[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 4]
[House]
[Pages 4793-4794]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




          THE HURRICANE AND TORNADO MITIGATION INVESTMENT ACT

  (Mr. BILIRAKIS asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, my State of Florida is going through a 
crisis, a crisis that began with the devastating hurricanes that ripped 
through my State in recent years, a crisis made worse by the 
overwhelming tornados that plagued central Florida earlier this month.
  These and other natural disasters have pushed homeowners' insurance 
rates to unaffordable levels. As a result, many of my constituents have 
been forced to leave the area they call home. It is incumbent upon this 
body to pass legislation that would help my State and others affected 
by these forces reduce the cost of skyrocketing homeowners' insurance 
rates.
  I have introduced H.R. 913, the Hurricane and Tornado Mitigation 
Investment Act to do just that. My bill would provide tax incentives to 
home and business owners to better protect their homes and businesses 
from major storms to reduce the loss of innocent lives and destruction 
of private property. The end result would be more manageable insurance 
rates.
  Mr. Speaker, hurricane season begins in a few months, but the 
tornados that

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hit my State are a stark reminder that Mother Nature doesn't keep a 
calendar. I encourage my colleagues to support and help me pass H.R. 
913.

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