[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 9 (Wednesday, January 17, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Page S150]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. PADILLA (for himself, Mr. Cassidy, Mr. Schatz, and Ms. 
        Hirono):
  S. 3605. A bill to require the Secretary of Transportation to develop 
guidelines and best practices for local evacuation route planning, and 
for other purposes; to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
  Mr. PADILLA. Madam President, I rise to introduce the Emergency 
Vehicle and Community, EVAC, Planning Act. This legislation would 
strengthen communities to incorporate emergency evacuation routes in 
the transportation planning process.
  Specifically, this bill would direct the Department of 
Transportation, DOT, in consultation with the Federal Emergency 
Management Agency, FEMA, to develop and publicly disseminate guidance 
and best practices for States, territories, Indian Tribes, and local 
governments to utilize to ensure necessary considerations are taken for 
evacuation routes during local planning.
  As we suffer from increasingly catastrophic natural disasters--from 
fires to hurricanes to flooding--efficient emergency evacuation routes 
can be the difference between life and death for our most vulnerable 
communities.
  The 2018 Camp Fire tore through the town of Paradise, CA, 
incinerating roughly 19,000 homes, businesses, and other buildings. 
Eighty-five people perished. But one of the most horrifying aspects of 
this tragedy was that some of the victims were killed in their cars 
when flames overtook the backed-up traffic on the only road out of 
town.
  We saw similar concerns in Louisiana during Hurricane Katrina, which 
resulted in efforts to improve evacuation route capacity, after nearly 
100,000 residents were trapped inside the city of New Orleans.
  And most recently in Lahaina, HI, a lack of evacuation routes 
contributed to making this the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a 
century. Press accounts detail the harrowing experience of people 
finding themselves caught in their cars, jammed together on narrow 
roads, surrounded by flames on three sides and the ocean on the fourth.
  In the event of a natural disaster, people need to efficiently access 
evacuation routes that have been strategically designed to save lives 
and move people out of the area quickly.
  Many cities, counties, and Tribal governments--especially those that 
are rural or low-income--that are the most vulnerable to disaster are 
also the least likely to have the resources and in-house expertise 
necessary to develop cornprehensive and efficient emergency evacuation 
routes.
  I thank Senators Cassidy, Schatz, and Hirono for introducing this 
important legislation with me. I hope all of our colleagues will join 
us in supporting this bill to ensure communities are equipped with the 
guidelines and best practices necessary to bolster disaster 
preparedness and save lives.
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