[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 15]
[House]
[Page 21062]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         FLOOD INSURANCE REFORM

  (Mr. BLUMENAUER asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, despite our recent flood insurance 
reforms, Katrina revealed that much remains to be done. Damage on a 
massive scale triggered payouts and borrowing that mean the program 
must be revised, including a significant one-time-only subsidy. We 
should reconsider who must be covered and how the insurance premiums 
will be paid as well as the tricky question of flood versus wind 
damage. And certainly more attention must be given to the role and 
responsibilities of communities to make their citizens safer. It is 
very likely that some of the weakest regulatory protections in the 
Nation contributed to the Katrina devastation.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in this critical effort to fix the 
flood insurance program today and reform it for the future.

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