January 30, 2002

Congressman Dennis Moore
431 Common House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Congressman Moore:

Thank you for introducing HR3592, the "Hurricane, Tornado, and Related Natural Hazards Research Act," to our House of Representatives on December 20, 2001.

We here at Monolithic agree with your findings that natural disasters cause enormous loss of life and property damage and that we need to find ways to eliminate or minimize these losses.

Section 4, Paragraphs (a) and (b) of HR 3592 suggest the formation of a Federal "interagency group" to study and share information related to natural disasters and come up with solutions.

In addition to the agencies already mentioned in paragraph (a), I think FEMA should definitely be included.

I would like to call your attention to an in-depth study completed in July 2000 by FEMA that already includes much of the research HR3592 suggests. It's FEMA 361, Design and Construction Guidance for Community Shelters. For your convenience, I'm enclosing a copy of a review of FEMA 361 that we did, but you can probably obtain the full text on FEMA's website.

Section 5, paragraph (b) suggests the formation of an "Advisory Committee" that would "include representatives of a broad cross-section of interests such as research, technology transfer, architectural, engineering.." Monolithic has professionals in several of these disciplines who would welcome an opportunity to serve on or assist this Committee.

Since 1975, Monolithic has been constructing homes and buildings for public use that have the proven ability to survive natural disasters such as windstorms, tornadoes, hurricanes and earthquakes. Moreover, through our Monolithic Dome Institute, we continue researching and promoting such construction.

As part of our educational program, we sponsor an annual Monolithic Dome Conference. This year's will take place February 28 to March 2, 2002 at the Ramada Plaza Hotel in Ft. Worth, TX. This three-day conference includes seminars and workshops, a tour of Monolithic Domes, and a banquet. We invite you and/or your representative to attend.

Sincerely,

David B. South,
President