Scott Garrett

Mr. GARRETT

Mr. GARRETT. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. The list of cosponsors to this legislation submitted this morning should be treated as original cosponsors, reflecting their intent to, in fact, be on the legislation when it was introduced last night. I rise today to continue the process of this House of seeking to aid and help those American citizens who have been devastated by Hurricane Sandy. This storm has left literally millions without power, thousands without homes, and the total area is destroyed. So the piece of legislation before us today is very simple. It temporarily increases FEMA's borrowing authority for carrying out the National Flood Insurance Program. And so this legislation is really vital to ensure that the homeowners in my State of New Jersey, as well as in New York and Connecticut and any other affected areas, will be able to continue to have their contractual flood insurance policies with the NFIP honored. So by temporarily increasing this borrowing authority, it will provide to both homeowners and insurance companies handling the claims that the Federal Government will meet its contractual obligations. People who have been devastated by the storm will be able to continue to move forward and onward with their lives. I want to take a moment just to commend the gentleman from New York (Mr. Grimm), who led a group of Members and other volunteers to help clean and repair some of the devastated areas. I was pleased to personally join the gentleman in their volunteer activity. While we witnessed much devastation and destruction, we also saw determination and friendly faces of local residents and volunteers from across the country who are committed to restoring and rebuilding this area. So while it's easy for Members to come to the floor and vote for a piece of legislation to help the area, it's a lot more difficult to be on the ground physically working, scrubbing, lifting, building, and cleaning. And while the Congress can and does help, it is the hard work, the grit, and the determination of the citizens of the area and the volunteers and the workers from all over the country that will ultimately be the driving force in this area. So to conclude, I again commend the gentleman from New York (Mr. Grimm) for his efforts, and the others around who have volunteered in this effort, and look forward to continue to work with him and others in the area, both here in Congress, for the people of New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut and the affected area. With that, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GARRETT. I thank the gentleman for his comments and also recognize that this legislation helps not only those people in his neck of the woods, but across the country, as we resume the money in the fund for FEMA and for the Flood Insurance Program. I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Hensarling), the chairman of the Financial Services Committee.

Mr. GARRETT. First of all, I yield myself 15 seconds just to set the record straight. With regard to the legislation before us, which is a flood insurance program, the aid under this program is going and has been going to the recipients in the affected area because there was funding in this program before. What we're doing right now is to make sure that that aid will continue to go to those people who have contracts for insurance. With that, I now yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Gibson), who also is very familiar with the devastation that was caused to constituents.

Mr. GARRETT. I yield the gentleman an additional 30 seconds.

Mr. GARRETT. I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. King), who recognizes that the people from the area have not been waiting. Their insurance claims have been paid from day one. We are just here today to ensure that those payments continue, going forward.

Mr. GARRETT. I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the other young gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith).

Mr. GARRETT. I once again yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Frelinghuysen), who also recognizes that there have been absolutely no victims of delay when it comes to the flood insurance program because their payments have been made continuously because that program has been funded and we continue to fund it today.

Mr. GARRETT. I'm now pleased to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New York, who has actually led the efforts on the ground putting the shoulder to the grindstone, so to speak, to actually help and restore some of these people's homes.

Mr. GARRETT. At this time, I am pleased to yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Runyan), who has seen firsthand the devastation to our State.

Mr. GARRETT. At this point, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Westmoreland) who realizes it's not just what we do on the floor but it's also the volunteering and the dedication to help these people as well.

Mr. GARRETT. I yield an additional 15 seconds to the gentleman from Georgia.

Mr. GARRETT. Madam Speaker, I inquire as to the time remaining on both sides.

Mr. GARRETT. At this time, I yield 2 minutes to a gentleman from a State which is not immune to natural disasters, the gentleman from California (Mr. Issa).

Mr. GARRETT. I have no further requests for time.

Mr. GARRETT. I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentleman from California.

Mr. GARRETT. In recognizing that some on the other side of the aisle can't take ``yes'' for an answer, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GARRETT. I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GARRETT. I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GARRETT. I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GARRETT. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the remaining time. In closing, I thank all of those who have come to the floor to address this situation. For those of us who live in the affected area, our heart goes out to the families--the moms, the dads, the little children, the senior citizens--who have lost everything: homes that have just been inundated with water so they're not recognizable anymore; homes that have to be totally knocked down or homes that have to be totally refurbished, stripped down to their studs and started from the foundations back up again to rebuild them; homes that have been simply washed out to sea and will never be seen again; homes that have been destroyed; trees that have crashed through homes; electricity that has been out for weeks. Our heart goes out to the people who have suffered so much and for so long and who continue to suffer. I commend Members from both sides of the aisle for coming to the floor today to support this legislation. I also thank those people, the volunteers, who took it upon themselves without any government mandate or edict or pay, or what have you, to go out and to rescue these people and to work for these people day in and day out--from the very beginning, the OEM people, the management people, the fire department, the rescue squad, and just rank-and-file folks who came out and tried to help and continue to do so. They've run the food banks, groups liked Samaritan's Purse. They've been out there on the front lines and have supported these people in their hours of need. And I extend an invitation to every single Member of Congress who has come to the floor and said that they, too, support these people, to put on their work shoes and their work boots and their jackets and to get out of this Congress and to get out of this city and to go into the affected area, and not just give speeches and not just pass legislation of other people's money, but to actually come to our State and to join us in the field and actually do the work that's necessary to get done. And so I extend that invitation to each and every one, and I look forward to hearing from each and every one of you, and I ask for your support of this legislation. I extend an invitation to Ms. Waters to work further on the legislation with regard to flood insurance because we heard the number earlier--this is a nonsustainable program. We're taking in something like 75 cents and we're paying out about a buck in claims. That can't go on. We need to work together on this, and I look forward to that, and I look for a ``yes'' vote on this legislation. I yield back the balance of my time. Announcement by the Speaker Pro Tempore

Mr. GARRETT. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. GARRETT

Mr. GARRETT. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 6570) to amend the American Recovery Reinvestment Act of 2009 and the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 to consolidate certain CBO reporting requirements.

Mr. GARRETT. I also have no further requests for time. So I will just conclude by saying to the gentlelady, thank you very much for working with us on this bill. Thank you for the support for the legislation. And with that, I will yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GARRETT. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and add extraneous material.

Mr. GARRETT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, under the current law, the Congressional Budget Office, the CBO, is statutorily required to submit semiannual and quarterly reports to Congress pursuant to TARP and stimulus requirements. Unfortunately, these reports have become mainly duplicative and repetitive in nature. They say the same thing over and over again, and do not provide a lot of new information to Congress. In addition, these reports consume a great deal of limited CBO staff resources. So to remedy this, we have H.R. 6570 before us. What this will do is reduce the frequency of the reports required each year by the CBO as well as required by the GAO. First, H.R. 6570 would change the quarterly stimulus reporting requirements for the CBO and GAO to annual report requirements due at the end of each calendar year. This legislation would also sunset the ARRA reporting requirements for CBO and GAO on January 1, 2016. H.R. 6570 would not impact the current reporting requirements for recipients of ARRA funds or the reports required by the executive branch agencies, I would like to point out. Secondly, H.R. 6570 would change the TARP reporting requirements for CBO and the OMB to an annual basis from a semiannual basis. So this legislation would also sunset the reporting requirements for the CBO and OMB to when the last TARP asset has been sold or last transferred out of the ownership control of the Federal Government. So, Mr. Speaker, I think this is a commonsense bill to reduce government duplication and ensure that congressional support agencies such as CBO and the GAO are using their limited resources most effectively. With that, I urge support of this legislation. I reserve the balance of my time.