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SMITH, WYDEN ANNOUNCE SUPPORT FOR
NATIONAL DROUGHT PREPAREDNESS ACT
April 15, 2005
Washington, DC
– U.S. Senators Gordon Smith and Ron Wyden have announced
the introduction of the National Drought Preparedness Act (S.802),
which will finally bring a national, coordinated approach to drought
preparedness and response efforts. The legislation authorizes,
for the first time, the Federal Emergency Management Agency to
respond to the economic and human suffering resulting from drought
conditions.
“Currently our ability to respond to the devastation of
widespread drought is limited,” said Smith. “This
legislation provides the framework to monitor conditions, and
plan effectively to keep family farms and the economy running
in the face of catastrophic water shortages.”
“One of the biggest concerns I heard at the Drought Preparedness
Forum in Salem last month was that there’s a confusing alphabet
soup of government agencies that are supposed to help folks in
a drought, but they are difficult to find and access quickly,”
Wyden said. “In addition, these agencies have struggled
with limited resources and a lack of coordinated vision to help
folks through hard times in dry years. This legislation will finally
bring more resources and a coordinated approach to the federal
drought response.”
Instead of federal agencies each taking their own approach to
drought, the Act will improve the federal government’s ability
to respond to droughts by creating a National Drought Council,
a 14-member group consisting of top federal officials, governors,
mayors, tribal representatives and appointees of the National
Association of Counties. The Council will coordinate federal drought
preparedness activities with those of the states, local governments,
tribes, and counties and will also:
• develop a comprehensive National Drought Policy Action
Plan that outlines and integrates the roles and responsibilities
of the federal agencies for drought;
• make recommendations to establish common drought triggers;
• coordinate and prioritize specific actions to establish
a national integrated drought system to collect and integrate
information on key indicators of drought;
• encourage and facilitate development of drought preparedness
plans; and
• develop and coordinate public awareness activities.
The legislation also creates a Drought Assistance Fund to be used
for:
• technical and financial assistance to states, tribes,
local governments, watershed groups, and other entities for development
and implementation of drought preparedness plans;
• federal funds to be cost-shared for mitigation risks and
impacts of droughts;
• developing mitigation measures to address environmental,
economic and human health and safety issues related to drought;
• expanding technology transfer of drought and water conservation
strategies and innovative water supply techniques; and
• developing post-drought evaluations and recommendations.
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