[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 2]
[House]
[Page 2178]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      HAZARDS BILL REAUTHORIZATION

  (Mr. SMITH of Nebraska asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. SMITH of Nebraska. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 
3820, the Natural Hazards Risk Reduction Act of 2009, which we will be 
taking up later today.
  This legislation reauthorizes and amends the National Earthquake 
Hazards Reduction Act and the National Windstorm Impact Reduction Act, 
ensuring agencies as diverse as FEMA, the U.S. Geological Survey, and 
the National Institute of Science and Technology have continuing 
appropriate authorizations to research the causes and forecasting of 
natural disasters, as well as ways to limit their negative impact.
  The recent earthquakes in Haiti and Chile have certainly demonstrated 
the importance of developing improved methods of predicting and 
mitigating natural disasters. The contrast in outcomes between these 
two quakes has also demonstrated the clear benefit of preparedness and 
scientifically based building codes in containing casualties from a 
major disaster, if not the economic losses.
  Nearly every part of the United States is susceptible to natural 
disasters in some form or another, and reauthorizing the programs in 
H.R. 3820 will ensure we remain at the forefront of this important 
research.

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