Senate Proceeding on May 6th, 2008 :: 6:44:20 to 6:59:27
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6:44:20 to 6:44:39( Edit History Discussion )

Roger F. Wicker: i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: ~ quorum call: | quorum call: ~ quorum call: ~ quorum call: senator madam president? the presiding

6:44:20 to 6:59:27( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Roger F. Wicker

6:44:39 to 6:44:48( Edit History Discussion )

Roger F. Wicker: officer: the senator from mississippi. mr. wicker: thank you, mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator should be informed that we are in a quorum call. mr. wicker: i move i move that the

6:44:48 to 6:45:07( Edit History Discussion )

Roger F. Wicker: quorum be vitiate ed. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. wicker: thank you, madam president. this week the senate will re reconsider the reauthorization of the senate flood

6:45:07 to 6:45:25( Edit History Discussion )

Roger F. Wicker: insurance program. today i have filed an amendment to this reauthorization legislation which is of critical need, not only to the gulf coast but to the entire country.x my amendment would add a multiple peril

6:45:25 to 6:45:40( Edit History Discussion )

Roger F. Wicker: insurance provision to create a new option in the national flood insurance program of offering coverage for both wind and flood risk in one policy. the proposal would require premiums for this new

6:45:40 to 6:46:00( Edit History Discussion )

Roger F. Wicker: coverage to be risk-based and actuarially sound so that the program wld be required to pay for itself. indeed, the congressional budget office has estimated that the multiple-peril program -- and i quote

6:46:00 to 6:46:19( Edit History Discussion )

Roger F. Wicker: -- "would increase premium receipts and additional claims payments by about the same amount, resulting in no signet budgetary impact." unquote. by covering wind and flood risk in one policy, the multiple-peril

6:46:19 to 6:46:32( Edit History Discussion )

Roger F. Wicker: option would allow coastal homeowners to buy insurance and know that hurricane damage would be covered regardless of wheth that damage is caused by wind or water. madam president, it has been

6:46:32 to 6:46:43( Edit History Discussion )

Roger F. Wicker: just over 2 1/2 years since hurricane katrina hit the gulf coast with its 30-foot storm surge and winds of over 125 miles per hour. katrina was the most devastating natural disaster ever to hit north

6:46:43 to 6:46:56( Edit History Discussion )

Roger F. Wicker: america. the people of mississippi and louisiana have made great progress in rebuilding the communities along the gulf coast. everyone knows the federal government's response was not perfect, but the

6:46:56 to 6:47:09( Edit History Discussion )

Roger F. Wicker: government and this congress have done a lot to help, to rebuild communities, homes, businesses and lives along the gulf coast. for as much as the government and this congress has done, there is still

6:47:09 to 6:47:26( Edit History Discussion )

Roger F. Wicker: more work to be done. there is still too many destroyed homes left uninhabited, too many slabs of concrete that represent all that is left of what used to be homes and businesses. a major contributing

6:47:26 to 6:47:38( Edit History Discussion )

Roger F. Wicker: factor to this problem is the cost and availability of insurance. since the day i became a member of this body, the cost of insurance has become an issue i continually hear about. as i stated in my

6:47:38 to 6:47:51( Edit History Discussion )

Roger F. Wicker: maiden speech, if you can't insure it, you can't build it or finance it. it's that simple. the problem is harming the efforts of small businesses to rebuild and grow and succeed, and it is driving rental

6:47:51 to 6:48:05( Edit History Discussion )

Roger F. Wicker: rates beyond affordability. it is increasing the cost of homeownership and in many cases making it impossible for people who lost their homes to katrina to rebuild. congress needs to act to find a workable

6:48:05 to 6:48:22( Edit History Discussion )

Roger F. Wicker: solution to this problem, and the national flood insurance program reauthorization gives us an opportunity to do so. i say this not only for the good of the people of mississippi and louisiana, but

6:48:22 to 6:48:34( Edit History Discussion )

Roger F. Wicker: also for every single american taxpayer and for every person who lives along the american coastline. this is not just an issue for the gulf coast. from bar harbor, maine, to brownsville, texas, millions

6:48:34 to 6:48:54( Edit History Discussion )

Roger F. Wicker: of americans live on a coastline in the path of future hurricanes. as the biloxi "sun herald" note this had week in an editorial in support of my amendment -- quote -- "more than half of the nation's

6:48:54 to 6:49:07( Edit History Discussion )

Roger F. Wicker: population lives within 50 miles of a coastline. and 50 miles is well in the way when a major storm makes landfall." we haven't always had a flood insurance program, madam president. in 1968, congress

6:49:07 to 6:49:20( Edit History Discussion )

