Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. MacArthur), a very hardworking member of the Financial Services Committee. Mr. MacARTHUR. Mr. Speaker, I also am from the Northeast, from New Jersey, and I rise in support of this bill today. Five years ago, Superstorm Sandy devastated my district. Ocean County, my home, was the epicenter of that storm. You might remember the photographs of the iconic Jet Star roller coaster sitting in the ocean. That was my district. Even today, I have thousands of constituents who are still out of their homes. Now, thousands more are experiencing the same thing because of Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria. 140 million Americans live in coastal counties, and the NFIP has done a lot to help with zoning standards, building standards, flood plain management standards. It hasn't been run perfectly, but this program is desperately needed by people in areas like mine. The NFIP has fiscal issues, and this bill seeks to address them. It is the only Federal disaster program that actually collects money in advance of a disaster. When I got on this committee a year ago, I set out on this issue to do four things: a long-term reauthorization, improve affordability, increase accountability, and enhance mitigation efforts. This is a 5-year reauthorization.…”