Jon L. Christensen: “I rise in support of H.R. 3980 and applaud the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Neugebauer) and the gentleman from Kansas (Mr.…”

“I rise in support of H.R. 3980 and applaud the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Neugebauer) and the gentleman from Kansas (Mr. Moore) for introducing it and getting it to the floor for passage today. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 3980 would establish the National Windstorm Impact Reduction Program to achieve major measurable reductions in losses of life and property from windstorms. This is critically important to Members like me whose districts are prone to catastrophic windstorms such as hurricanes. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to represent one of the most beautiful places under the American Flag, the U.S. Virgin Islands. While we live in an area that sees its share of hurricanes every year, prior to 1989 we were spared for over 60 years of being hit by one of these storms. Since September, 1989, however, when Hurricane Hugo hit with sustained winds in excess of 200 miles per hour, our islands were changed forever. The devastation wrought by this storm was astronomical. However, just as we were beginning to recover from the legacy of Hurricane Hugo, we were hit with a second devastating storm in September of 1995, Hurricane Marilyn. Since then we were hit by at least four other major storms, the last one being Hurricane Lenny in 1999.”