CJ's Home Protection Act of 2009

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of CJ's Home Protection Act, H.R. 320. The House's consideration of this public safety legislation today--legislation which would require a NOAA weather radio be installed in all manufactured homes built and sold in this country--is a continuation of an effort we started 2 years ago. Back in 2007, the House passed this bill by voice vote, and I hope it will receive broad support again today.

At 2 a.m. on the morning of November 6, 2005, an F3 tornado touched down in my district in southwest Indiana. The tornado hit a manufactured housing community after most people had gone to sleep, and it tragically took 25 lives, Hoosier lives in Vanderburgh and Warrick County. These lives might have been saved if the victims knew of the dangerous storm that was approaching.

CJ, a loving and playful 2-year-old boy, was one of the victims that night. CJ and 24 other victims, including his grandmother and great grandmother, are the reason why I'm here today. His picture is a reminder of the heartbreaking loss that severe weather can bring to families and communities throughout this country. All too frequently this loss comes with little or no warning.

Madam Speaker, I was the sheriff of the county back in 2005, and my department oversaw the recovery effort in the aftermath of this horrendous storm. The horror and devastation the storm left behind is something I will remember the rest of my life. That is why this bill is so important to me and many others.

While CJ is the inspiration for this important public safety legislation, Kathryn Martin, CJ's mother, is the leader in the effort. In the months after the storm, Kathryn channeled her pain and suffering toward an effort to pass similar legislation in the State of Indiana. Kathryn would not be denied. She was successful in getting the bill passed, and because of the awareness she raised about weather radios, the people in my hometown of Evansville, Indiana, have the most weather radios in households per capita in the United States.

When I first met Kathryn, I promised her that if I ever came to Congress I would introduce Federal legislation to do the same thing that she was trying to push in our State. The bill before us today is a fulfillment of that promise. CJ's Home Protection Act amends the Federal Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standard to require that each manufactured home delivered for sale shall be supplied with a weather radio inside the manufactured home.

One might question that when not every area of the country endures the same dangerous tornado season, why should this be a national standard? While it's true that some regions encounter more tornadoes than others, extreme weather exists everywhere. A tornado took CJ's life. But for another child living in California, it could be a wildfire or a mudslide. For a child living in Texas, it could be a flash flood. Also, it should be added that NOAA weather radios are used to put out AMBER alerts. The radio must be capable of broadcasting emergency information related to local weather conditions, equipped with a tone alarm and specific alert message encoding, and comply with Consumer Electronics Association standards for public receivers.

Like a smoke detector, these inexpensive devices can provide families with the warning they need to take action and protect themselves when severe weather strikes. This bill is about improving public safety, plain and simple. It's not about demonizing the manufactured housing industry. Kathryn and John Martin and the other residents of this community love their homes, and the manufactured houses provide affordable, high-quality homes for thousands of American families. I'm a strong supporter of manufactured housing. I see this legislation as adding one more feature to enhance the safety features of these structures.

Before I conclude my remarks, Madam Speaker, I'd like to thank Chairman Barney Frank and his staff at the Financial Services Committee for their efforts to move this legislation forward. This bill would not be where it is today without the strong support of Ranking Member Spencer Bachus. He has been a vocal advocate for this cause from the very beginning. Thank you very much. I would also like to thank Congressman Dennis Moore and Congresswoman Kay Granger for their support as original cosponsors. Finally, I'd like to thank my good friend from Indiana, Congressman Joe Donnelly, who was helpful throughout the entire process.

I urge my colleagues to support this important public safety legislation. The cost of a NOAA weather radio is a mere $30 to $80, and for that price we can improve the safety of so many people from the sudden threat of extreme weather.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 320, CJ's Home Protection Act of 2009. I would like to thank the chairman for his assistance in expediting this important bill to the floor. And I'd like to thank my colleague and author of the legislation, the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Ellsworth), for putting this bill together.

This bipartisan bill amends the Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Standards Act of 1974 by requiring the installation of a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration weather radio in all manufactured homes built or sold in the United States. These weather radios will provide immediate broadcast of severe weather warnings and civil emergency messages, including tornado and flood warnings, AMBER alerts for child abductions, and chemical spill notifications.

The legislation is named in memory of CJ Martin, a 2-year-old boy who was killed during a tornado in southwest Indiana in 2005. His mother, Kathryn, helped pass a State law requiring the manufactured housing industry to install NOAA weather radios in all newly built units and spoke at the news conference in support of similar Federal legislation. Manufactured housing in this country has replaced a lot of substandard housing, and it provides very affordable housing. It is clean, and it provides an extraordinarily good home.

Despite rapid advances in tornado warning technologies, residents of manufactured housing communities often do not have adequate access to proper shelter. Many residents of homes have a place to go in the event of a tornado, whether it is a basement or an interior room. That is why Congress passed the Tornado Shelters Act, which was signed into law in 2003. That bipartisan bill authorized communities using community development block grant monies to construct or improve tornado-safe shelters located in manufactured housing parks. Unfortunately, this program is not used often enough.

H.R. 320 represents the final link in protecting families and residents in these communities. These weather radios will get warnings out, sometimes as much as half an hour or more before a severe storm arrives. We have the ability to build shelters. Now we are going to give residents an opportunity to hear these warnings earlier so they can take shelter from these storms. The cost of installing these radios is minimal, and this is going to save lives. It is going to save families.

