Gene Taylor

Mr. TAYLOR

Mr. TAYLOR. First, Mr. Chairman, I would like to encourage the gentlewoman, let's deal with the facts. If you have an organization that is opposed to this amendment, name the organization. But let's don't suppose for anyone whether they are for it or against. Secondly, Mr. Chairman, I yield the remainder of my time to the chairman of the committee.

Mr. TAYLOR. Mr. Chairman, I very much appreciate the gentlewoman's remarks. I would like to mention to the gentlewoman, and add for the Record, the support for this bill, including the wind language, from the National Association of Realtors, National Association of Homebuilders, National Association of Bankers. National Association of Realtors, Washington, DC, September 26, 2007. House of Representatives, Washington, DC. Dear Representative: On behalf of the more than 1.3 million members of the National Association of REALTORS' (NAR), I ask for your vote in favor of H.R. 3121, the Flood Insurance Reform and Modernization Act of 2007, when it is considered by the House of Representatives on Thursday, September 27. The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) offers essential flood loss protection to homeowners and commercial property owners in more than 20,000 communities nationwide. The bill, as written, will help protect homeowners, renters and commercial property owners from losses sustained from flooding. NAR strongly supports the following changes to the NFIP contained in the bill including: Extending the NFIP for five years; Ensuring that the 100-year flood maps are updated as expeditiously as possible; Increasing coverage limits to $335,000 for residential and $670,000 for commercial properties; Supporting education of tenants about the availability of flood insurance while providing flexibility to property owners and managers in the manner of providing such notice; Adding coverage for living expenses, business interruption, and basement improvements; Extending the pilot program for mitigation of severe repetitive loss properties; and Studying the impacts of eliminating subsidies on homeowners, renters and local economies. It is critical that flood insurance remain accessible for all individuals who own or rent property in a floodplain. I urge you to vote in favor of H.R. 3121, the Flood Insurance Reform and Modernization Act of 2007, on Thursday. Sincerely, Pat V. Combs, 2007 President, National Association of Realtors.'

Mr. TAYLOR. Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.

Mr. TAYLOR. Mr. Chairman, in the course of today's debate, a lot of Members are learning a lot about insurance that they kind of wish they didn't know. Unfortunately, a lot of folks in my district learned a lot in the wake of that storm that they wish they knew. As I have told you before, the United States Navy has modeled Hurricane Katrina. According to the United States Navy, there were four to five hours of hurricane force winds that hit south Mississippi before the water ever got there. Now, that is a fact from the United States Navy. We have a policy under the National Write Your Own Program where we as a Nation allow the private sector to sell that policy, even though we back it. That is not a problem. It cuts down on administrative costs. We also have a line in that contract, though, with those private firms that says you will do a fair adjustment of the claim. Think about it. I can't think of any other person that can send a bill to the Federal Government, up to $250,000, plus another $100,000 for contents, and no one ever questions it. And yet we gave the insurance industry this incredible responsibility, and I can tell you, they misused it. But it says there has to be a fair adjustment. That is the law. Unfortunately, in the policies that they wrote for people, that were multiple pages thick, buried in that policy is something called ``concurrent causation,'' which says, in effect, that after those four to five hours of hurricane force winds hit south Mississippi, if on a residence there's a single two-by-four left standing, the roof is gone, the windows have been blown in, the curtains are gone, the house is gone, if there's one two-by-four left standing, then there is a concurrent causation of wind and water, and they don't have to pay. It's in their policies. Under oath there have been insurance agents who admitted they didn't even know it was in the policy. If the insurance agents didn't know, do you think an individual has a chance? There is an extremely influential Senator on the other end of the building, a law degree from the University of Mississippi; he didn't know it was in there. Federal Judge Lou Garrolla, a Federal judge, he didn't know it was in there. If an extremely influential U.S. Senator, if a Federal judge doesn't know, what chance does a corrugated box salesman have? What chance does a shrimper have, a housewife, a school teacher? The fact of the matter is that's wrong. The taxpayers ended up paying the bill that the insurance company should have paid because they stuck it to the taxpayers through the flood insurance policy every time. This amendment would tell the insurance companies that if they want to do business with our Nation through the Federal flood insurance program, that they can no longer have a concurrent causation clause in their contract because it's completely contrary to the contract they have with our Nation that says it's going to be a fair adjustment of the claim. If after 4 hours of hurricane force winds the house is almost gone, but there's one board left, and a wave comes along and knocks that last board down, under their rules, the taxpayers pay. Under what is fair and right, they ought to pay for what the wind did and let the taxpayers pay for what the water did. We recognize there's a problem, we are addressing that problem, and only a shill for the insurance industry can turn around and say that this is right. If you really are concerned about the Treasury, then you ought to be concerned about the Treasury being ripped off by insurance companies by letting their agents be the sole determining factor of who's going to pay and sticking our Nation with the bill. This is an opportunity to close that loophole and to right an egregious wrong. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. TAYLOR. I yield the remainder of my time to the chairman of the committee.

