WASHINGTON – The House of Repesentatives this afternoon unanimously passed legislation that will provide earlier storm warnings to people who live in manufactured housing, announced Congressman Spencer Bachus (AL-6).
Bachus is a lead sponsor of CJ’s Home Protection Act (H.R. 2787), which requires new manufactured homes to be equipped with NOAA Weather Radios. As Ranking Member on the Financial Services Committee, where the bill was considered, Bachus played a key role in moving the measure to the floor.
Bachus said, "With today’s technology, we have the science to predict a severe storm, sometimes as much as a half hour before it arrives. We are building more storm shelters. Now, we address the missing link for people who live in manufactured housing, making sure that people get emergency warnings in time to seek shelter from the storm."
Bachus joined in a bipartisan effort with Congressman Brad Ellsworth (D-IN) to promote the bill. CJ’s Act is named in memory of a two year old boy who was killed by a tornado in Indiana in 2005. His family, which lived in manufactured housing, could not hear a distant siren.
"The cost of installing these radios is very small, but it will save lives. NOAA Weather Radios provide the most up-to-date information on storms. The emergency alerts come through loud and clear. They can be life-saving if you aren’t near a television or regular radio," Bachus commented.
Bachus, a strong advocate of tornado safety, is the author of the 2003 law that allows Community Development Block Grant funds to be used for the construction of tornado shelters in manufactured housing communities.
According to the National Weather Service, Alabama averages 23 tornadoes per year, ranking number 13 among states in tornado frequency and number three among states in tornado deaths.
Bachus recalled a tornado that struck Tuscaloosa County in December that killed 12 people, including nine residents who lived in manufactured housing.
"There was a photograph that appeared in the papers after that tornado. It showed a rescue worker carrying a 6 year old girl, Whitney Crowder, through the debris. It was the type of image that you never forget and that put a human face on the need for better protection against tornadoes. Whitney survived and today is an 8th grader in Tuscaloosa. But her father and little brother, 16 month old Wesley – like C.J. in Indiana – did not. This legislation will help equip adults as well as children with a greater chance of surviving a killer tornado," Bachus said.
CJ’s Home Protection Act amends the Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Standards Act by requiring the installation of NOAA Weather Radios in all new manufactured homes constructed or sold in the U.S. CJ’s mother, Kathryn, successfully pushed for the adoption of a similar law in the State of Indiana.
The House passed the bill by voice vote. It now moves on to the Senate for consideration.