Political Quotes

“I have come to the floor to talk about the Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act. This bill is a bill that is designed to fix the damage that has been done by the Biggert-Waters Act, and this damage is extensive. This bill would freeze dramatic rate hikes, and these rate hikes have several impacts. We have, of course, the impact on families who currently have flood insurance who will be paying much higher levels than they bargained for when they bought their home and may not be able to afford those much higher levels, raising questions about their ability to stay in those homes. We have the impact on commercial enterprises and the fact that now that they are paying higher rates, they may not feel they can add on to their business in that location. Then we have the impact, of course, on selling your property, whether you are a homeowner or you are a business, because the folks who might be buying might have to jump to a full rate that would be many times-- in some cases 10 times--the price the current owner is paying, and when that happens the property becomes unaffordable and, therefore, the value that one has in their home or business drops dramatically. All of this is of great concern, and we need to reverse the features of Biggert-Waters that are causing this economic havoc. This bill comes out of discussions that were in my Subcommittee on Economic Policy several months ago.…”