Susan Collins: “They certainly do. And one of the most exciting technologies involve wood composites. The fact is, most natural…”

“They certainly do. And one of the most exciting technologies involve wood composites. The fact is, most natural disasters directly affect wood construction, which is used for 99 percent of houses constructed nationally. The University of Maine Advanced Engineered Wood Composites Center (AEWC) has developed new technologies to reinforce wood construction materials with fiberglass material. These fiberglass-reinforced wood composites are two to three times stronger, more impact resistant and more ductile than their unreinforced counterparts. Homes and buildings constructed with these advanced materials should greatly enhance occupant protection from hurricanes, earthquakes, tornadic missiles, and other natural threats. In addition to their benefits in new construction, these technologies can be used to retrofit and strengthen existing wood buildings. The University of Maine and its industry partners require $4 million in fiscal year 2001 funds to complete material and wood panel testing on these technologies, and to start developing building code provisions to transition the new disaster resistant panels into residential and commercial construction. I commend my good friends, Chairman Gregg and the subcommittee's ranking member, Senator Hollings, for their efforts thus far to allocate additional funds to the National Institute of Standards Scientific and Technical Research Services programs.…”