Steve Pearce: “I find the comments very strange from the opponents of the amendment. They say that my amendment will stop rebuilding…”

“I find the comments very strange from the opponents of the amendment. They say that my amendment will stop rebuilding and let Osama bin Laden tell us where to rebuild. Currently the rate of insurance deductible is at 20 percent. The rebuilding is going on quite well, frankly, and they have sustained 2.5 percent increases through the past 6 years. What we are simply saying is we are going to start at 5 percent and increase 1 percent a year over 15 years back up to the 20 percent level. Yet we are being told that regardless of what is being built now, something is going to change in the equation and the people are going to stop rebuilding if we go up and go to this one-half percent increase. I find it heartening to know that we are within a half percent of stopping the entire economy of the U.S. on a one-half percent deductible and giving over our independence to the terrorists based on this one-half percent, when the truth is the last 6 years showed us that the industry will sustain 2.5 percent increases and continue to build exactly where they want to build, and in fact the industry will sustain on its own at least up to 20 percent. If we are estimating something above that, that would be unchartered territory. But I do find the arguments somewhat stunning. I reserve the balance of my time.”