Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I rise today to extend congratulations to Derek Wetsch, who received the highest rank in boy scouting; attaining the rank of Eagle Scout at his court of honor ceremony on November 4, 2007. He is a member of Troop 88, sponsored by First United Methodist Church in Elkins, West Virginia.

Derek took on quite an undertaking for his Eagle Scout project. As diligent student and member of the Elkins High Fighting Tiger Marching Band, he saw the need for a new sound system at the football stadium and improvement of its grounds. Thanks to his fundraising efforts, Wimer Field at Elkins High School has a new state-of-the-art sound system, which he installed himself.

Derek attended Elkins High School where he graduated in the top 10 percent of his class. A leader in his class, Derek was student body president, president of the band council, and a member of the National Honor Society. He remains an active volunteer with Boy Scouts of America.

Derek is a freshman at West Virginia University where he is a member of the Pride of West Virginia, Mountaineer Marching Band. He is majoring in Exercise Physiology and plans to attend dental school after his undergraduate studies.

I am proud to recognize Derek Wetsch for achieving the high honor of the Eagle Scout. West Virginia is fortunate to have him as a leader and I look forward to hearing about his future accomplishments.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Major General Charles Elwood ``Chuck'' Yeager and the 60th Anniversary of breaking the ``Sound Barrier.'' Both the accomplishment and the man responsible for it serve as lessons in what we can achieve as a nation.

In 1947, when young Captain Yeager raced across the sky faster than the speed of sound, the United States was still new to its role as a world power. The sound barrier represented a principle of nature. By breaking it, Yeager showed the world America's endless potential for innovation.

Yeager's early life prepared him well to become a fighter pilot. Born in Boone County, West Virginia, he grew up hunting and working in his father's repair shop. These skills later served him well as a pilot. At the tender age of 18, Yeager enlisted in the Army Air Corps.

Yeager served as a pilot in England during World War II. On one mission, he was shot down over France. Showing remarkable resilience he evaded capture and returned to Britain to fly. Yeager was never shot down again. He finished the war as a Captain, totaling 12\1/2\ kills, including an impressive five in one day.

After the war, he became a test pilot in the Air Corps' Research and Development Program. On October 14, 1947 he was given a chance to break the sound barrier in an X-1 rocket powered jet.

Yeager's flight has grown into legend over the years due in large part to breaking his ribs just days before the flight. Hiding his injuries from his superiors, he needed a rigged broom handle just to close the plane's hatch. Despite the pain, Yeager flew into history, reaching March 1.6, a speed of 700 miles per hour.

It was 6 months before the public was informed of Yeager's achievement. He nonetheless became a hero and was labeled the ``fastest man alive.'' It was a name he did his best to live up to, continuing to fly faster and higher than anyone. Over the course of his career Yeager rose through the ranks, commanding fighter bombing squadrons during the Korean and Vietnam wars and mentoring up and coming pilots at the Aerospace and Research Pilot School.

Chuck Yeager's life of service is a model for all Americans and by breaking the sound barrier he inspired the next generation of heroes to grand achievements of their own, including: the space program and the Moon landing.

Just as was the case in 1947, our Nation today continues to face unprecedented challenges, but we should find strength from this moment in history and from heroes like Chuck Yeager that our nation will continue to break new barriers and reach new heights.

I would like to thank the ranking member for yielding me time, even though we happen to disagree on this issue. I would also like to thank the chairman for his dedication to affordable housing.

I rise today in support of the creation of the affordable housing trust fund. Many States and communities across the Nation have already created State housing trust funds.

My home State of West Virginia is one of those, and what we've seen in the creation of that West Virginia housing trust fund is the flexibility in the ability to target certain funds to certain projects, and it becomes a very workable and a very adaptable program.

The creation of a national trust fund will continue the good work of providing low-income folks with rental assistance, new construction, preservation of existing units, homeownership assistance and many other important programs.

This trust fund will provide State and local housing authorities with the funding and flexibility to best address the unique housing needs of their communities. Certainly the needs of communities in my home State of West Virginia are drastically different than those in the larger urban areas. For instance, in West Virginia we have a high homeownership, but we also have a definite question about the quality of the housing that people are living in and the rehabilitation of those homes is extremely important.

We also have an aging population where the different needs and different

housing situations change, and I don't think we are addressing those needs, and I think this Federal housing trust fund could help with us with that.

So today I applaud this bill. I applaud the flexibility and adaptability in it, and I'm very much in favor of the ability that this trust fund is going to have to be able to adapt and create housing opportunities for those who need it.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to extend congratulations to William Bruce Orr, who recently accomplished the highest rank in Boy Scouting, becoming an Eagle Scout on October 14, 2007. He is a member of Boy Scout Troop 142, Mannhoac District, located in Leetown, West Virginia.