Roger F. Wicker: was forced to act to address the problems associated with flooding from hurricanes. now, the same problem that led to the national flood insurance program is now happening with wind, as it did in

6:49:20 to 6:49:34( Edit History Discussion )

Roger F. Wicker: the past, congress needs to act to address the problem. the national flood insurance program was created because insurance companies quit offering coverage for flood damage caused by hurricanes. now

6:49:34 to 6:49:49( Edit History Discussion )

Roger F. Wicker: with competing wind and flood policies, the same has happened to wind insurance in these same areas. wind versus water, that is the debate which still occurs today in courtrooms on the mississippi

6:49:49 to 6:50:04( Edit History Discussion )

Roger F. Wicker: gulf coast between insurance companies and storm victims. it is a debate that necessitated the multibillion-dollar supplemental appropriations package this body approved after katrina. and unless

6:50:04 to 6:50:16( Edit History Discussion )

Roger F. Wicker: congress changes the law, the wind versus water debate will result in a multibillion-dollar supplemental appropriations package after the next big hurricane, wherever in the united states it may land.

6:50:16 to 6:50:31( Edit History Discussion )

Roger F. Wicker: this is driving more and more homeowners and business owners into a state-sponsored wind pool, which is required to provide coverage. but this is not a reasonable long-term solution because too much

6:50:31 to 6:50:45( Edit History Discussion )

Roger F. Wicker: risk is being placed in too small of a pool. what was initially conceived to be the last resort has now become the only resort for many mississippians living along the gulf coast. the reality is

6:50:45 to 6:50:59( Edit History Discussion )

Roger F. Wicker: that state wind pools, especially in my home state of mississippi, are unable to spread the risk to balance the claims. and as the government accountability office has pointed out, these competing

6:50:59 to 6:51:13( Edit History Discussion )

Roger F. Wicker: wind and flood policies provide a conflict of interest in determining who is responsible to pay these claims. the flood insurance companies say it was wind. the wind insurance companies say just the opposite.

6:51:13 to 6:51:29( Edit History Discussion )

Roger F. Wicker: because of this, my constituents on the gulf coast are paying thousands of dollars to the state wind pool. that doesn't count flood insurance or homeowners insurance on top of that. the picture i'm painting

6:51:29 to 6:51:45( Edit History Discussion )

Roger F. Wicker: here is quite clear. the unaffordability of insurance is driving people from their homes. now, some of my colleagues may point out that every home can purchase wind insurance. i would argue that

6:51:45 to 6:52:05( Edit History Discussion )

Roger F. Wicker: as a practical matter, they cannot. as i mentioned before, this is not just a mississippi problem, nor is it just a gulf coast problem. for instance, in massachusetts, since 2003, ten insurance companies

6:52:05 to 6:52:23( Edit History Discussion )

Roger F. Wicker: have dropped homeowner coverage in the cape cod coastal area. this affects approximately 44,000 homeowners in massachusetts. the massachusetts state insurance state backstop is now insuring 44% of the market.

6:52:23 to 6:52:41( Edit History Discussion )

Roger F. Wicker: i hope my colleagues from the following states: in addition to mississippi and louisiana and massachusetts, will pay attention to this debate, madam president. states like new york, maryland, virginia, south

6:52:41 to 6:52:56( Edit History Discussion )

Roger F. Wicker: carolina, florida, alabama, texas, have all experienced the same problem. in north carolina, for example, the state insurance plan known as the beach plan saw its liability increase over 260% in

6:52:56 to 6:53:12( Edit History Discussion )

Roger F. Wicker: just four years. i would assure you, i would prefer that the private market write these policies. but this simply is not happening. and every day more and more liability is being thrust upon the shoulders

6:53:12 to 6:53:30( Edit History Discussion )

Roger F. Wicker: of the states. to help address this problem, the best solution available is to allow homeowners to purchase wind and flood insurance coverage in the same policy. this would spread the risk outside of defined

6:53:30 to 6:53:45( Edit History Discussion )

Roger F. Wicker: state borders and would insure available, affordable and total insurance for coastal homeowners. that is exactly what my multiple-peril insurance amendment does. multiple-peril insurance will allow property owners

6:53:45 to 6:54:02( Edit History Discussion )

Roger F. Wicker: to buy both wind and flood coverage from the national flood insurance program. residential coverage would be $500,000 for structures and $150,000 for contents and the loss of use. for nonresidential, it

6:54:02 to 6:54:16( Edit History Discussion )

Roger F. Wicker: would be $1 million for structures and $750,000 for contents and business interruption. and this amendment, property owners would be able to buy insurance and know in advance that hurricane damage

6:54:16 to 6:54:32( Edit History Discussion )

Roger F. Wicker: would be covered without disputes over the cause of damage. no longer would home and business owners have to go to court and try to prove it was either wind or it was water that destroyed their property.

