Measure targets extreme weather preparedness

Reps. Matt Cartwright (D-PA) and Daniel Webster (R-FL) introduced legislation Tuesday designed to enhance extreme weather events preparedness by establishing best practices to protect communities while saving taxpayer money.

The PREPARE Act would create an interagency council to provide government-wide recommendations on resilience and readiness to help communities adopt smart, cost-saving initiatives.

“This bill will save taxpayer money, protect communities across the United States, and boost our resilience against natural disasters,” Cartwright said. “For every dollar we spend on mitigation, we can save six dollars on the averted potential recovery costs after a natural disaster. Most importantly, being better prepared will give our communities greater peace of mind, as we work to stand ready in the face of extreme weather events.”

Among the provisions of the bill is the creation of an interagency oversight council to implement government-wide resilience, preparedness and risk management priorities; ensuring local and state planners can identify regional issues and adopt best practices to increase their preparedness for extreme weather events; and minimizing costs by requiring that agencies incorporate extreme weather preparedness in planning activities.

“After the devastating 2004-2005 hurricanes, Florida made specific policy and behavior changes to improve our disaster preparedness,” Webster said. “The cornerstone of Florida’s preparedness planning is resilient construction techniques and improved communication and coordination between state and local agencies. The PREPARE Act builds on the initiatives Florida pioneered. It is a thoughtful approach to improve disaster preparedness across federal agencies to better identify and proactively mitigate risk.”