William helped improve one of America's recreational treasures, the Appalachian Trail. He constructed a tent pad along the trail at the Rod Hollow site in northern Virginia. He and others carried lumber and tools from the base of the trail to the top of the mountain where the site is located. His tent pad structure will provide hikers with shelter for years to come.

Jeremiah was home schooled in Jefferson County and was a 2007 recipient of the Promise Scholarship. He is currently a freshman at Shepherd University.

I am proud to recognize William Bruce Orr for achieving the high honor of the Eagle Scout. Jefferson County and the State of West Virginia are fortunate to have him as a leader and a volunteer in his community.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the Energy Corporation of America for implementing one of the Nation's most successful employee health and wellness programs.

Energy Corporation of America, with operations in the Kanawha Valley, is being honored by the Wellness Council of America as the recipient of the Platinum Well Workplace Award. Already an honoree of the Gold Well Workplace award, the company had to undergo rigorous requirements and an extensive application process to be considered. Since its inception in 2001, only 21 organizations in the Nation have received the Platinum Well Workplace Award.

The corporation's unique approach to its employees and their well- being serves as a model for other organizations to follow. Compared to the national average, only 30 percent of wellness initiatives are met by employees and the ECA has 95 percent participation from both employees and their spouses. They participate in an annual health screening and health risk appraisal, and then meet with a health coach who outlines an annual regimen with many resources to guide them with their yearly health and wellness goals. Employees and their spouses receive an annual bonus as an extra incentive to meet their fitness goals.

The success of this program is most evident in the health and well- being of Energy Corporation of America's employees and the unprecedented success of the company's ability to contain its healthcare cost since the early 1990's. In a state and in a nation where the health of its citizens is constantly under criticism, it is my privilege to recognize the Energy

Corporation of America, which serves as a model of success for the implementation of a health and wellness program for its employees.

I am honored to recognize the Energy Corporation of America for the Platinum Well Workplace Award. It is an honor to serve a company in West Virginia's Second Congressional District whose health and well- being of its employees is its top priority.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Burke Feaster for his 30 years of service and leadership to the Boy Scouts of America.

Burke has been active as a troop master and scoutmaster since the fall of 1977. Over the past three decades, Burke has been involved as a leader of Pack 33 sponsored by New Street United Methodist Church in Shepherdstown, WV. Through his guidance, many Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts have gone on to make the rank of Eagle Scout. During his years of service, Burke has seen 24 young men make the rank of Eagle Scout, which is three times the national average for Scout troops.

For his years of dedicated service, Burke has received numerous awards including the prestigious Silver Beaver Award by the Shenandoah Council, the District Award of Merit, Scout Master and Cub Master of the year of the Potomac District, and the Mannahoac Award. His church which sponsors Pack 33 awarded him the United Methodist Cross and Flame Award.

Burke lives in Shepherdstown with his wife, Carole who has also volunteered for many years with the Boy Scouts of America. They have two sons, Burke, Jr., and Shawn who were both former Scouts and later volunteers. Burke and his wife currently reside in Shepherdstown, WV.

It is an honor to recognize Burke Feaster for his 30 years of involvement in one of America's proudest traditions for our youth, the Boy Scouts of America. The Mountain State is proud to call Burke one of our own.

Mr. Chairman, floods are amongst the most frequent and costly national

disasters in terms of human hardship and economic loss. In fact, 75 percent of Federal disaster declarations are related to flooding.

Before I discuss the merits of the legislation, I would like to talk briefly about the process that is being considered. We are debating a huge expansion of an already struggling existing Federal program, and yet we have not been able to have our amendments out on the floor to have an open and frank discussion about this.

I would like to accept the chairman's offer to continue to work on the amendments that were not allowed to be offered, and I hope that we can see democracy being served by letting everybody's voice be heard.

In 1968, Congress established the National Flood Insurance Program, NFIP. The program is a partnership between the Federal Government and participating communities. If a community adopts and enforces a floodplain management ordinance to reduce future flood risk to new construction, the Federal Government will make flood insurance available to that community. Today, NFIP is the largest single-line property insurer in the Nation, serving nearly 20,000 communities and providing flood insurance coverage for 5.4 million consumers.

Mr. Chairman, recent events have underscored the need to reform and modernize certain aspects of the program. While the NFIP is designed to be actuarially sound, it does not collect sufficient premiums to build up reserves for unexpected disasters. Due to the claims resulting from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the NFIP was forced to borrow $7.6 billion from the Treasury, an amount it estimates it will never be able to repay. Consequently, NFIP sits on the GAO's High-Risk Programs list, which recommends increased congressional oversight. Additionally, the 2005 storms shed light on the problem of outdated flood maps, resulting in many homeowners in the gulf region being unaware that their homes were located in floodplains.