Mr. TAYLOR. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. TAYLOR

Mr. TAYLOR. Madam Speaker, yesterday, on September 4, 2007, I was unavoidably detained in my congressional district as a result of a mechanical problem which prevented the departure of my scheduled flight from Gulfport, MS. Unfortunately, I missed rollcall votes 847, 848 and 849. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on each of the rollcall votes.

Mr. TAYLOR

Mr. TAYLOR. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleagues for yielding me the time. Mr. Speaker, as you know, about 22 months ago the Mississippi Gulf Coast was hit with the worst hurricane in our Nation's history. It was followed up by a disaster made by man, which was the insurance industry almost uniformly denying the claims of people who had paid their premiums for decades. So people who thought they were covered woke up the next day or the next week to discover that their house was gone, and that their insurance company that said they were in ``good hands'' or that might have been their ``good neighbor'' or were ``on their side'' weren't going to pay. It has led to several problems, one of which will be addressed, we hope, in July with a promise by the Speaker Pelosi, Chairman Frank, Chairwoman Waters for a hearing in the Financial Services Committee to amend the National Flood Insurance Program to allow people to buy all- perils insurance through their Nation, something that will prevent the fight in the future in other areas of America where 52 percent of Americans live. So if they go through the same sort of tragedy that the people of Mississippi went through, that they will be paid. Because the only people who did pay their claims last time, uniformly, was our Nation through the National Flood Insurance Program. One of the ways that the American people responded to that, Mr. Speaker, is that by the thousands, all the way from kindergartners to grandparents, volunteers that have come to south Mississippi, they volunteered their time, they have given of their own personal treasure to help the people of south Mississippi rebuild who should have been paid by the insurance industry but won't. We've had so many groups. And I wish I could name them all and I wish I could have thanked them all. But one of the groups I did get a chance to visit with just recently was the St. Elizabeth Seton Catholic Church of Naperville, Illinois, again, one of the thousands of groups that have been to south Mississippi and continue to go to south Mississippi to help people rebuild their lives. We want to thank them and all the groups, but I also want to recognize a letter that they sent to my office. And it's strange that they should even be thanking someone from my office, it is my office that should be thanking them. But I want to read their letter in gratitude for them, and thank them as a way of thanking all the people that helped. ``We are eternally grateful to you for sharing with us one of Mississippi's finest natural resources, Chris LaGarde.'' Chris is an employee in my office. Since we first met Chris a year ago, we've come to know him as a dear friend, a counselor, a leader, a chef, a mentor and a pack rat. He is a great big energizer bunny in a bright orange jumpsuit, not only because he never stops, but because his presence energizes all of us. Chris is a man of compassion and passion. He is caring, loving, generous and the most humble man you could ever meet. He's an excellent chef and host. Through all of the trials and tribulations of finding work for our 60 volunteers all week and feeding us twice this week, he always kept his composure, his sense of humor and his love for all of us. He is a role model not only for young adults, but for us older adults as well. He lends perspective to what is really important in all of our lives, not our iPods, TVs, cell phones, cars and homes, but our friends, family and fellow human beings. Chris is the epitome of the face of Christ, of service, of love for his fellow man. To the folks of St. Elizabeth Seton, know what you've said is really about yourselves and about the other people who've come to south Mississippi to help us out. And on behalf of the people of south Mississippi, I want to thank all of those volunteers for what they have done and what they continue to do. And on behalf of not only the people of south Mississippi, but all of our fellow Americans, I think our fellow Americans have truly risen to the occasion. And I, for one, am eternally grateful for their help.

