On Dec. 23, Rep. Adam Schiff issued a statement in response to the passage of appropriations funding for the ShakeAlert West Coast Earthquake Early Warning System (EEW).

“We have to do everything we can to ensure we are prepared, and one critical step we can take is the development and expansion of the ShakeAlert West Coast Earthquake Early Warning system,” said Rep. Schiff. “We’ve come a long way toward building out the system and making it operational, with $93 million secured in federal support already, and we have to keep up the momentum because early warning can and will save lives when the next big quake hits.”

The week prior President Trump signed the funding bill, which provides $19 million for continued development and expansion of the Earthquake Early Warning System and $6.7 million in infrastructure funding for capital costs. Since 2014, Schiff has successfully advocated for $93.1 million in funding to develop and roll out EEW across the West Coast.

Schiff first secured $5 million in funding for the system in FY15. Since then, Congress has continually increased funding, including $8.2 million for FY16, $10.2 million for FY17, $12.9 million for FY18, and $16.1 million for FY19. This year, members requested $18.6 million in funding. This increase in funding will help USGS scale up towards an annual operating and maintenance budget of $28.6 million a year.