Congressman Adam Schiff (D-CA) announced that Congress included $8.2 million in the 2016 funding bill specifically designated for the West Coast Earthquake Early Warning System – an increase over what President Barack Obama requested. Schiff called it a great victory for California and the West Coast. Congress included funds allocated for the system in a spending bill for the first time last year at $5 million.

The system can provide users up to about a minute or more of warning before shaking begins. It will cost an estimated $38.2 million to build a full system for the west coast, with annual operating and maintenance costs of $16.1 million.

“By increasing the funding for the West Coast Earthquake Early Warning System, Congress is sending a message to the western states that it supports this life-saving system. But the federal government cannot do it alone and will need local stakeholders, both public and private, to get behind the effort with their own resources,” Schiff said. “This year, Congress allocated an additional $8 million – a very substantial sum in these budget-constrained times.”

Schiff said the system will give people critical time to slow trains or stop surgeries.

“This early warning system is an investment we need to make now, not after the ‘big one’ hits,” Schiff said.

Earlier this year, Schiff led a group of 35 members of Congress – primarily from California, Washington and Oregon – to request that the Appropriations Committee fund the system for the west coast.