Washington ? People can’t stop tornadoes, but they can reduce the damage and even death they cause, lawmakers said Wednesday.

Legislation in Congress would set up a government task force to curtail losses in the next decade. The idea is for officials to figure out the best methods of protecting against high winds and tornadoes, then convince people to take action.

Introduced by Rep. Dennis Moore, D-Kan., the bill is aimed at boosting federal spending to reduce wind hazards and improving coordination, research and education.

“The deadly thunderstorms and tornadoes that crashed through the nation Sunday evening were a horrible reminder that tornadoes are a fact of life in Kansas,” he said.

The measure could result in some simple changes, said Brian Pallasch of the American Society of Civil Engineers.

“If you live in Kansas today or in another tornado-prone area and you’re going to re-roof your house, it makes sense to think about screwing the roof deck down versus nailing the roof deck down,” Pallasch said.

Moore said the $6 million the government currently spent on these efforts was woefully inadequate, especially when compared with the $100 million spent on reducing earthquake losses.

The measure would apply to hurricanes, too. Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Fla., said they were a reality in his home state: “The question is, how do we react to them? How do we make a bad situation better?”

“We can’t stop them from happening,” Diaz-Balart said. “But we can mitigate the loss, the cost of property damages and yes, the loss of life.”

The Federal Emergency Management Agency issued recommendations in 2000 saying that homeowners could improve their odds of surviving tornadoes by spending $1,000 to $2,000 to reinforce their houses.

FEMA’s study resulted from another deadly series of twisters that swept from Texas to the Northern Plains in 1999, killing 49 people in Oklahoma and Kansas.

Moore’s bill is co-sponsored by fellow Kansan, Republican Rep. Jim Ryun, as well as Rep. Karen McCarthy, D.-Mo., and Rep. Sam Graves, R-Mo., Rep. Frank Lucas, R-Okla., and Rep. Brad Carson, D-Okla., Rep. Vic Snyder, D-Ark., Rep. John Tanner, D-Tenn., and Rep. Melissa Hart, R-Pa.