April 25, 2008 -- Rep. Henry Cuellar, Chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security’s Subcommittee on Emergency Communications, Preparedness and Response released the following Statement of Introduction for H.R. 5890, The Citizen and Community Preparedness Act of 2008 [excerpts]:

“I rise today to introduce the Citizen and Community Preparedness Act of 2008, which reaffirms the Federal Government’s commitment to helping our communities prepare for and respond to acts of terrorism, natural disasters and other emergencies.

The legislation I am introducing today formally authorizes the Citizen Corps Program and provides it with the necessary funding to be effective. It also authorizes key Citizen Corps components administered by the Department of Homeland Security – Fire Corps and CERT.

Fire Corps promotes the use of volunteers to assist fire and rescue departments in non-operational roles such as fire safety outreach, youth programs, and administrative support.

The Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program concept was developed and implemented by the Los Angeles City Fire Department in 1985 and has since spread to over 1,000 communities nationwide. Under the CERT Program citizens are training citizens in basic disaster response skills, such as fire safety, light search and rescue, team organization, and disaster medical operations."