To address these and other concerns in 2006, the House overwhelmingly passed flood insurance reform legislation. Earlier this year, Chairman Frank and Representative Judy Biggert introduced legislation identical to that bipartisan bill. That bill includes many reforms, including the phasing in of actuarial rates, but unfortunately, the flood insurance bill that the majority chose to move out of the Financial Services Committee was amended to incorporate legislation offered by the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Taylor) which expands the NFIP to include coverage for wind events.

Mr. Chairman, no Member of this House was more personally affected by the 2005 hurricanes than Congressman Taylor. I do not, and no one questions his sincerity or his commitment to assisting those who have lost everything they owned in these storms. While I share his concern over the rising costs and outright unavailability of homeowners' wind coverage in some areas, I have three principal objections to linking wind insurance to the reform of the National Flood Insurance Program.

First, expanding the program increases liabilities for taxpayers while decreasing options for customers or consumers. Properties located along the eastern seaboard and gulf coast represent $19 trillion of insured value. Shifting the risk on even a portion of these properties to the troubled NFIP could expose taxpayers to massive losses. The fact is that insurance will choose not to engage a competitor that does not pay taxes, has subsidized borrowing costs, and is not required to build a reserve surplus and is protected from most lawsuits, State regulation and enforcement.

Second, adding wind coverage to the NFIP will exacerbate the program's well-documented administrative problems. Both the Department of Homeland Security and GAO have criticized the NFIP for being understaffed, not having adequate flood maps and not collecting sufficient information on wind payments when claims were submitted for flood damage. Expanding the portfolio further before much-needed reforms are in place is premature.

Third, no consensus yet exists about the necessity or desirability of creating a Federal wind insurance program. In testimony before our committee, representatives of flood management groups, the insurance industry, environmental organizations, Treasury and FEMA all expressed agreement that a comprehensive study of the proposed wind insurance mandate should first be commissioned to provide Congress with a better understanding of the possible implications this expansion could have for consumers, NFIP and the market.

Mr. Chairman, we must not let the desire to meet every perceived problem with a new Government program drive us towards premature actions that yield unwanted consequences. The NFIP's mission should not be expanded, exposing taxpayers to massive new risks, until reforms are in place and adequate study has been conducted.

In addition to the above reservations, I have serious concerns with the effect the addition of wind coverage will have on communities that are now relying on NFIP. This program is already financially unstable, yet we are about to add $19 trillion of risk. Despite this fiscal instability, States like West Virginia, that I represent, will still rely on the program to provide assistance in the case of serious flooding. Thankfully, there have not been major problems this year, but since I was elected to Congress in 2000, there have been nine federally declared flooding disasters in West Virginia. In 2001 alone, FEMA provided $17 million in assistance to my State, and between 2004 and 2006 the National Flood Insurance Program received and paid more than $30 million in claims from West Virginia flood victims.

There are serious needs in West Virginia and across the Nation for the flood insurance program. We should be modernizing NFIP so it can become financially stable, not jeopardizing its existence by exposing it--and our taxpayers--to trillions of dollars of liability.

Mr. Chairman, I yield myself as much time as I may consume.

Mr. Chairman, floods are amongst the most frequent and costly national disasters in terms of human hardship and economic loss. In fact, 75 percent of Federal disaster declarations are related to flooding.

Before I discuss the merits of the legislation, I would like to talk briefly about the process that is being considered. We are debating a huge expansion of an already struggling existing Federal program, and yet we have not been able to have our amendments out on the floor to have an open and frank discussion about this.

I would like to accept the chairman's offer to continue to work on the amendments that were not allowed to be offered, and I hope that we can see democracy being served by letting everybody's voice be heard.

In 1968, Congress established the National Flood Insurance Program, NFIP. The program is a partnership between the Federal Government and participating communities. If a community adopts and enforces a floodplain management ordinance to reduce future flood risk to new construction, the Federal Government will make flood insurance available to that community. Today, NFIP is the largest single-line property insurer in the Nation, serving nearly 20,000 communities and providing flood insurance coverage for 5.4 million consumers.

Mr. Chairman, recent events have underscored the need to reform and modernize certain aspects of the program. While the NFIP is designed to be actuarially sound, it does not collect sufficient premiums to build up reserves for unexpected disasters. Due to the claims resulting from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the NFIP was forced to borrow $7.6 billion from the Treasury, an amount it estimates it will never be able to repay. Consequently, NFIP sits on the GAO's High-Risk Programs list, which recommends increased congressional oversight. Additionally, the 2005 storms shed light on the problem of outdated flood maps, resulting in many homeowners in the gulf region being unaware that their homes were located in floodplains.

