Press Releases

Language from legislation sponsored by U.S. Representative Matt Cartwright (PA-08) to help communities prepare for natural disasters and extreme weather incidents was included in the fiscal year 2020 funding legislation, which is expected to be signed into law by President Trump today.

“Hurricanes, floods and other extreme weather events are growing more intense every year. Yet, many communities are still not equipped to withstand them,” said Rep. Cartwright. “This funding legislation takes an important step toward addressing this issue, but a permanent, long-term solution is needed. We must pass my PREPARE Act and Built to Last Act into law so Americans will have the tools to protect their homes and businesses, and so local authorities can put in place comprehensive recovery plans when disaster strikes.”

The appropriations legislation includes language from Rep. Cartwright’s PREPARE Act (H.R. 4347), which authorizes an interagency council whose purpose is to provide recommendations on the best means of planning and preparing for extreme weather incidents. It also provides state and local stakeholders with the best information available and best practices to help them formulate emergency preparation plans tailored to their local needs.

Also included in the funding bills are measures from the Built to Last Act, which Rep. Cartwright has championed in previous Congresses and will soon reintroduce this session. This language instructs the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to coordinate an effort to make a consistent, authoritative set of forward-looking climate data available to standards-developing organizations (SDOs), which will help bolster America’s infrastructure and systems against the risks of extreme weather and natural disasters.

These funding packages – H.R. 1865, a domestic priorities and international assistance appropriations minibus, and H.R. 1158, a national security appropriations minibus – fully fund the federal government through September 30, 2020. Given that they will expire at that date, Rep. Cartwright will continue working to pass the PREPARE Act and Built to Last Act this session to ensure they are permanently codified.