Earl Blumenauer: “I am, in fact, encouraged with some of the discussion that is here today. If we sort of cut through some of the areas…”

“I am, in fact, encouraged with some of the discussion that is here today. If we sort of cut through some of the areas where people are cranky, as I understand it, I think we are looking at some broad areas of agreement that, at the end of the day, we are going to have a stronger flood insurance program that will be able to answer some of these questions. I have an amendment that I think will further strengthen this because, as we learned during Katrina, there is more work to be done to make sure that the flood insurance program is able to fulfill its mission of providing flood insurance and helping communities reduce that flood risk. Now, I am pleased that the underlying legislation makes some very important reforms to the program that I have been involved with for the last 6 years. What I propose in this amendment is an adjustment to the legislation to help ensure that FEMA is better prepared for current and future risks and that people have the information that they need to reduce their own risk. The amendment simply requires FEMA to take into consideration the impacts of global warming, current and future, when updating and maintaining flood insurance program rate maps.”