To address these and other concerns in 2006, the House overwhelmingly passed flood insurance reform legislation. Earlier this year, Chairman Frank and Representative Judy Biggert introduced legislation identical to that bipartisan bill. That bill includes many reforms, including the phasing in of actuarial rates, but unfortunately, the flood insurance bill that the majority chose to move out of the Financial Services Committee was amended to incorporate legislation offered by the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Taylor) which expands the NFIP to include coverage for wind events.

Mr. Chairman, no Member of this House was more personally affected by the 2005 hurricanes than Congressman Taylor. I do not, and no one questions his sincerity or his commitment to assisting those who have lost everything they owned in these storms. While I share his concern over the rising costs and outright unavailability of homeowners' wind coverage in some areas, I have three principal objections to linking wind insurance to the reform of the National Flood Insurance Program.

First, expanding the program increases liabilities for taxpayers while decreasing options for customers or consumers. Properties located along the eastern seaboard and gulf coast represent $19 trillion of insured value. Shifting the risk on even a portion of these properties to the troubled NFIP could expose taxpayers to massive losses. The fact is that insurance will choose not to engage a competitor that does not pay taxes, has subsidized borrowing costs, and is not required to build a reserve surplus and is protected from most lawsuits, State regulation and enforcement.

Second, adding wind coverage to the NFIP will exacerbate the program's well-documented administrative problems. Both the Department of Homeland Security and GAO have criticized the NFIP for being understaffed, not having adequate flood maps and not collecting sufficient information on wind payments when claims were submitted for flood damage. Expanding the portfolio further before much-needed reforms are in place is premature.

Third, no consensus yet exists about the necessity or desirability of creating a Federal wind insurance program. In testimony before our committee, representatives of flood management groups, the insurance industry, environmental organizations, Treasury and

FEMA all expressed agreement that a comprehensive study of the proposed wind insurance mandate should first be commissioned to provide Congress with a better understanding of the possible implications this expansion could have for consumers, NFIP and the market.

Mr. Chairman, we must not let the desire to meet every perceived problem with a new Government program drive us towards premature actions that yield unwanted consequences. The NFIP's mission should not be expanded, exposing taxpayers to massive new risks, until reforms are in place and adequate study has been conducted.

In addition to the above reservations, I have serious concerns with the effect the addition of wind coverage will have on communities that are now relying on NFIP. This program is already financially unstable, yet we are about to add $19 trillion of risk. Despite this fiscal instability, States like West Virginia, that I represent, will still rely on the program to provide assistance in the case of serious flooding. There have not been major problems this year, thankfully, but as recently as 2001, FEMA has declared counties in my State national disasters due to flooding and provided $17 million in assistance. These are serious needs across the Nation for the flood insurance program. We should be modernizing NFIP so it can become financially stable.

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

I yield 4 minutes to one of the original authors of the bill that was presented initially to this Congress, the gentlewoman from Illinois, Representative Judy Biggert.

Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the representative from Illinois (Mr. Roskam), a member of the Financial Services Committee.

Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Barrett).

Mr. Chairman, it is my pleasure to yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida (Mrs. Ginny Brown-Waite).

Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to Mr. Gilchrest from Maryland.

Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Hensarling), a member of the Financial Services Committee.

Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. McHenry).

Mr. Chairman, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Kingston).

Mr. Chairman, I yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from Georgia.

Mr. Chairman, I yield the remaining time to close to someone who has lived and breathed this issue for many, many years, an expert in the area, the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Baker).

Mr. Chairman, I rise to claim time in opposition, although I am not opposed to the amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I would like to thank the chairman for working with the manager's amendment with Members of our side. I appreciate his efforts as always.

I yield 2 minutes in particular to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. LaTourette).

Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Culberson).

I yield my remaining time to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Kingston).

Mr. Chairman, I rise to claim time in opposition, although I am not opposed to the amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Culberson).

Mr. Chairman, I would like to yield my remaining time to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Kingston).

Mr. Chairman, I rise to claim the time in opposition, although I am not opposed to the amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I would like to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Roskam).

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

In listening to the debate over this amendment, my question becomes, if we move forward and make wind part of one of the insurable events under this program, and then we study, through the gentlelady's amendment, the effect this has on State insurance, and we find out, after it's already been put into effect, that it's too costly or it's damaging the insurability at the State level and other issues, what are we going to do then?

This is where it goes to my argument in the beginning that we're really entering into this prematurely, because we have so many unanswered questions.

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

Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Culberson).

Mr. Chairman, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I would like to claim time in opposition, although I am not opposed to the gentlewoman's amendment.

I would like to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Kingston).

Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Kingston).

Mr. Chairman, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to the amendment.

I would like to ask the author of this amendment a couple of questions just for my own clarification, if I could.

