Reps. Tulsi Gabbard (D., Hawaii) has introduced the Civil Defense Preparedness Act of 2018 (HR 5399), which would expand two Department of Homeland Security grant programs, the Homeland Security Grant Program and the Urban Area Security Initiative, to include funding for improving nuclear, biological, and chemical attack preparedness.

“The false ballistic missile alert sent out in Hawai‘i earlier this year, and the threat of nuclear attack from North Korea, reveal major gaps in preparedness measures and alert plans across all levels of our government. Addressing this must be taken seriously and made a priority in Hawai‘i and across the country. My bipartisan legislation provides the means to support state and local governments to make these critical investments for our communities,” Rep. Gabbard said.

“More than two months have passed since the false ballistic missile alert revealed significant failures in our preparations for a possible attack and we are still seeking a full, transparent accounting of what went wrong for 38 minutes on January 13th. We must review HI-EMA’s [Hawaii Emergency Management Agency] Attack Warning Signal system and our community response plan in the event of a biological, chemical, radiological or nuclear attack as part of the process to restore the public trust,” added Rep. Colleen Hanabusa (D., Hawaii), a cosponsor of the bill.

The other cosponsors of the bill are Reps. Thomas A. Garrett Jr. (R., Va.), Madeleine Z. Bordallo (D., Guam), Aumua Amata (R., American Samoa), and Don Young (R., Alaska).- Paul Kirby, paul.kirby@wolterskluwer.com

Courtesy TRDaily