Political Quotes

“Reserving the right to object, the statistics really do tell the story. Twenty-three percent of all homes that are insured under this program, whether they are in Louisiana or any other coastal State, are second homes or vacation homes. I would be perfectly willing to negotiate what the actual price of the home is that can be in this situation, and I would offer to modify the amendment from $250,000 to $350,000 to allow more homes to be in. But saying the median is $433,000--well, the limit right now is infinite. There is no limit. You can have a $5 million vacation home, and the government is going to subsidize it. If we don't subsidize these houses, does that mean we are discouraging people who have wealth or have second homes? No. This has nothing to do with that. It is saying the taxpayer shouldn't subsidize rich people. The thing is, the reform will be objected to today, and there will not be any reform to this program, and these programs go on year after year because no one will bring to light what is actually happening here. If you were to ask the American people today ``Do you think we should be subsidizing flood insurance for people's beach house,'' I think they would say ``No. Buy your own damn insurance if you have a beach house. The government shouldn't be paying for it.'' So I object. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard. The Senator from Louisiana.”