6:54:32 to 6:54:49( Edit History Discussion )

Roger F. Wicker: the premiums for this new single coverage would be risk-based and actuarially sound, according to the terms of my legislation. the c.b.o. has agreed that the program will over the long run pay for

6:54:49 to 6:55:06( Edit History Discussion )

Roger F. Wicker: itself. wind storm insurance would be available under my amendment only where local governments adopt and enforce the international building code or equivalent building standards. this federal multiple-peril

6:55:06 to 6:55:28( Edit History Discussion )

Roger F. Wicker: program will spread risk geographically to form a stable insurance pool compared to state pools that cover only a small area. again i state, this issue doesn't just impact the gulf coast. it impacts

6:55:28 to 6:55:47( Edit History Discussion )

Roger F. Wicker: most directly the 55% of our country's population that lives within 50 miles of a hurricane-prone coastline. beyond that, however, this is a good government issue that affects every single taxpayer. multiple-peril

6:55:47 to 6:56:01( Edit History Discussion )

Roger F. Wicker: coverage would also protect the taxpayers by saving them from having to pay for another giant emergency relief package the next time a hurricane hits. it is not a question of if, but when it happens,

6:56:01 to 6:56:15( Edit History Discussion )

Roger F. Wicker: and, i might add, where it happens again. with the legislation before us, the reauthorization of the national flood insurance program, we have been provided an opportunity to take action to begin to

6:56:15 to 6:56:30( Edit History Discussion )

Roger F. Wicker: correct this inequality. i believe my multiple-peril amendment is a good start. i realize there's several philosophies about solving the coastal insurance crisis, and i'm not wedded to any single approach.

6:56:30 to 6:56:48( Edit History Discussion )

Roger F. Wicker: i will simply point out that this amendment has already been adopted by the house of representatives in an amendment offered by my friend and former colleague, representative gene taylor of mississippi.

6:56:48 to 6:57:02( Edit History Discussion )

Roger F. Wicker: what i'm committed to, madam president, is providing my constituents relief before the next hurricane hits. madam president, i don't believe congress should take over the entire private market of all

6:57:02 to 6:57:14( Edit History Discussion )

Roger F. Wicker: insurance. i believe in free market principles, and i believe congress should look seriously at state-by-state rate regulatory structure that forces insurers to set their rates on the basis of geographical

6:57:14 to 6:57:27( Edit History Discussion )

Roger F. Wicker: boundaries within individual states in which they're admitted to do business. i believe congress should consider other thoughtful proposals such as the one being advanced by the st. paul travelers

6:57:27 to 6:57:40( Edit History Discussion )

Roger F. Wicker: insurance company which would allow limited rate regulation relief for the purpose of creation of a coastal band. this is simply one of a good -- of a number of good ideas that deserve consideration.

6:57:40 to 6:58:05( Edit History Discussion )

Roger F. Wicker: but the status quo does not work, and that's what we have an opportunity to correct this week. madam president, some of my colleagues will argue against my amendment for a number of what they see as the

6:58:05 to 6:58:22( Edit History Discussion )

Roger F. Wicker: problem. very seldom is legislation error-free or exactly correct at the outset. and my amendment is no different. we should not, however, let the perfect be the enemy of the good. i would ask my

6:58:22 to 6:58:38( Edit History Discussion )

Roger F. Wicker: colleagues to remember all of the places along the coast of north america and perhaps to invite them again to visit hancock county in my state of mississippi, ground zero where katrina made landfall,

6:58:38 to 6:58:56( Edit History Discussion )

Roger F. Wicker: and see for themselves why action is needed now and why we should not miss this opportunity on the reauthorization of the national flood insurance program. this amendment is badly needed, and at

6:58:56 to 6:59:06( Edit History Discussion )

Roger F. Wicker: the appropriate time during consideration of amendments, madam president, i will urge my colleagues to adopt the amendment. at this point, madam president, i yield back and suggest the absence of a -- a

6:59:06 to 6:59:27( Edit History Discussion )

Roger F. Wicker: senator: madam president? would the senator withhold his suggestion? mr. wicker: i'd be delighted to withhold. mr. cochran: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator -- yes. mr. cochran: madam president,

6:59:27 to 6:59:44( Edit History Discussion )

Thad Cochran: i'm pleased to support the amendment offered by my colleague from miss miss. senator wicker's amendment will benefit not only constituents in mississippi, but anyone who lives in the path of future hurricanes.|

6:59:27 to 7:04:40( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Thad Cochran