Political Quotes

“I thank the chairman of the committee for yielding time to talk about this important program. I want to thank the gentlewoman from California for her consistent commitment to making sure that the National Flood Insurance Program is there for families who need it, families all around the country, not just families, by the way, Mr. Speaker, in coastal areas. This is a program that affects every community in our country. It is a program that affects millions of people throughout the country, hundreds of thousands in my home State of Louisiana, but people from all around. It is an important program. Mr. Speaker, I would love for this to be a private program, where there were great options all around for people to buy private flood insurance. Unfortunately, today there aren't; and so because there aren't those private options, the only game in town is NFIP. So it is incumbent upon us to make sure that this program works. And it has got to be a program that is fair for ratepayers and fair for taxpayers. Mr. Speaker, over the years, we have had many different long-term and short-term reauthorizations. It is well-documented. It has been one of the frustrations of trying to get consistency in the program, but, in the meantime, it is important that this program move forward. Too many people are counting on NFIP to be there for them that have a closing on a home this week; maybe somebody's buying a new house for Christmas and they have to have flood insurance.…”