I voted Yes on H.R. 41, to temporarily increase the borrowing authority of FEMA for carrying out the Flood Insurance Program.

The legislation, of which I am a cosponsor, would – temporarily – increase the borrowing authority of the Federal Emergency Management Agency for carrying out the National Flood Insurance Program by $9.7 billion.  This would enable the processing of more than 100,000 claims from Superstorm Sandy, as the flood insurance program is slated to run of funds next week.  This bill is clean of any earmarks or items unrelated to flood insurance. 

Superstorm Sandy ravaged the Northeast in late October of last year.  More than one hundred people were killed by the storm and vast quantities of homes and infrastructure, particularly in New York and New Jersey, were destroyed.  This bill represents the first step in Congress’ duty to provide assistance to Sandy victims.

I support this legislation because although our district was not impacted by Sandy, the Southern Tier and Mohawk Valley have previously experienced devastating flooding due to natural disasters.  Just as the federal government helped – and continues to help – our region recover from storms, so must we stand with our neighbors downstate and throughout the Northeast recover from the devastation of Sandy.

The bill was approved by a vote of 354 – 67.