[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 6]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 7752]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         BUILDING SAFETY MONTH

                                  _____
                                 

                            HON. PETER WELCH

                               of vermont

                    in the house of representatives

                          Friday, May 9, 2014

  Mr. WELCH. Mr. Speaker, I seek to mark the start of Building Safety 
Month. Each May, we recognize the importance of building safety and the 
leadership of the International Code Council (ICC) that develops and 
publishes the model building safety and energy efficiency codes. These 
codes are used in my home state of Vermont, and throughout the United 
States, as well as in many other nations.
  Building codes are the foundation for safety, stability and 
performance in buildings. Without strong building codes, flood would 
lead to increased damage, earthquakes would flatten communities, and 
countless lives would be lost. Strong model building codes also ensure 
our buildings are high performing and energy efficient.
  So I want to congratulate the leaders of the ICC, who sponsor 
Building Safety Month, celebrated in May every year for over 30 years. 
The leaders of ICC, including the President Stephen D. Jones, 
Construction Official for Millburn Township/Short Hills, New Jersey; 
Past President of the Board of Directors, Ronald Piester, Director, 
Division of Code Enforcement and Administration from the New York 
Secretary of State's Office; Vice-President Guy Tomberlin, Code 
Specialist for Fairfax County, Virginia; and Alex Olszowy III, Building 
Inspection Supervisor, Lexington/Fayette Urban County Government, 
Kentucky will join ICC's Chief Executive Officer Dominic Sims in 
Washington the week of May 19th, to discuss the critical need to 
support the adoption and enforcement of current building codes, to make 
sure Americans are safe at home, at work, at school and at play.
  The model building codes, produced by ICC, allow every community in 
the United States to share the advantage of adopting building codes 
that are adaptable to local conditions, but at the same time 
incorporate the very latest research, materials, and building 
practices. This is achieved in a private-public partnership, saving 
local jurisdictions from bearing the large expense of code revision, 
updating and coordination. These model codes are produced through the 
cooperation of thousands of local officials, working with the building 
industry, to produce codes that represent a consensus on what the 
minimum safety requirements are for various building types.
  Congratulations to the hard working members, and leadership, of the 
International Code Council.

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