June 27, 2006

Mr. Chairman, I want to thank the gentleman from Indiana for yielding and for his work on this issue.

This first came to my attention back in 2000 when flood maps were updated in Alameda County in the 13th Congressional District. Thousands of residents in San Leandro and Fremont found out that they were added to a floodplain by getting a letter from their lender. They had 45 days to select a policy and pay the annual premium or the lender would choose for them and add it to their monthly payment.

There was no explanation of what had suddenly determined them to be in a floodplain and the community appeal window was already closed. Needless to say, the National Flood Insurance Program ranks somewhere just above the IRS in popularity in my district.

Considering the ongoing nationwide map modernization program and the new FEMA requirement to assume houses behind levees require flood insurance unless the levees are certified, this problem will affect almost every congressional district in the country, if it hasn't already.

The logic of the Burton/Stark amendment is simple. Translating flood maps into on-the-ground information about households is already happening, but often only in time to send the first bill for flood insurance.

Our amendment merely changes the timeline to guarantee that property owners will find out earlier in the process when there is still time to get involved and appeal as a community.

In my district, more than half of the households added to the floodplain were later taken out. If they could have done so as a group rather than individually appealing and hiring their own surveyors, it would have saved both time and money, not to mention the reputation of the flood insurance program.

I urge my colleagues to support the Burton/Stark amendment. All our constituents deserve to be kept informed about federal requirements that directly impact their pocketbooks.