Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I rise today to introduce legislation on a subject that is never far from the minds of citizens in my home State of Florida, folks along the Gulf Coast, or on the Atlantic seaboard: the threat of hurricanes, and the devastation that these storms leave in their wake. This threat is ever nearer as we approach the 2011 hurricane season. Hurricane damage is certainly not new to Florida. On September 1926, the Great Miami Hurricane was a harbinger of things to come. Two years later, a category four hurricane caused Lake Okeechobee to flood its banks killing 2500 out of South Florida's 50,000 residents. In August 1992, Hurricane Andrew struck South Florida causing an estimated $26 billion in damage to the United States. And we all when in August of 2005, Hurricane Katrina ripped through New Orleans and the Gulf Coast region, causing more than $91 billion in economic losses, forcing more than 770,000 people from their homes, and killing an estimated 1833 people. According to the Insurance Information Institute, insurance companies had estimated losses of $40.6 billion on 1.7 million claims in 6 States from Hurricane Katrina, the largest loss in the history of insurance. Insured losses are predicted to double every decade as development along the Gulf and Atlantic Coasts increases. The sheer magnitude of this loss is staggering and underscores the need for increased funding for hurricane research and improved forecasting.…”