[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 12]
[House]
[Page 16001]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         PREPAREDNESS FIRST ACT

  (Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of California asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute.)
  Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of California. Mr. Speaker, America needs to be 
prepared. Whether it is for a commuter train attack or a hurricane, it 
is clear America must get serious about all hazards preparedness, and 
that is preparing for all emergencies, whether they are natural or 
manmade.
  Today I am introducing the Preparedness First Act to authorize 
critical grant programs that our State and local governments already 
depend upon for all hazards emergency preparedness. The premise of this 
bill? To ensure that States and localities will have a basic level of 
preparedness so that they can protect their citizens, communicate with 
each other and work with the Federal Government during any type of 
emergency, from earthquakes to terrorist attacks.
  Under this bill, all States would receive a base of preparedness 
funding. This would guarantee that the Federal Government would have an 
able partner in every State to coordinate preparedness activities. 
Additional resources would then be made available to address the unique 
risk and manmade disasters that are posed in each area.
  I urge my colleagues to support this bill and put all hazards 
preparedness first for all Americans.

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