Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. MacArthur), who is also the author of the legislation for the reauthorization bill before us. Mr. MacARTHUR. Mr. Speaker, I spent about 30 years in the insurance industry. A good deal of that time, I worked on this program. I know it, I would guess, better than anyone here, and I know what it does for people. I know its weaknesses as well. Mr. Speaker, 140 million Americans live in coastal counties today. They are ordinary Americans, mostly of moderate means. I represent many of these folks in Ocean County, New Jersey. These are the victims of disasters like Sandy, and they absolutely depend upon this program. In October, the House passed a bill that I worked on and I supported, a 5-year reauthorization with modest increases in premiums, increased mitigation dollars, and instilled some accountability at FEMA. It was too much reform for some, not enough for others. But it was absolutely necessary that we do that. The Senate has totally failed to act. So, what do we do today? We hold every homeowner along the coast hostage? We cannot do that. The NFIP program has $30 billion of borrowing capacity. That drops to $1 billion if this lapses. That is a modest event in this country. How do we look the American people in the eye after a storm and say: We don't have the money that you have been paying premiums for. How do we do that? How do we shut down the real estate market?…”