Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Reauthorization Act of 2023

Floor Speech

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Mr. OBERNOLTE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the reauthorization of the Weather Act.

This bill includes, in section 115, my legislation to also reauthorize the National Landslide Hazards Reduction Program. This is a critically important program for reducing landslide hazards in the United States that will, absent reauthorization, expire at the end of this year.

It is a little-known fact that landslides cause over a billion dollars in property damage every year in the United States, as well as costing countless lives. This is particularly true in my district in southern California.

My district has experienced substantial wildfire damage in the last several years, and last August, we experienced the first tropical storm in 83 years in California. This resulted in the liquefaction of the soil beneath the burn scars in the San Bernardino Mountains. The resulting landslides erased an entire community. Houses were uprooted and displaced, and many residents were trapped and had to be lifted by helicopter to safety.

Mr. Speaker, the National Landslide Hazards Reduction Program is a critical program for identifying hazards that exist with landslides and improving coordination with local emergency responders and agencies to make sure that those hazards are addressed.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Lucas and my colleagues on the Science, Space, and Technology and the Natural Resources Committees for including my legislation in the Weather Act Reauthorization Act, and I urge its adoption.

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