Washington, DC – West Texans and people across the country will benefit from Thursday’s House passage of Congressman Randy Neugebauer’s legislation aimed to protect Americans from the effects of windstorms.

   Neugebauer’s bill, the National Windstorm Impact Reduction Act, was approved by the House of Representatives with strong bipartisan support by a vote of 387-26.  The bill now goes to the Senate for consideration. 

   “Windstorms continue to result in high losses of life and property,” Neugebauer said on the House floor, making particular reference to the 1970 tornado that devastated Lubbock. “Although there is great research going on at Texas Tech and other institutions to reduce the effects, these efforts are not being coordinated at the federal level.  This bill will help bring together universities, the private sector, and government as they work to protect people and property from windstorms.”

   The bill establishes an interagency National Windstorm Impact Reduction Program (NWIRP) to improve understanding of windstorm impacts, improve windstorm impact assessment, and develop and encourage implementation of mitigation measures to reduce those impacts. 

   Under NWIRP, the Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) will create an Interagency Working Group on windstorms consisting of representatives of the National Science Foundation, Federal Emergency Management Agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology.  The Director of OSTP will also designate an agency to serve as Chair of the working group, which will be responsible for planning, management, and coordination of the program.

  The National Weather Service estimated that between 1995 and 2002, hurricanes, tornadoes, and thunderstorms caused an average of $4.5 billion in damage every year nationwide.  These storms are particularly damaging to Texas, where an average of 124 tornadoes-more than twice the average of any other state- strike each year.

  West Texas will benefit from this bill in several ways, most notably through research funding for Texas Tech University’s Wind Engineering Research Center. The center is a major participant in the effort to reduce the effects of windstorms.  Last year, Neugebauer worked to secure $1.8 million for the center to continue its research to improve the economy of shelters and wind resistant construction.

   “This bill will get the practical effects of research out of the laboratory and into the hands West Texas homeowners and businesses,” Neugebauer said.

   The bill also establishes a National Advisory Committee on Windstorm Impact Reduction to assess the effectiveness of the NWIRP and make recommendations on the need for revisions to the program.  The Advisory Committee will report the results of these assessments to Congress and the Interagency Working Group once every two years.
   
  Several private sector groups have thrown their support behind the bill, including the American Association for Wind Engineering, the American Society of Civil Engineers, and the National Fire Protection Association.

  “Congressman Neugebauer is what I refer to as an impact player,” Science Committee Chairman Sherwood Boehlert said.  “Some people come to the House, take a few years to have an impact.  He just took a couple of months and he’s had an impact.  This bill is a direct tribute to his tenacity and determination to get something done.  Bills in this area have been proposed for many years, but through Mr. Neugebauer’s efforts we now have a bipartisan measure the House can pass.”

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