[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 2]
[Senate]
[Page 2881]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                      THE FUTURE OF PROJECT IMPACT

  Mr. EDWARDS. Mr. President, I rise today to express my disappointment 
in President Bush's decision to discontinue funding for the Federal 
Emergency Management Agency's Project Impact.
  Project Impact is a nationwide public-private partnership designed to 
help communities become more disaster resistant. Each year, Congress 
appropriates literally billions of dollars in disaster relief money. 
Project Impact is our only program that provides financial incentives 
and support to State and local governments that want to mitigate the 
damage of future disasters.
  Project Impact involves all sectors of the community in developing a 
mitigation plan that meets that community's unique needs. One of the 
program's pilot projects is in Wilmington, NC. In that coastal 
community, the city government has teamed with the State and county 
government and private groups like Lowe's Hardware Store to retrofit 
schools and shelters to make them less vulnerable to the frequent 
hurricanes that plague my State. The University of North Carolina at 
Wilmington also provides support for the city's efforts. That is the 
great thing about the Project Impact communities--they are using all 
available agencies and organizations to ensure safe and smart 
development.
  Project Impact is a relatively new program, but it has already shown 
important results. In his recent budget submission to Congress, the 
President described Project Impact as ``ineffective.'' I strongly 
disagree, and there are community leaders around the Nation that would 
take exemption to this description. For example, one of the first 
Project Impact communities was Seattle, WA. Experts agree that without 
the area's mitigation efforts spurred by Project Impact, the damage 
from last week's earthquake could have been much worse.
  We cannot stop a hurricane, an earthquake, or a tornado. But we can 
save precious lives and limited Federal resources by encouraging States 
and local governments to take preventative measures to mitigate the 
damage. By discontinuing funding for Project Impact, this 
administration will severely undercut ongoing mitigation programs in 
all 50 States. Most importantly, by discontinuing this program rather 
than working to refine it, the administration sends a dangerous signal 
to States and local governments that the Federal Government no longer 
supports their efforts.
  I call on President Bush to reassess the benefits of this program and 
include it in his final budget he sends to Congress. For the nearly 300 
Project Impact communities that are working to make their communities 
safer, fully funding Project Impact is the least we can do.

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