Political Quotes

“I want to thank my colleague from New York, the ranking member of the Rules Committee, for yielding. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition to the bill and also to the rule. Just a few weeks ago, we observed the fifth anniversary of Superstorm Sandy. New Jersey's recovery from that traumatic event has been prolonged in part by issues facing the National Flood Insurance Program. Too many of my constituents are still dealing with high premiums and inaccurate flood maps or are still waiting for their Sandy claims appeals to be decided. We need a long-term NFIP reauthorization that focuses on increasing affordability, investing in mitigation, capping the profits of flood insurance companies, and comprehensively restructuring the claims process--and this bill fails these tests. H.R. 3823 would undermine the NFIP by allowing the development of a private flood insurance market, opening the door to allowing insurance companies to cherry-pick low-risk properties while leaving high-risk ones in the NFIP. This bill does not do enough to address affordability issues and actually increases rates for some policyholders. It will allow commercial properties to opt out of mandatory coverage even if they are in a high-risk zone, which will further decrease the pool and weaken the program. Finally, this bill simply does not do enough to improve transparency and reform the claims process.…”