First of all, when you're directing FEMA to use the most up-to-date science on global climate change and weather-related issues, does FEMA currently have this technology available? Where does this technology exist for FEMA? And with what type of accuracy can you predict that FEMA will be able to predict? I know FEMA is in the business of declaring where floodplains are; it has a lot of science connected with this. Where is this technology coming from? What sophistication of the equipment exists, and how do you think these will be arrived at?

I yield to the gentleman from Oregon.

Well, my question would be, if that's available to FEMA now to be able to more accurately predict the ebb and flow of water across the United States and the coastal regions, why isn't that being used by FEMA right now, if that's available? Is it statutorial?

Then going further from what you're saying, is what you're really saying changing the entire FEMA modeling perspective, or putting this on top of what is already existing at FEMA?

Thank you. I have a lot of questions about the answer to the question I just asked; but at this point, I will yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Kingston).

I yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from Georgia.

I think the gentleman's amendment has great merit, but I question the fact that he's already

mentioned that the data that we're using in the future, the data that we're using to come about insurance rates in this flood bill, how can we then add on wind as another peril when we're not sure that the data that we're using to predict future weather forces is accurate at all?

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

Mr. Chairman, I would like to claim time in opposition to the amendment, but I am not necessarily opposed to it.

Mr. Chairman, I would like to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Culberson).

Mr. Chairman, I yield my remaining time to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Culberson).

Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to the amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I rise today in opposition to this amendment offered by the gentleman from Mississippi. The bill we are debating today is troubled, I think, because of the deeply in-debt flood insurance program, and now we are not debating, because we were unable to debate on the full floor of the House whether we should include wind in this. Wind is in this bill as a peril. But what this amendment does is further expand that coverage that is very debatable, I think premature, has been unstudied, and I believe this would be very unwise to include this amendment as a coverage expansion.

We have talked about the fact that the flood insurance program owes the U.S. Treasury $18 billion. We have talked about the fact that at a hearing in July on whether we should add wind to the NFIP, that the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, insurance experts, environmental groups, floodplain management groups, Treasury and FEMA all opposed the initial expansion. And suffice it to say they would certainly oppose, or they could certainly oppose, an even further expansion of this that this amendment represents.

I think that the wind insurance premiums are supposed to be actuarially sound, and the chairman of the full committee has made that point several times. The majority of the NFIP policies are supposed to be actuarially sound. And yet, the nonpartisan GAO says that they are not actuarially sound. We know that very few government insurance programs are ever actuarially sound.

Mr. Chairman, I urge my colleagues to oppose this amendment and to avoid a further expansion that this new mandate in this amendment represents.

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

Mr. Chairman, I take heed to the gentleman's words from Michigan, and I tried to sort of recorrect my initial assumption that they would oppose the amendment. So I apologize for that.

Mr. Chairman, I would like to place in the Record letters from folks who do oppose the bill in general because of the wind addition. That would be: Friends of the Earth, National Wildlife Federation, U.S. Public Interest Group, America Insurance Association, Property Casualty Insurers, Financial Services Roundtable, Consumer Federation of America, Reinsurance Association of America.

September 26, 2007.

Re: Support For the Blumenauer-Gilchrest Global Warming

Amendment to H.R. 3121 and opposition to provisions

expanding the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) to

include wind coverage

Dear Representative: We write to express our support for

the Blumenauer-Gilchrest Global Warming Amendment to the

Flood Insurance Reform and Modernization Act, H.R. 3121. This

amendment would require that the Federal Emergency Management

Agency, FEMA, consider the impacts of global warming on flood

risks as it administers

the National Flood Insurance Program, NFIP, Map Modernization

Program. To adjust to the reality of global warming, Congress

must require that the NFIP floodplain maps incorporate the

best available climate science. Accurate floodplain maps will

ensure that citizens are aware of the flood risks in their

community and help prevent the loss of human life, property,

and important wildlife habitat as we face more global

warming-powered weather events.

Section 22 of H.R. 3121 provides much needed guidelines and

ongoing mapping support for FEMA's map modernization effort.

Flood insurance maps are the basic planning documents for the

NFIP and provide a foundation for planning in developing

communities. According to the Congressional Research Service,

however, over 75 percent of the nation's 100,000 flood maps

are at least 10 years old. Currently, H.R. 3121 fails to

require FEMA to consider modern climate science when mapping

floodplains. Under current methodologies, many of FEMA' s

maps are already out of date and inaccurate when they are

certified because they fail to take into account both

critical new information beyond past flooding history,

including the impacts of global warming. These outdated maps

have resulted in more instances of storms with significantly

greater flooding than predicted and give citizens a false

sense of security that they will not be subject to flooding.

