Code and Safety for the Americas to assist Latin American with integrating ICC building codes

Senator Christopher J. Dodd (D-Conn.) and Representative Rosa L. DeLauro (D-Conn.) today introduced the "Code and Safety for the Americas" (CASA) Act to improve building practices in Latin America. The CASA Act, cosponsored in the Senate by Senators Joe Lieberman (D-Conn.) and Jeff Sessions (R-Al.), would authorize $3 million over two years from general foreign aid funds to translate into Spanish the United States building codes developed by the International Code Council (ICC). The bill also calls for pilot training programs for architects and engineers in Ecuador and El Salvador, with the intent of expanding this program through private partnerships to other countries.

The CASA Act is an assistance program to improve life safety and the quality of construction in Latin American countries. It would mitigate the risk of natural disasters such as the two recent 7.6 magnitude earthquakes in El Salvador that killed almost 2,000 people.

"This legislation will save lives, lessen the damage caused by future disasters, and illustrate our good will toward our Latin American allies while proving to be cost-effective for the United States through decreased aid following future disasters," said Senator Dodd in his statement introducing the CASA Act. In a letter to his colleagues Senator Dodd recognized the importance of building codes and certified construction products and systems. "Most countries in Latin America lack uniform, tested building codes. Over the past few years, the International Code Council (ICC) has unified the various regional American building codes into one comprehensive text that serves as the code of record for the United States."

"The devastation left behind in such countries (as El Salvador and Ecuador) is huge in comparison to our experience in Seattle, Washington, for example," wrote Representative DeLauro in a letter to the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Foreign Operations. "The earthquake that hit Seattle earlier this year was 6.8 in magnitude but it caused only minimal structural damage. There was no loss of life, and no homes or businesses were destroyed. The difference is proper implementation and enforcement of good building codes."

The CASA Act came at the request of the building professionals and organizations of El Salvador and Ecuador. It will provide a sustainable, state-of-the-art, "train the trainers" program based on the ICC family of international, comprehensive and coordinated building and construction codes. Architects, contractors, university faculty and public officials both in the United States and in Latin America support the CASA Act.

"The U.S. and United Nations motivated by compassion, foresight and simple economics, can help provide all of Latin America with the truly vital and life-protecting building codes the region urgently needs," Steve Forneris, an architect who practices in New York and Ecuador wrote in a recent article.

"ICC is honored by the recognition bestowed on the International Codes by the U.S. Congress, by Latin American countries including Ecuador, El Salvador, Argentina, Peru, Nicaragua, Honduras, Chile, Panama and by humanitarian and relief assistance organizations such as the Kiwanis International of El Salvador, Airline Ambassadors and many others," stated Sara Yerkes, Government Relations Director at the ICC. "ICC is committed to the CASA Act and eager to begin assisting our colleagues in Ecuador and El Salvador, and other Latin American countries to build safer housing for all people."

The ICC was founded in 1994 as a nonprofit organization dedicated to developing a single set of comprehensive and coordinated national model construction codes. The founders of the ICC are Building Officials and Code Administrators International, Inc. (BOCA), International Conference of Building Officials (ICBO), and Southern Building Code Congress International, Inc. (SBCCI). Since the early part of the last century, these nonprofit organizations have developed the three sets of model codes used throughout the United States.

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SOURCE International Code Council
0- 07/19/2001
/CONTACT: Sara C. Yerkes, Government Relations Director, +1-571-216-6000,
or Yerkes@intlcode.org, or Gretchen P. Hesbacher, Communications Coordinator,
+1-703-931-4533, ext. 17, or Hesbacher@intlcode.org, both of the International
Code Council/
/Web site: http://www.intlcode.org/