NATIONAL EARTHQUAKE HAZARDS REDUCTION PROGRAM REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2025

On 2026-01-05, Senator Roger Marshall (R-KS) delivered a floor speech titled "NATIONAL EARTHQUAKE HAZARDS REDUCTION PROGRAM REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2025" in the Senate. The speech addressed taxes and also covered the environment, housing. It referenced legislation including S5, S10, S320, among other bills.

NATIONAL EARTHQUAKE HAZARDS REDUCTION PROGRAM REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2025

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 2 (Monday, January 5, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 2 (Monday, January 5, 2026)] [Senate] [Pages S5-S10] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] NATIONAL EARTHQUAKE HAZARDS REDUCTION PROGRAM REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2025 Mr. MARSHALL. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to immediate consideration of Calendar No. 183, S. 320. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bill by title. The legislative clerk read as follows: A bill (S. 320) to reauthorize the Earthquake Hazards Reduction Act of 1977, and for other purposes. There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill, which was reported from the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation with an amendment to strike all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic, as follows: SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program Reauthorization Act of 2025''. SEC. 2. MODIFICATION OF FINDINGS. Section 2 of the Earthquake Hazards Reduction Act of 1977 (42 U.S.C. 7701) is amended-- (1) in paragraph (1)-- (A) by striking ``50 States, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico,'' and inserting ``States and Tribal jurisdictions''; (B) by striking ``of them'' and inserting ``States''; (C) by striking ``Tennessee,,'' and inserting ``, Tennessee,''; and (D) by striking ``A large portion of the population of the United States lives in areas vulnerable to earthquake hazards'' and inserting ``Almost half of the United States population resides in areas that are at risk or experiencing a damaging earthquake during the 50-year period beginning on the date of the enactment of the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program Reauthorization Act of 2025''; (2) in paragraph (2)-- (A) by inserting after the first sentence the following: ``A 2023 report by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the United States Geological Survey (FEMA P-366) estimates the annualized earthquake losses to the national building stock is $14,700,000,000 per year and the total economic exposure to earthquake losses (buildings and contents) across the nation is $107,800,000,000,000.''; and [[Page S6]] (B) in the third sentence-- (i) by striking ``and construction'' and inserting ``, construction, evaluation, and retrofitting''; and (ii) by striking ``and (E)'' and inserting the following: ``(E) inventories of buildings and infrastructure with high seismic risk, especially those that are critical to community resilience, (F) programs that require or incentivize replacement or retrofit of existing buildings and infrastructure with high seismic risk, especially those that are critical to community resilience, and (G)''; (3) in paragraph (3), by inserting ``Tribal,'' after ``local,''; (4) in paragraph (4), by striking ``could provide'' and all that follows through the period at the end and inserting ``is necessary to provide the scientific understanding needed to improve and expand the earthquake early warning system.''; (5) in paragraph (8), by striking ``cave-ins'' and inserting ``collapse''; (6) in paragraph (9)-- (A) in the first sentence, by striking ``and local'' and inserting ``local, and Tribal government''; (B) in the second sentence, by striking ``transfer knowledge and information to'' and inserting ``exchange knowledge and information between''; and (C) in the third sentence, by striking ``specifications, criteria'' and inserting ``guidelines, codes, standards''; (7) in paragraph (12)-- (A) in the second sentence-- (i) by striking ``When earthquakes occur, the built environment is generally'' and inserting ``Relatively newer buildings and infrastructure have generally been''; and (ii) by striking ``and is'' and inserting ``when earthquakes occur, but most are''; and (B) by adding at the end the following: ``In addition, buildings and infrastructure built to older codes and standards may pose significant risk of injury, loss of life, or irreparable damage. A 2021 report submitted to Congress pursuant to section 8(b), as amended by section 5 of the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program Reauthorization Act of 2018 (Public Law 115-307), by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (FEMA P2090/NST SP-1254) provides recommendations for improving post-earthquake functional recovery time of the built environment to support community resilience goals and many of these recommendations still need to be implemented.''; and (8) in paragraph (13)-- (A) in the first sentence, by inserting ``in 2011'' after ``a study''; (B) in the second sentence, by inserting ``(in 2011 dollars)'' after ``$300,000,000''; and (C) by adding at the end the following: ``The cost of actual seismic retrofits to reduce known risks is not included in such valuation.''