congress can act to make sure our communities have the tools they need 
to respond and recover from these disasters.
  We must begin by investing in preparedness and resilience. Studies of 
FEMA's pre-disaster mitigation program have shown that for every dollar 
we invest in mitigation activities we save $3 to $4 in recovery costs.
  I was pleased that this bill was considered in the Science Committee 
last Congress, and we worked in a bipartisan manner to make several 
improvements to the bill. I want to thank my colleagues, Chairman Smith 
and Mr. Neugebauer, for working across the aisle in a smooth and 
productive process.
  We worked together to increase the authorization for FEMA, the NWIRP 
agency tasked with taking the research conducted at other agencies and 
developing mitigation techniques and public outreach. Mr. Neugebauer 
was the lead, and I appreciate his inclusion.
  Additionally, we added several social science-related provisions to 
the bill. We cannot design effective disaster strategies without 
knowing how people make decisions and respond to disaster warnings.
  Often in a compromise, like this one, you do not get everything you 
would like. I would have liked to see increases in the authorization 
levels across the board. Unfortunately, this bill includes a lower 
total authorization level than what was authorized for this program in 
fiscal year 2008.
  When the last few years have been devastating years for windstorms, 
including Superstorm Sandy and the tornado outbreak last May, it is 
difficult

[[Page H87]]

to understand why we would cut the total authorization level for this 
important program.
  I do hope that if this bill moves forward, we will continue our 
bipartisan efforts and work with the Senate to perfect this bill. 
Nevertheless, I understand the need to reauthorize this important 
program that can help minimize the number of Americans who are harmed 
or killed by windstorm disasters and reduce the costs associated * * *
  I support H.R. 23 and urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle 
to support the bill.
  Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I have no other Members who wish to 
be heard on this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. BONAMICI. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and 
so in closing, we must help our constituents prepare for and mitigate 
the impacts of severe weather events, such as windstorms, that threaten 
their lives and property. This bill takes an important step in that 
direction, and I urge its adoption.
  With that, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of 
H.R. 23, legislation that would reauthorize the National Windstorm 
Impact Reduction Program--or NWIRP.
  The last few years have been devastating years for natural disasters 
across the country. There were massive tornadoes across the Midwest 
that resulted in loss of life and significant economic damages. In 
addition, Hurricane Irene in 2011 and Superstorm Sandy in 2012 caused 
widespread destruction and death along the Eastern seaboard.
  H.R. 23 directs NIST, NSF, NOAA, and FEMA to support activities to 
improve the understanding of windstorms and their impacts. We can use 
that knowledge to reduce the vulnerability of our communities to 
natural disasters. The NWIRP program helps our federal agencies and 
communities across the nation develop and implement many measures that 
help minimize the loss of life and property during windstorms and to 
rebuild effectively and safely after such storms.
  I was pleased that when this bill was considered by the House 
Science, Space, and Technology Committee last Congress, we worked in a 
bipartisan manner and made several improvements to the bill.
  We worked together to increase the authorization for FEMA, the agency 
tasked with implementing the research conducted by the other NWIRP 
agencies. Additionally, we added several social science-related 
provisions to the bill. We cannot design effective disaster preparation 
strategies without understanding how people make decisions and respond 
to disaster warnings.
  This is a compromise bill and so it doesn't contain as much as I 
think should be done. In particular, I wish this bill included 
authorization increases for the NWIRP agencies--increases that are 
justified by the important activities those agencies carry out. 
However, it is still a good bill and an important bill for us to act 
on.
  I want to thank my fellow Texans--Chairman Smith and Mr. Neugebauer--
for working across the aisle on this bill and for bringing it to the 
floor today. And I want to thank Ms. Wilson for her efforts on this 
legislation. It was good to see Members of the Committee coming 
together, working out their differences, compromising, and ending up 
with a bill with bipartisan support.
  I support the bill and urge my colleagues to support this important 
bill.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Smith) that the House suspend the rules and 
pass the bill, H.R. 23.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Ms. BONAMICI. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further 
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.

                          ____________________