I have lived my whole life in south Louisiana, and believe there is no better place to spend your days. While we have faced more than our share of challenges over the past few years, together we are working to rebuild our hurricane-damaged homes, lower the cost of homeowners insurance, create more affordable housing, and help the homeless in our communities.
Hurricane Recovery
Recent hurricanes have damaged or destroyed thousands of homes and apartments in south Louisiana. In Congress, I have supported efforts to increase the supply of affordable housing in south Louisiana, especially in communities still recovering from hurricanes.
Following Katrina and Rita, I supported tax incentives to encourage developers to rebuild affordable rental housing in hurricane-affected areas of the Gulf Coast, so people who didn’t own a home before the storms would still have places to come home to.
Because homeowners who have suffered storm damage also need relief, I have worked to enact legislation to give them a hand in repairing their homes. Following Katrina and Rita, we expanded access to low-interest financing for home repairs and reconstructions in hurricane-affected areas. After Gustav and Ike, we passed tax relief that allowed disaster victims to claim a larger deduction on their taxes for damage to their homes so they would be able to keep more of their money for much-needed repairs. As we continue to recover from Gustav and Ike, I will keep working in Congress for relief for Louisiana’s homeowners.
Homeowners’ Insurance
One of the most pressing problems we are facing in south Louisiana is the skyrocketing cost of homeowners insurance following the 2005 and 2008 hurricanes. Since Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, premiums in south Louisiana have skyrocketed and too many homeowners have had their policies cancelled altogether. As private insurance companies have pulled out of coastal Louisiana, more and more homeowners have had to turn to the state-sponsored "insurer of last resort," which by law charges above-market premiums.
In Congress, I have worked with other representatives from coastal communities to address the growing crisis in the availability and affordability of homeowners' insurance. Together, we have introduced the Homeowners' Defense Act (H.R. 3355), which focuses on stabilizing the catastrophe insurance market by expanding private industry's capacity to cover natural disasters and helping states to better manage risk. This bill would allow state-sponsored reinsurance funds to voluntarily combine their natural disaster risks together through a consortium, and then transfer that risk to the private markets through the use of catastrophe bonds and reinsurance contracts. The plan would stabilize the state insurance market and offers a market-based solution to the current crisis in affordable catastrophe coverage for homeowners.
I am also a co-sponsor of legislation to end the "wind vs. water" insurance debate by creating federal multi-peril insurance that provides coverage for both windstorm and flood damage in one policy. H.R. 3121, the Flood Insurance Reform and Modernization Act of 2007, includes provisions expanding the federal National Flood Insurance Program to allow NFIP policyholders to purchase windstorm coverage directly from the federal government, in addition to flood insurance. If hurricanes do not distinguish between wind and water damage, why should insurance policies? As the 2005 and 2008 hurricanes have made clear, homeowners in coastal communities need coverage for both.
The skyrocketing cost of homeowners insurance in coastal communities is approaching a crisis point in south Louisiana. Since Katrina and Rita swept through, I have been hearing from my neighbors and constituents that they are facing the difficult choice between paying crushing insurance premiums or permanently leaving south Louisiana, the place they have called home for all their lives. This should not be.
Our state and federal leaders must act quickly to solve this insurance crisis so that middle class families - the backbone of our economy - can continue to afford to live in coastal communities. I will continue working in Congress to pass legislation that will give homeowners more access to affordable insurance while also protecting taxpayer dollars.
Affordable Housing
Decent, affordable housing is the foundation of strong communities. As housing costs in Louisiana have increased, many working families have struggled to find affordable housing. Without a safe and secure place to call home, people struggle to hold down jobs and provide for their families.
In Congress, I have worked to help more Louisianians find affordable housing. I have supported federal grants to provide affordable housing and rental assistance for low- and moderate-income Louisianians, support more emergency homeless shelters, and increase home ownership by assisting eligible first-time homebuyers with down payments and closing costs. I have also worked to fully fund housing vouchers for some of our most needy neighbors in Louisiana: the elderly, disabled, and extremely poor who were left homeless by the 2005 hurricanes are still struggling to find permanent housing.
Because too many of our brave veterans now find themselves without a stable and secure place to live, I have supported legislation aimed at expand housing assistance and supportive services for homeless veterans across the country. I have also supported grant funding to build transitional housing for homeless veterans right here in south Louisiana. While we can never repay the debt we owe America’s veterans, I am proud we have the opportunity to give those who are struggling a helping hand.
Lack of affordable housing often leads to other problems in our communities like unemployment, poverty, and crime. In Congress, I will continue to support affordable housing grant programs because reducing poverty benefits everyone in a community.
South Louisiana’s close-knit communities are great places to live and raise families. As your representative, I will work to find ways to make our housing and insurance more affordable so we can continue living in this beautiful and fun part of Louisiana.
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