This false sense of security is especially troubling as

global warming's impacts become evident. Global warming will

result in more flooding of coastal and riverine communities

through intense hurricanes, reduced snow pack, and sea level

rise.

The Blumenauer-Gilchrest Amendment would ensure that the

FEMA Director consider impacts of global warming on our

nation's flood risks and the potential future impact of

global warming on the intensity of storms, storm surge

modeling, sea level rise, and increased hurricane activity.

Considerable experience exists in these areas, and the

Blumenauer Amendment would ensure that FEMA incorporates the

best available climate science into its mapping effort. We

strongly support this amendment.

We urge Congress to oppose the multiperil, wind and

flooding, insurance program in H.R. 3121, because it could

overwhelm the NFIP, cost the taxpayers' billions, increase

incentives to develop in hazard-prone and ecologically-

sensitive coastal areas and floodplains, and place more

lives, properties, and wildlife habitat at risk. We applaud

Representative Taylor and other Members for raising the

nation's awareness of the increasing risks associated with

global warming-powered coastal storms. We are also

sympathetic to citizens' desires to remove wind damage and

flooding damage distinctions in homeowner's insurance

policies in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and

Wilma. Yet, we oppose adding a wind peril dimension to the

NFIP because it would substantially undermine the program's

already precarious financial position, would add greater risk

and uncertainty especially for the taxpayers and the public,

and would distract from the critical missions of the NFIP.

Essentially, we must fix the NFIP before we expand it.

Hurricanes Katrina and Wilma have already driven the NFIP

into the most dire financial condition in its history, now

with a virtually insurmountable U.S. Treasury debt of

approximately $18 billion. H.R. 3121 would mandate that FEMA

begin the sale of a new federal wind insurance (multiple

peril including wind and flood) beginning on June 30, 2008,

right before the 2008 Hurricane Season and almost immediately

increasing the exposure of the U.S. taxpayers to potentially

billions of dollars in new claims. The chances of exposure of

a catastrophic storm could swamp the national flood insurance

program and leave it crippled forever. The rates of coverage

are also significantly greater than those provided by current

flood insurance alone: $650,000 for residential structures

and contents and $1.75 million for commercial properties and

contents. These coverage caps expose the taxpayers to

considerable liability. In fact, recent insurance industry

estimates show that costs of storms like Hurricane Katrina

that were in the $15 to $20 billion range for the NFIP

currently, could be three to five times or more, if wind

perils were also included. Such costs could potentially

overwhelm the program and the costs to taxpayers could

balloon to staggering levels.

For these reasons, again, we support the Blumenauer-

Gilchrest Global Warming Amendment, which will ensure that

FEMA address the realities of global warming in its map

modernization effort. We oppose the provisions within H.R.

3121 that expand the NFIP to include wind. These provisions

threaten to overwhelm an already failing National Flood

Insurance Program that needs substantial reforms to turn the

corner on expanding flood risk and to accomplish its other

purposes. Although many of the reforms contained within H.R.

3121 represent steps in the right direction, the proposed

legislation will not go far enough in fixing the essentially

bankrupt NFIP. Congress will have missed an historic

opportunity to strengthen the NFIP if it passes this bill in

its current form.

Please see the attached overview of our additional concerns

with the bill.

Thank you for you attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

Erich Pica,

Director of Domestic Programs, Friends of the Earth.

Adam Kolton,

Senior Director, Congressional & Federal Affairs, National

Wildlife Federation.

David Jenkins,

Government Affairs Director, Republicans for Environmental

Protection.

Emily Figdor,

Federal Global Warming Program Director, U.S. Public

Interest Research Group (PIRG).

Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Maria Lorenson, Laura Smith, and Barbara Pichot who are being honored by the Girl Scouts Shawnee Division as the 2007 Women of Distinction.

These three ladies are being honored for their career accomplishments and leadership that have made them role models for young women in their communities. The Girl Scouts Shawnee Council honors three women annually from the Eastern Panhandle.

The first honoree, Maria Lorenson, is being recognized for her role as editor-in-chief with the Martinsburg Journal. She has received various awards and honors in her 11 years with the Martinsburg Journal from the West Virginia Press Association. Maria is credited for balancing her career with her role as a wife, mother, and community leader.

Laura Smith of Morgan County is being honored for her many leadership roles in her community. She is currently the president of the Morgan County Board of Education. She has worked to promote the beauty of Morgan County through her work with Travel Berkeley Springs and as board member of George Washington Heritage Trail. She is also an active member of her church, St. Marks Episcopal Church.

The final recipient of the 2007 Women of Distinction award is Barbara Pichot. At a time when many women were not entering the field of business, Barbara was a trailblazer and eventually became a partner in the accounting firm Cox, Nichols and Hollida until her retirement. She now dedicates herself to volunteer endeavors including Rotary, United Way, and is responsible for the development of Hospice of the Panhandle.

