A bill sponsored by Congressman Spencer Bachus was approved by The House Financial Services Committee recently, supporting new safety measures in mobile homes.

The bill, C.J.’s Home Protection Act, is named in honor of C.J. Martin, a 2-year-old who died in 2005 when a tornado struck his family’s mobile home community in Evansville, Ind. The family could not hear a storm siren and did not have a weather radio. The child’s mother, Kathryn, helped pass an Indiana state law requiring the manufacturing housing industry to install NOAA weather radios in all newly-built units.

Bachus’ bill would expand the law to make it nationwide. The congressman said the bill was an inexpensive means of keeping people safe during bad weather.

“This bill will help save lives and prevent injuries,” he said. “It will provide more families with an opportunity to receive severe storm alerts. We cannot prevent tornadoes or severe storms, but we can provide families with an inexpensive tool they need to seek shelter.”

The bill requires NOAA weather radios to be installed in manufactured homes built or sold in the United States, which would provide immediate broadcasts of severe weather warnings, including tornado and flood warnings and watches.

Chilton County EMA Director Bill Collum said he felt the bill, if passed, could make a huge difference in storm safety.

“It’s a good idea,” he said. “It’s just needed someone with some clout [to push it along].”

Collum said while people might not appreciate having a government-mandated radio initially, the life-saving potential is unquestioned. He also said severe weather awareness should stretch beyond homes, too.

“The Chilton County Board of Education agreed a few years ago to have a safe room in Clanton Middle School, so when storms hit students would be protected,” he said. “If we do that in Chilton County, why not the entire state? It only costs $40,000 to make it storm safe.”

For now, though, Collum said that CJ’s Home Protection Act is a good first step.

“I think it’s a good bill,” he said. “I think it could safe a lot of lives.”

For more information on the bill, log on to www.house.gov/bachus.