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[Pages H8076-H8077]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
NATURAL DISASTER PREPARATION
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of
January 3, 2019, the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Neguse) is recognized
for the remainder of the hour as the designee of the majority leader.
Mr. NEGUSE. Madam Speaker, I first want to thank the gentleman from
California for his courtesy and, of course, that of the majority
leader.
Madam Speaker, I rise today to call attention to a failure of our
government to issue a promised and required
[[Page H8077]]
set of regulatory guidance in a timely manner and a failure of our
government to adequately prepare the American people for natural
disasters and to provide relief for suffering communities.
I happen to represent the great State of Colorado's Second
Congressional District, and my State is no stranger to catastrophic
weather events. Exacerbated by the dangers we face from the threat of
climate change, we regularly experience forest fires, tornadoes, and
other disasters. Six years ago, we experienced historic flooding most
severely impacting Boulder County and Larimer County, both counties in
my district.
In September of 2013, we were inundated with heavy rainfall with up
to 15 inches of rainfall in 1 week in some areas. The result was
devastating flooding across the front range of Colorado.
{time} 1200
The storms took the lives of 10 Coloradans and caused nearly $4
billion in damage across 21 counties in our State, the most expensive
disaster in Colorado's history. Rivers and creeks overflowed. Waters
seeped into the homes of thousands and displaced 18,147 people across
our State. Roads and bridges, as you can see here, were completely
washed out. Much infrastructure was destroyed.
My district, as I mentioned, contains two of the counties that were
the hardest hit by these events, Boulder and Larimer Counties.
Yet, today, more than 6 years later, many of these communities have
still not been able to recover from the flooding fully.
Rebuilding from a disaster this severe is a lengthy and expensive
process. However, it is made more difficult by Federal grant
regulations set by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA,
that require cities and counties to rebuild infrastructure in the exact
same way it had been built before the disaster in order to qualify for
reimbursement.
If these counties were to rebuild the roads and bridges that were
destroyed in the flood the same way they were originally built, it
would put these same communities at risk of future disasters once
again.
There is a lack of clarity and consistency for these cities and
counties, as well as countless other cities and counties across the
country, in FEMA's current determination of reimbursements.
Many projects in my district have been deemed ``not cost-effective''
because the counties made an adjustment and wanted to improve their
infrastructure, not just rebuild the same road right next to a river
that would be washed out again with the next flood.
Now, the good news is, Madam Speaker, that Congress has already acted
in a bipartisan way to show that we understand this problem. Section
1235 of the Disaster Recovery Reform Act passed last year, in 2018, and
it required that FEMA issue interim guidance, which is based on ``the
latest consensus-based codes and standards'' within 60 days of that law
being enacted.
Just to give you a sense of context in terms of time, the law was
signed by the President on October 5, 2018. It has been almost an
entire year since this bill was signed into law, yet FEMA has issued no
interim guidance.
I understand. I get it. I recognize that it may take longer than 60
days, maybe 90 days, maybe 120 days. But an entire year?
This endangers not just the financial security of counties in
Colorado that have millions of dollars at risk based on the pending
project determinations, but it demonstrates a fundamental failure by
the United States Government. There is simply no excuse for the
extensive delay that FEMA has taken in issuing this interim guidance.
Millions of dollars are at risk every day that counties have to wait
to learn if their projects will be reimbursed or covered under FEMA
rulemaking.
I know there are hardworking people at FEMA who are doing their jobs
each and every day to protect communities across our country, but I
would just implore the Agency--and we have certainly communicated this
directly to the Agency--that it should not have taken 6 years for
communities to rebuild their infrastructure after a flood fully, and it
certainly should not be caused by delays from red tape at the Federal
level.
Promises were made by the Agency to get this rulemaking done. I urge
FEMA to take action to issue this guidance in the last few days of
September, as they promised.
We have just a few more days, Madam Speaker, until the month
concludes. My constituents are waiting. The counties are waiting. The
country is waiting. I ask FEMA to not allow for any other delays, and I
yield back the balance of my time.
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