Political Quotes

“Mr. President, today I am introducing the State Flood Mitigation Revolving Fund Act of 2017 along with Senators Kennedy and Menendez. The purpose of this bill is to reduce flood risk and the costs associated with flooding by establishing a State revolving loan program to fund mitigation projects for homeowners, businesses, and communities. This includes activities such as home elevations, flood proofing, acquisitions, and environmental restoration. By funding projects that reduce risk, the bill also provides an avenue to help middle-income and low-income property owners reduce their flood insurance premiums. Mr. President, flooding is the most common and costly hazard facing American property owners. Every year, we are reminded of this when we see catastrophic flooding in communities across the country. Since 2010, my home State of Rhode Island has experienced two Presidentially- declared flooding disasters, which have cost the Federal government over $86 million in payments from the National Flood Insurance Program. Nationally, disasters like these have caused FEMA to pay out an average of nearly $3 billion a year in flood insurance claims over the last five years--not to mention the billions in disaster payments for uninsured damage. Almost universally, experts remind us that the best way to reduce the cost of flooding is to engage in proactive, not reactive, flood mitigation. This is what the State Flood Mitigation Revolving Fund Act seeks to do.…”