Congress Looks at Building Collapses
SHANNON McCAFFREY
ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Spurred by the flawed probe into the World Trade Center collapse, the House on Tuesday approved legislation that would create investigative teams to respond to deadly building failures.
The National Construction Safety Team Act has already passed in the Senate and now awaits President Bush's signature. The White House supports the bill, according to a spokeswoman for Rep. Sherwood Boehlert, R-N.Y., the bill's lead sponsor.
A second federal probe into the World Trade Center collapse after the Sept. 11 attacks is ongoing. The new bill would give those investigators subpoena power.
A report released earlier this year from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the American Society of Civil Engineers concluded that the trade center could have survived the impact of the hijacked 767s but the intense fire caused the towers' steel columns to soften and buckle.
Critics say that study was hampered by confusion over who was in charge and trouble investigators had gaining access to the site and to crucial documents. They also say investigators fumbled a critical opportunity to learn about the trade center's collapse when much of the building's steel was recycled.
``There are some questions that are going to be sadly left unanswered,'' Rep. Anthony Weiner, D-Brooklyn, said Tuesday.
The bill would create investigative teams with subpoena power to respond to deadly building failures within 48 hours to find out what went wrong and help prevent future collapses by strengthening building codes where appropriate.
``It will save lives,'' said Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y.
The investigative teams will operate under the National Institutes of Standards and Technology, which is leading the ongoing trade center investigation. The teams will model their work on the way the National Transportation Safety Board investigates airplane and other crashes.
The bill authorizes $75 million over three years.
A version of the bill already passed in the House in July. The Senate made minor changes that the House approved Tuesday by unanimous consent.
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