Lois Capps: “Hurricane Katrina highlights the need for disaster preparedness. Across the country, everyone is asking: Are we…”

“Hurricane Katrina highlights the need for disaster preparedness. Across the country, everyone is asking: Are we prepared? Every level of government is reexamining how we can make our communities more disaster resistant. In James Lee Witt's FEMA, we had a tool to make that happen: Project Impact. This proven program brought together local leaders, citizens, and businesses to prepare for and protect themselves against the worst that nature could throw at them; and at the Federal level funding worked to leverage support from private sources, multiplying their effectiveness. Unfortunately, this administration unwisely tossed aside Project Impact and broke a model that had worked so well. Today, I will introduce legislation to bring Project Impact back to life. The Disaster Plan Act will reauthorize FEMA's predisaster mitigation grant program. None of us can stop natural disasters from happening, but we can and we must be prepared for what happens when a disaster occurs. Project Impact was a program that worked in a FEMA that worked, and now we need to bring it back. ____________________”