Bill Pascrell: “It must be very painful for people to watch this when affected--whether you are on a river or whether you are on the…”

“It must be very painful for people to watch this when affected--whether you are on a river or whether you are on the ocean--because it is painful to see that some of the people who are opposed to this bill also voted ``no'' on the Sandy relief, so they are being consistent anyway. After Sandy, many of my constituents in towns such as Moonachie and Little Ferry are now experiencing a second blow from skyrocketing flood insurance rates. In particular, the home sale trigger has resulted in drastically higher flood insurance rates for prospective home buyers, putting a wet blanket on real estate markets in flood-prone areas. The bill before us today contains some very important changes. It provides immediate relief to homeowners by repealing the home sale trigger and reducing the rate of possible increases. I am hopeful that we can revisit flood insurance reform in a way which will provide relief to second homes and small businesses. Although these are important first steps, I know we can do better, and I thank all those who contributed to this legislation.”