It is an honor to represent these three outstanding women who serve as strong leaders and excellent role models for young women in their communities. Congratulations to Maria Lorenson, Laura Smith, and Barbara Pichot as the 2007 Women of Distinction.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the induction of Harry ``Moo'' Moore into the West Virginia University Athletic Hall of Fame. A standout on the men's basketball team, Moore joins a distinguished collection of student-athletes continuing West Virginia University's rich athletic tradition.

Moore perfected his soft shooting touch by practicing in the dark on a basket outside his family's home. During his three seasons, Moore averaged seven points per game, leading the Mountaineers to a 60-20 record and a Southern Conference Championship in 1951. Impressively, his 84 percent free throw percentage still remains second on the all- time Mountaineer record books.

After college Moore was drafted by the Syracuse Nationals of the National Basketball Association but opted to serve as a lieutenant in the Army infantry. Nonetheless, Moore continued to excel on the basketball court. In 1954 he was selected to play in the Armed Forces Pan Am Games in Mexico and the International Games in Germany.

Although his playing days are long over, Moore's legacy on the court continues to grow. The State of West Virginia congratulates ``Moo'' and the rest of the 2007 Hall of Fame inductees.

Madam Chairman, I would like to first thank my good friend the gentlewoman from Illinois for yielding to me and also for her leadership as the ranking member on the Housing Subcommittee. She has left big shoes for me to fill, but I know she is not going to be too far away on the committee, so I can lean on her for help.

I also look forward to working with Chairwoman Waters on this committee. I know we will work well together as you all have set up a great pattern of bipartisanship on the Housing Subcommittee. So thank you very much for your leadership.

The legislation we are considering today is an important step towards stabilizing a housing market that has been in a steady decline over this past year. While many of us were working in our districts over the recess period, our financial systems were experiencing a bit of a credit crunch, due in part to the problems in the subprime housing markets.

Many of the problems we are facing in the housing market are due to individuals with credit challenges and inexperienced first-time home buyers utilizing very complex and creative financing tools to allow them to purchase a home which they would otherwise not be able to do.

Homeownership is something that we all aspire to, and I am proud to say that my State of West Virginia has some of the highest homeownership in the country, over 70 percent, because with homeownership comes solid community involvement, comes better economic health, and also better socialization and education levels.

The use of interest-only and adjustable-rate mortgages is now causing problems as these mortgages is now resetting at much higher rates, frequently unaffordable rates causing an increase in foreclosures.

The reforms to the FHA will help provide stability in the housing market by providing greater assistance to new and riskier home buyers. Some of the reforms I would like to highlight are the extension of the maximum length for an FHA loan from 35 to 40 years; directing the FHA to serve high-risk home buyers while lowering upfront fees for high- risk buyers; allowing for a zero down payment for first-time home buyers, and I'm hearing today also for those who are FHA qualified; and authorizing an increase in FHA loan limits for both rural and urban areas.

The final component is especially important because in many areas the current loan limits are outpriced by many larger metropolitan areas. These expanded limits will help many buyers access stable and secure loans so they can achieve the goal of homeownership.

Each of these reforms has bipartisan support, and we must continue to work together in order to provide much-needed assistance to our struggling homeowners.

Again, I would like to thank Chairwoman Waters and Ranking Member Biggert for their hard work on this critical legislation.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor West Virginia State University President, Dr. Hazo William Carter, Jr., who will celebrate twenty years as president of the institution.

Prior to being president, Dr. Carter began his career as an Executive Assistant to the President of Norfolk State University and was the former President of Philander Smith College in Little Rock, Arkansas. He is originally a native of Nashville, Tennessee where he received his Doctorate degree from George Peabody College for Teachers of Vanderbilt University.

Dr. Carter set lofty goals for himself and for the institution when he was named president of West Virginia State College in 1987. His first goal was for West Virginia State College to regain its status as an 1890 Land Grant Institution; this was no easy task. Dr. Carter met with the West Virginia Congressional Delegation, the United States Department of Agriculture, state administrators, and the state legislature to request to regain the school's original status. After overcoming many obstacles in an eleven-year quest, West Virginia State College finally obtained its original status as an 1890 Land Grant Institution which secured the school of receiving annual federal funding.

His second goal for the institution was achieved just recently when West Virginia State College attained university status and is now named West Virginia State University. The university stands as a testament to the goals set forth for the designation of land-grant institutions and as a historically black college that successfully serves a diverse student population.

