On the recordFebruary 4, 2014
I thank the gentleman for yielding. I rise today to urge a ``no'' vote on the previous question so this House can bring the Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act up for a vote. This bipartisan legislation will provide critical relief for families who have been devastated by outrageous flood insurance increases required by recent changes to the Flood Insurance Program. FEMA's insistence on moving forward with these extreme rate hikes, without first completing an affordability study and certifying that their mapping techniques are accurate, as required by Congress in the Biggert-Waters Act, has created a crisis for working families who can't afford to pay 5 or 10 times more for flood insurance. Before we ask the American taxpayer to pay 1 cent more in premiums, we need to ensure that FEMA is implementing the Flood Insurance Program in a fair and lawful way. Now, we are not asking to repeal that law. We are just asking for a timeout while we figure this out, and we are asking that we do an affordability study so that we don't force people out of their homes. There is no sense doing it after the people are gone. We need this done in the right way. We can help middle class homeowners across the country by voting ``no'' on the previous question and bringing up the Homeowner Protection Act.
