Political Quotes

“I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned earlier, this bill is the 17th short-term extension of the National Flood Insurance Program. Our colleagues in the Senate have assured us that in June they will take up the version of a long-term NFIP reauthorization and reform bill, so I am confident that this will be our last short-term extension. H.R. 5740, with the Senate amendment, extends the program for an additional 2 months in order to protect homeowners, communities in flood-prone areas, and the housing market. Including at least one reform provision in H.R. 5740--to eliminate subsidized rates for second and vacation homes--reduces some of the NFIP's risk to taxpayers. H.R. 5740 also buys the House and Senate 2 more months to finalize a larger bill to reauthorize the 5 years and reform the National Flood Insurance Program. Eleven months ago, over 400 Members of the House from both sides of the aisle voted for H.R. 1309 to reform this program. Actually, the reform bill passed out of the Financial Services Committee 54 0. So this is a real bipartisan effort. The House also has approved the same 5-year NFIP reauthorization and reform bill as part of the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 in December, and as part of the Reconciliation Act that was passed a couple of weeks ago. Again, earlier this month over 400 Members of the House voted for the first version of H.R. 5740 to ensure that NFIP doesn't lapse.…”