[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1994, Book II)]
[December 1, 1994]
[Page 2132]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Letter to Congressional Leaders on Seismic Safety of Existing Federally 
Owned or Leased Buildings
December 1, 1994

Dear Mr. Speaker:  (Dear Mr. President:)
    Under Public Law 101-614 the President is to adopt, no later than 
December 1, 1994, ``standards for assessing and enhancing the seismic 
safety of existing buildings constructed for or leased by the Federal 
Government which were designed and constructed without adequate seismic 
design and construction standards.'' The statute gave the task of 
developing the standards to the Interagency Committee on Seismic Safety 
in Construction (ICSSC), which is chaired by the National Institute of 
Standards and Technology.
    The ICSSC developed a set of ``Standards of Seismic Safety for 
Existing Federally Owned or Leased Buildings and Commentary'' 
(Standards), and recommends that Federal departments and agencies adopt 
these Standards.
    The intent of the Standards is to identify common minimum evaluation 
and mitigation measures for all Federal departments and agencies, and to 
allow all Federal entities to have an agency-conceived and controlled 
seismic safety program for their existing owned or leased buildings. I 
have signed an Executive order adopting these Standards. A copy of that 
order is attached.
    The Executive order adopts the Standards as the minimum level of 
seismic safety for federally owned and leased buildings. It requires 
seismic evaluation and, if necessary, rehabilitation under certain 
conditions identified in the Standards. The order directs all Federal 
departments and agencies to develop an inventory of their owned and 
leased buildings within 4 years of signing, and to estimate the cost of 
mitigating unacceptable seismic risks in their buildings.
    Adoption of these Standards provides the critical first step for 
determining how these Standards can be applied to buildings that receive 
Federal financial assistance or are regulated by a Federal agency.
    Sincerely,

                                                      William J. Clinton

Note: Identical letters were sent to Thomas S. Foley, Speaker of the 
House of Representatives, and Albert Gore, Jr., President of the Senate. 
The Executive order is listed in Appendix D at the end of this volume.