. SEC. 3. MODIFICATION OF PURPOSE. Section 3 of the Earthquake Hazards Reduction Act of 1977 (42 U.S.C. 7702) is amended-- (1) in paragraph (1)-- (A) by striking ``and local'' and inserting ``, local, and Tribal government''; and (B) by striking ``locations and structures'' and inserting ``buildings and infrastructure''; (2) in paragraph (2)-- (A) by striking ``and construction'' and inserting ``, construction, evaluation, and retrofitting''; and (B) by inserting ``housing and care facilities for vulnerable populations,'' after ``occupancy buildings,''; and (3) in paragraph (4)-- (A) by striking ``and local'' and inserting ``, local, and Tribal government''; and (B) by striking ``encourage consideration of'' and inserting ``incorporate''. SEC. 4. MODIFICATION OF DEFINITIONS. Section 4 of the Earthquake Hazards Reduction Act of 1977 (42 U.S.C. 7703) is amended-- (1) in paragraph (3), by inserting ``, including secondary effects such as earthquake-caused tsunamis'' after ``earthquakes''; and (2) by adding at the end the following: ``(11) The term `Tribal government' has the meaning given the term `tribal government' in section 421 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 658). ``(12) The term `functional recovery' means a post- earthquake performance state in which a building or lifeline infrastructure system is maintained, or restored, to safely and adequately support the basic intended functions associated with the pre-earthquake use or occupancy of a building, or the pre-earthquake service level of a lifeline infrastructure system. ``(13) The term `earthquake forecast' means a statement of probabilities that 1 or more earthquakes within a clearly specified magnitude range may occur within a specified time interval and geographic region.''. SEC. 5. IMPROVEMENTS TO NATIONAL EARTHQUAKE HAZARDS REDUCTION PROGRAM. (a) Program Activities.--Subsection (a)(2) of section 5 of the Earthquake Hazards Reduction Act of 1977 (42 U.S.C. 7704) is amended-- (1) in subparagraph (B)-- (A) in the matter before clause (i)-- (i) by striking ``and local'' and inserting ``local, and Tribal''; and (ii) by striking ``and constructing'' and inserting ``, designing, constructing, evaluating, and retrofitting''; (B) by amending clause (ii) to read as follows: ``(ii) development of standards, guidelines, and voluntary standards, guidelines, and consensus codes for earthquake hazards reduction for buildings, structures, and lifeline infrastructure, including post-earthquake recovery-based performance objectives that address reoccupancy and downtime of community-prioritized buildings, structures, and services provided by lifeline infrastructure;''; (C) in clause (iii), by striking ``and hazards reduction; and'' and inserting ``functional recovery, and other hazards reduction topics;''; (D) in clause (iv)-- (i) by inserting ``and maintaining'' after ``publishing''; (ii) by inserting ``in coordination with the National Tsunami Hazards Mitigation Program, tsunami susceptibility,'' after ``liquefaction susceptibility,''; and (iii) by striking ``; and'' and inserting a semicolon; and (E) by adding at the end the following: ``(v) subject to the availability of funds, development of best practices and guidelines to create an inventory of and conduct seismic performance evaluations of buildings, structures, and lifeline infrastructure with high seismic risk, especially those that are critical to community resilience; and ``(vi) subject to the availability of funds, the provision of technical assistance upon request by a State, local, or Tribal government regarding-- ``(I) the creation of an inventory of buildings, structures, and lifeline infrastructure; ``(II) the performance of seismic performance evaluations; and ``(III) cost-effective best practices for retrofitting existing buildings, structures, and lifeline infrastructure.''; (2) in subparagraph (C), by striking ``; and'' and inserting a semicolon; (3) by redesignating subparagraph (D) as subparagraph (E); and (4) by inserting after subparagraph (C) the following: ``(D) improve the understanding of-- ``(i) the multiple hazards associated with earthquakes, including liquefaction, tsunamis, landslides, and structural fires; and ``(ii) potential mitigation measures for such hazards; and''. (b) Duties of Interagency Coordinating Committee on Earthquake Hazards Reduction.--Subsection (a)(3)(D)(ii) of such section is amended-- (1) in subclause (V), by inserting ``and associated secondary hazards'' before the period at the end; and (2) by adding at the end the following: ``(VIII) Coordinating with the Chair of the Federal Communications Commission on the timely broadcasting of emergency alerts generated by the earthquake early warning system.''. (c) Biennial Report.--Subsection (a)(4)(A) of such section is amended by striking ``under paragraph (3)(D)(i)(I)'' each place it appears and inserting ``under paragraph (3)(D)(ii)(I)''. (d) Advisory Committee.--Subsection (a)(5)(A) of such section is amended-- (1) by inserting ``the Chair of the Scientific Earthquake

Referenced legislation: S320, S320