We will never go back and know whether CJ could have survived had this legislation been passed. We do know, though, by talking to people throughout the United States that these radios have in many, many cases already saved lives and will save lives if we install them in manufactured housing. We have a shot at significantly reducing over half of the deaths from tornadoes simply by taking the step together and passing this legislation. I again want to commend the chairman and ranking member for expeditiously moving this legislation, and I commend the Member from Indiana (Mr. Ellsworth) for his thoughtfulness and his care and passion and dedication to this issue.

With that, Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I might consume.

Madam Speaker, in closing, I do want to thank Ranking Member Bachus. He has done a tremendous job in pushing forth this bill, along with the chairman. And I also want to thank again Mr. Ellsworth for his passion and his leadership on this issue. We all know that we dread times of storm. We've just gone through one in Virginia where, luckily, we didn't lose any lives. But we all know that when there are ways to prevent death and destruction, we ought to act in that way. Mr. Ellsworth and his leadership, seeing the need, seeing where we can save lives, stood up, assumed that leadership role and has really done, I think, a great thing for folks that have manufactured homes throughout the United States. Again, thank you for your leadership. And thank you again to Mr. Bachus, the ranking member, for his leadership on this and to the chairman for pushing this important legislation through.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 320) to amend the National Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Standards Act of 1974 to require that weather radios be installed in all manufactured homes manufactured or sold in the United States.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on this legislation and to insert extraneous material thereon.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, before I begin my remarks, I would like to thank the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Ellsworth) for his continued leadership on this issue, and for authoring the legislation that is before us today.

H.R. 320, the CJ's Home Protection Act of 2009, is named after CJ Martin, a 2-year old boy who was killed when an F3 tornado struck his manufactured home in 2005. Over 8 million families rely on manufactured housing to fulfill their housing needs. However, many manufactured homes, particularly those built before 1994, are incapable of withstanding the winds of a tornado, which can reach up to 200 miles. In 2008, 45 percent of tornado-related deaths occurred in manufactured homes.

H.R. 320 would provide a much-needed safety component to manufactured homes by requiring that they be equipped with weather radios that can inform families ahead of time that potentially dangerous weather is on the way. With this information, families can take appropriate action to protect themselves in the event of dangerous weather. These radios can be provided at a minimal cost--less than $50 in most cases--and are a small price to pay for saving even one life.

In addition, given the government's reliance on manufactured housing to meet the temporary housing needs of families displaced by natural disasters such as Hurricane Katrina, this kind of housing is becoming more and more critical to the lives of many Americans. It is crucial that this housing be safe and secure over the long term because, as we have seen in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the Federal Government can be lax in funding and finding permanent housing solutions for families temporarily living in these housing units.

The House already passed this legislation during the 110th Congress, and I hope that the Senate joins us in sending a bill to the President for his signature. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Indiana, the author of this bill, Representative Ellsworth.

Madam Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to applaud the actions of the House of Representatives in addressing the need to install weather radios in all manufactured homes manufactured or sold in the United States to ensure the safety of all Americans. This bill, named after a 2-year-old boy whose life was taken away when a tornado struck his community in 2005, will allow residents to receive more timely warnings about imminent severe weather. Accordingly, the bill ensures that each manufactured home delivered for sale in the United States be supplied with a weather radio.

Nearly 20,000,000 Americans live in manufactured homes. Because manufactured homes are more affordable than traditional homes, they are a viable housing option for low and moderate-income families. With the state of the economy, manufactured homes have become a more accessible and affordable way for many families to purchase their own homes. Thus, weather radios are essential as they provide immediate broadcast warnings of severe weather, such as floods, tornados, and high winds.

In March of 2009 a surprise tornado struck the City of Atlanta and caused millions of dollars worth of damage. Tornadoes can strike in many parts of the country, including places where they are rare, such as Atlanta. This is why the CJ's Home Protection Act of 2009 is an important piece of legislation that will save lives. I support this legislation and urge my colleagues to do the same.

Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, as the House considers H.R. 320, ``CJ's Home Protection Act,'' I encourage my colleagues to support its passage. As a cosponsor of this bill, I believe it is important to reflect back on why this legislation is crucial to saving lives in our communities.

In June 2007, devastating storms, tornadoes and flooding hit my district over a few days' time and left large amounts of property damaged and displaced thousands of families. Tragically, the flooding also took the lives of 11 individuals and injured others.

At Skyline Mobile Home Estates in Haltom City, I met with Haltom City Mayor Bill Lanford after the floods to see the damage and to also meet with local residents. About 100 mobile homes were impacted by the storms because there was not enough time for residents to know what was happening and to prepare for the coming disaster.

One of the most devastating impacts to this community was the death of 4-year-old Alexandria Collins. She was torn from her mother's grasp by the water's current as they fled to a neighbor's boat.

CJ's Home Protection bill requires that NOAA weather radios be installed in new mobile homes as they are being manufactured in order for residents to receive emergency broadcasting information and alerts. This bill will help save lives during emergency situations by providing people with the time and the information they need to take care of themselves and their families.

Thank you, and I urge the House to pass this legislation.