Political Quotes

“Madam President, I am here to talk about flood insurance, an issue facing Louisiana, and, I am sorry to say, an issue now facing the Presiding Officer's State. Floods can occur anywhere--for example, on the top of a mountaintop. People don't realize that, but you have this gully going down from the top to the bottom, and if it gets a big rain--boom--going down from the top of that mountain, you will have a flood. And that has occurred, unfortunately, in California. I spent several years in Southern California, and I can relate to that. But it happens regularly in my State. Now, why in my State? Well, folks think of hurricanes as wind, rain, and lightning, but one of the greatest threats is actually the risk of flooding. And these floods can destroy homes, businesses and leave them--if they don't destroy them right away, they can leave them moist. And when it is moist, it begins to rot from the inside. And homes that families have lived in for over 50 years that have never flooded before can become unlivable. So if you come down to Louisiana or California or Pennsylvania or West Virginia or other things, and you ask folks in the bottom of a riverbed, for example, if a flood can upend their life, they will say emphatically yes. So if we know the answer is an emphatic yes, then what can Congress do about it, if anything? Well, we have a mechanism to address it, the National Flood Insurance Program which currently ensures 4.7 million American families.…”