Political Quotes

“I will vote for the Flood Insurance Reform and Modernization Act because it would help place the National Flood Insurance Program, NFIP, back on solid financial footing. It is not a perfect bill, but I hope that some of my concerns can be addressed in the House Senate conference process. When Congress established the NFIP in 1968, flood insurance was not available at an affordable price, resulting in frequent and costly Federal disaster aid payments. The new program created a method to share the risk of flood losses through a national insurance program and required preventive and protective measures to mitigate the risk. Currently, Michigan has over 27,000 flood insurance policies, and since the program's inception, over $42.6 million in flood claims have been paid to Michigan policyholders. This bipartisan reform bill extends this important program through 2013, and enhances the long-term viability of the program, helping to provide self-sustaining, critical insurance coverage for millions of home and business owners throughout the country. Historically, the flood insurance program has covered most claims through the premiums it has collected. However, recent losses from the 2004 floods and 2005 catastrophic hurricanes have left the program over $17 billion in debt to the U.S. Treasury. This reform bill takes the painful but necessary step of forgiving that debt.”