I have said I think there are enough votes on the floor of the Senate, Republicans and Democrats, to vote to move that provision with this bill. If there is any doubt about it, then let's have a straight up-or-down vote on it, but we will…

The farmers are an important constituency. They have broad-based support. So that is on this bill. That is it; the bill as it came out of Finance, the bill as it came out of Small Business with those two amendments--one put in by the…

I am still hopeful we can find a way forward. Many things in life are worth fighting for and this bill is one of them. I did not know if we would have to fight 12 hours and a few days or 12 hours and a month. But we are going to continue…

I appreciate how the leaders have tried to work together, although we don't seem to be getting to an agreement at this moment, but I wanted to ask the minority leader to clarify something. When he said things got snarled up, I don't know…

I want to be very clear. As this bill stands right now, this was a bipartisan bill when it came out of the Small Business Committee and the Finance Committee and it still is a bipartisan bill. The only two changes that have been made to…

I wish to thank my colleague from Virginia for that explanation and for his commitment to this bill and this effort. He was an extremely successful Governor before he became a Senator, and I say ``successful'' measured by the way those of…

Well, I appreciate that because I do have the greatest respect for the Senator from Maine. But she has not been excited about this program. She voted no, but we got 60 votes for the program. So I think perhaps we might find a way forward…

I think the Senator has assessed it correctly. But we have worked in a bipartisan fashion through both the Finance Committee... I just want to say that the only amendment that has been adopted to this bill has been a Republican…

This really is an issue of national significance.

We have to figure out how to live in a sustainable way.

It is my understanding that under current law, FEMA can provide a community up to $250,000 to help them with mapping.

A 1977 law prohibits Federal funding for new construction in what we call High-Velocity Zones.

It is not going to be easy, but it is imperative that we find some solutions here for our people.

So you haven't been able to help one community?

no matter what zone you are in, most of our constituents think they are paying too much for flood insurance.

We have to find a better way, whether it is along the Mississippi, for which we are very appreciative and understand it is very unique.

I want to begin by saying how pleased I am to host this joint meeting.

I mean, New Orleans will be celebrating its 300th year in 2018, and literally for 300 years, the people of New Orleans and surrounding areas have been building levees and investing millions and millions and billions and billions of dollars.

I cannot tell you the number of people that have come to me and said, 'Senator, I can afford my mortgage. I cannot afford my insurance.'

We will continue working with all of our stakeholders to analyze and identify flood risks.

I represent a diverse group of constituents with a variety of problems.

It would seem to me a more reasonable approach would be to develop the maps together, in sort of a not adversarial, but in a partnership, because that is what this is.

One of the things I am trying to get to is how many communities around the country have asked for technical assistance and been denied.

If you could submit that, because it is my understanding that FEMA is authorized to provide up to $250,000 to a community for mapping support activities.

So would you say that you think 30 percent of your maps, whether they are digitized or in the old form, reflect this high-quality elevation data?