Norton Hearing On Saving Kids, The Elderly And The Most Vulnerable Americans During Disasters On Tue.

Press Release

"Looking Out for the Very Young, the Elderly and Others with Special Needs: Lessons from Katrina and other Major Disasters," is the subject of a hearing on Tuesday, October 20th at 2 pm in room 2167 of the Rayburn House Office Building by the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management, chaired by Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC). The Congresswoman co-sponsored H.R. 3495, "The Kids in Disasters Well-being, Safety and Health Act of 2007, signed into law on December 26, 2007, which created the commission whose interim report has just been released. H.R. 3495 created the National Commission on Children and Disasters and required it to conduct a comprehensive study to "examine and assess the needs of children" in recovery, preparation and response in major disasters. "However," Norton said, "although children are particularly vulnerable, we must also account for all special needs populations, including the elderly and the disabled, people who are sick, blind, deaf or in wheel chairs." The commission recommended distinguishing children from other at-risk populations. Norton said she intends to ferret out how FEMA and the states can attend to the special circumstances confronting all concerned without sacrificing comprehensive responsibility and approaches to take care of vulnerable populations. H.R. 3495 and the study were inspired by the many problems faced by children during Hurricane Katrina. A quarter of Hurricane Katrina victims were under age 18, including more than 400,000 children below the age of five. The hearing will take testimony about the many unique and continuing problems of special needs populations and how these problems should be avoided in disasters throughout the country. Witnesses for the hearing will be: Tim Manning, Deputy Administrator, National Preparedness Directorate, Federal Emergency Management Agency; Mark Shriver, Chairman, National Commission on Children and Disasters; Mr. John Vaughn, Chairperson, National Council on Disability; Mr. Trevor Riggen Senior Director, Direct Services American Red Cross. The hearing will be webcast live at http//transportation.house.gov.

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