To exclude certain properties from the John H. Chafee Coastal Barrier Resources System.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the Senate bill (S. 1066) to correct a technical error from Unit T-07 of the John H. Chafee Coastal Barrier Resources System.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include

extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, S. 1066 introduced by Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison will remove 19 acres of private property that has been mistakenly included within the Coastal Barrier Resources System. An identical bill, H.R. 154, has been proposed by the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Paul). I compliment him for his leadership on behalf of this measure.

Specifically, the Matagorda dunes subdivision in Matagorda, Texas, was placed into the system despite the fact that a full complement of infrastructure, including roads and electricity, existed prior to 1977 and that it exceeded the number of structures per acre rule that is required for inclusion under the act.

For more than 20 years, these homeowners were told they were not within the system and therefore eligible for both Federal flood insurance and State wind insurance. These policies have now been canceled, and it is essential that this mistake be corrected so that their property can be protected from any future flooding problems. It is difficult, if not impossible, to sell coastal property or obtain a home mortgage without access to Federal flood insurance.

During the hearing before the Committee on Resources on this legislation, the administration expressed strong support and a local county judge testified, ``A mistake was made 21 years ago that placed this little subdivision in CBRA. It does not matter who made the mistake, but now since the mistake has come to light, please help us fix it.''

Finally, the House version of this bill was unanimously approved by the Committee on Resources. I urge my colleagues to support Senate 1066. I again compliment the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Paul) for representing his constituents in such an effective way.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to support S. 1066, the Senate version of my H.R. 154, which I introduced on the first day of the 108th Congress. This legislation fixes a mistake in the official Fish and Wildlife Services' maps by removing a 19-acre area known as Matagorda Dunes, in Matagorda County, Texas, from the John H. Chafee Coastal Barrier Resources Act (COBRA). This change is fully supported by the Fish and Wildlife Service. In fact, a Fish and Wildlife Service created map, dated July 12, 2002, acknowledges the error.

This change will ensure property owners who had already begun developing this area are able to obtain insurance. Congress never intended to deny these landowners access to insurance. Matagorda Dunes was included in COBRA as a result of a drafting error when the COBRA maps were revised in the early eighties. Unless this mistake is fixed, the result could be catastrophic for these property owners who invested in developing Matagorda Dunes under the belief that the land was excluded from COBRA. A failure to fix this mistake could also be quite costly to the American taxpayers.

Fixing this mistake is also quite important to the people of Matagorda County, which is why a county official traveled to Washington to testify at a hearing on this bill in September. In conclusion, I thank Chairman Pombo and my colleague from Texas, Senator Hutchison, for their work on this issue and I urge my colleagues to support this important bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

(Mrs. NAPOLITANO asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, S. 1066 is a noncontroversial piece of legislation that is identical to companion legislation, H.R. 154, passed and reported by the Committee on Resources earlier this year as was just addressed by my colleague.

By all evidence this technical correction appears to be genuine and needed to fix a legitimate error in the maps depicting the Matagorda subdivision in Unit T-07. For this reason and because this legislation would not undermine the policies of the Coastal Barrier Resources Act, Members should not oppose this legislation, and I recommend they vote for it.