Since settling in West Virginia, Dr. Carter has become an important figure in his community and the surrounding Charleston area. His civic duties, volunteer causes, and boards he serves are too countless to mention. He has been honored as a Distinguished West Virginian by former governors and was named ``President of the Century'' by West Virginia State College (University) National Alumni Association. He currently serves as a member of President Bush's Board of Advisers for Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

Madam Speaker, I am proud to honor, my friend and former colleague, Dr. Hazo William Carter, Jr. for all his achievements in the field of higher education and for his service to the people of West Virginia.

Madam Speaker, I am honored to recognize Erik Nowak of Bunker Hill, West Virginia, who was recently named U.S. Army National Guard Soldier of the Year.

Specialist Nowak had only been enlisted in the National Guard for just 16 months before he was selected by his squad leader to participate in his company's board competition. In just one day, he won the company's board as well as his battalion's board, a rare feat, especially for a newly enlisted soldier. From there he advanced to the state competition and then to the regional competition in Fort Pickett, Virginia.

He competed against seven soldiers on August 1, 2007 in phase one of the national competition in Fort Benning, Georgia. The first phase of competition consisted of a series of tests; a 5-mile run, weapons training, first aid, land navigational skills, combat water survival, and an obstacle course all completed within 40 hours on only one hour of sleep. In the second phase of the competition, later in Washington, DC, the seven guardsmen were interviewed by a board of enlisted officers, given a written test and were required to recite the soldier's creed.

On August 15, 2007 it was announced at the National Guard Conference that Specialist Nowak was selected among 350,000 troopers as the 2007 U.S. Army National Guard Soldier of the Year. He will advance to the Army's ``Best Warrior'' Compeition at Fort Lee on September 30, 2007.

Specialist Nowak is currently a military police officer assigned to the 157th MP Company in Martinsburg. Prior to that, he was working as a substitute teacher at North Middle School where his met his wife, Krista. He is a graduate of Virginia Tech and a 1998 graduate of Musselmen High School.

I am proud to honor Specialist Erik Nowak for representing the spirit of the Mountain State and the very best of the United States Army. In this time of international struggle, it is an honor to serve such an accomplished young soldier.

Madam Speaker, I am proud to recognize Lieutenant Eric Johnson of the Charleston Police Department, who was recently named 2007 Outstanding Law Enforcement Officer of the Year by the American Police Hall of Fame.

Lt. Johnson is being honored for an act of bravery while on duty in June 2006. Johnson reacted with extreme courage after he confronted a man who was suspected of shooting a woman, who then shot Johnson in the abdomen and face. Johnson reacted quickly by returning fire. After being severely wounded, Lt. Johnson neutralized the suspect and despite his injuries, he began searching for his partner who had gone missing.

The Outstanding Law Enforcement Officer of the Year award is the most prestigious award given out by the American Police Hall of Fame. Lt. Johnson was chosen among hundreds of applicants from all over the United States. He is also the recipient of the Silver Star, an award for officers who place their lives in danger during the call of duty. Along with the acceptance of his award, Lt. Johnson's name will be on permanent display at the American Police Hall of Fame in Titusville, Florida.

Lt. Johnson truly went above and beyond the call of duty for his quick thinking and courage under fire; however, he responded to his heroism status with humility, a testament to his character. He is currently a shift commander and mentors less experienced officers.

Madam Speaker, I am proud to honor Lieutenant Eric Johnson for acts of valor and bravery. It is an honor to serve brave men like Lieutenant Eric Johnson who put their lives at risk every day to protect others.

Madam Speaker, I am proud to recognize Gantt's Excavation and Construction of Martinsburg, West Virginia; a recent recipient of the 2007 Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award.

The Defense Employer Support Freedom Award honors businesses and organizations for their support of their employees who are enlisted in the National Guard and Reserves. Gantt's Excavation and Construction was among 15 honorees from across the Nation to receive the prestigious award. These employers have gone far above the required laws to accommodate their employees who must fulfill their military duties that arise throughout times of national need. They must often fulfill weekend and summer training, possible deployments and contingency operations.

I am proud to highlight the accomplishments of Gannt's Excavation and Construction, who represents the best of America's small businesses for its patriotism and dedication to our Nation's Armed Services. The business was established 35 years ago by Frederick Gantt and is currently operated by his three children, Daniel Gantt, Eric Gantt, and Janesa Smith. Janesa's husband, Tim Smith of the West Virginia Army National Guard of Wheeling recently returned home from a deployment to Iraq on July 27, 2007, and is employed by Gantt's Excavation and Construction. The business is located in Inwood, West Virginia, where they employ a staff of 65.

Madam Speaker, in this time of national sacrifice when the men and women of our Nation's armed services are being called to duty, it is an honor to recognize the Gantt family and Gantt's Excavation and Construction who have helped our enlisted men and women succeed both on the job and in the military.