Shelley Capito

Mrs. CAPITO

Mrs. CAPITO. 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.

Mrs. CAPITO

Mrs. CAPITO. 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.

Mrs. CAPITO

Mrs. CAPITO. 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.

Mrs. CAPITO

Mrs. CAPITO. 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.

Mrs. CAPITO

Mrs. CAPITO. 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.

Mrs. CAPITO

Mrs. CAPITO. 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.

Mrs. CAPITO

Mrs. CAPITO. 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.

Mrs. CAPITO

Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.

Mrs. CAPITO. 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.

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

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

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

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

Mrs. CAPITO. 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.

Mrs. CAPITO. I yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from Georgia.

Mrs. CAPITO. 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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ms. CAPITO

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

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