Mr. TAYLOR

Mr. TAYLOR. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the outstanding military service and contributions to our country of YNC (SW/PJ) Dwight R. Scott, U.S. Navy, a native of Punta Gorda, FL, on the occasion of his retirement from military service on July 31, 2007. Born in 1967, Chief Scott grew up in Columbus, OH, and attended Brookhaven High School. He entered the Navy in October 1985 as part of the Ohio State Buckeye Company. After completion of Recruit Training at Naval Training Center, Great Lakes, IL, he reported to Deck Division aboard USS Mississippi (CGN 40) at Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia. He was meritoriously advanced while stationed at Great Lakes. In June 1986, he was advanced to seaman and tried his hand in the administrative field. He subsequently passed the Yeoman advancement test and advanced to Yeoman Third Class in June 1988. In July 1989, he was meritoriously advanced to Petty Officer Second Class and assigned to the Operations Department. He then qualified as Enlisted Surface Warfare Specialist proving his knowledge of how the ship operates and fights in time of war. In January 1990, Chief Scott accepted orders to the Supreme Allied Commander, Atlantic Command, SACLANT. After a short time on board, he was selected to work for the SACLANT Protocol Office, working directly for the Chief of Staff. As Protocol Assistant, he developed and implemented the NATO locator, a directory of over 400 dignitaries from 16 NATO nations. He was awarded the Joint Service Achievement Medal for his contributions to the Supreme Allied Commander, Atlantic. Promoted to First Class in November 1993, he was assigned to Joint Special Operations Command, JSOC, in Fayetteville, NC. At JSOC, he qualified as a parachutist with the Army 82nd Airborne and then qualified as a Naval Parachutist. Chief Scott was awarded the Australian Army Parachute Badge, the Joint Special Achievement Medal, Second Award, and the Joint Commendation Medal. After 4 years at JSOC he was assigned to the Office of Legislative Affairs, OLA--the very best job of his career. Chief Scott worked on Capitol Hill for 4 years and traveled extensively with Members of Congress and their staffs. He earned the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal for his contributions to OLA. In May 1999, he earned the rank of chief petty officer and received orders to Commander, Military Sealift Command, Europe, COMSCEUR, in Naples, Italy. He served as the Senior Enlisted Advisor, Administrative Officer and Command Chief to COMSCEUR. He was entrusted with the health, morale, and welfare of all COMSC enlisted sailors assigned to the European Area of Responsibility. Chief Scott earned the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal (Second Award) for his noteworthy contributions. In November 2005, he accepted orders as the Leading Chief Petty Officer in the office of the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Manpower and Reserve Affairs. The citizens of the State of Mississippi, particularly the 4th Congressional District, are proud of Chief Scott's service. They join me in thanking him and his family for their contributions to the Navy and the Nation, and in wishing them all the best both now and in the future.

Mr. TAYLOR

Mr. TAYLOR. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word. Mr. Chairman, I followed this debate for several hours now, both here on the House floor and in my office, and what I sense is some people having a lot of fun at the expense of the least among us. In my State tonight, 75,000 people will go to sleep in a FEMA trailer that the United States Department of Health has ruled is a health hazard because they have carcinogens in them. They have formaldehyde in them. But it beats the heck out of sleeping in a Chevy Astro Van. It beats the heck out of sleeping on their mother-in-law's couch, if their mother-in-law has a couch. In the State of Louisiana, there are 49,000 families who will go to sleep in a FEMA trailer. Down around Bayou La Batre, Alabama, another thousand; in Texas, another thousand. This isn't a joke. This is trying to help the least among us. That is why you see Mr. Baker trying to help this bill, and that is why you see me trying to help this bill. It is not a joke. We talk about we ought to be doing better things with this money. What is better than helping people who 2 years ago who were middle class, who had homeowners insurance, who got screwed by the insurance company and woke up to find out they were poor because they lost everything in one night and their insurance company didn't pay. No, I won't yield. You've had hours. And they can't get any housing built because the workers can't move is because there is no place for the workers to live to build the houses. And yes, it is still going on, for those of you who wonder. I am a U.S. Congressman. I am living in my third place since the storm. You all know what we make. We make lots of money. It's not that I can't afford one, there is none to get. I am a Congressman. If that is happening to me at my salary, what do you think is happening to a schoolteacher or a retired chief petty officer or a policeman or a fireman. I thought that was what we were about, was helping people. All of a sudden you are concerned about borrowing and where this money should go. It didn't bother you when you borrowed money from the communist Chinese. It didn't bother you for the past 12 years when you took money out of the Social Security trust fund. It bothers you now when we want to help the average Joes? Well, that bothers me. The chairman is exactly right. The same folks who say we should have no accountability of where the billions of dollars go in Iraq, all of a sudden, demand that this money that might help somebody who used to be an average Joe who now finds himself in a horrible situation, my God, you don't want to do that. Cut the games out. This is serious. This is about housing, a basic need. A basic need for our fellow Americans, not Iraqis. Our fellow Americans. I have sat here and watched this game go on for hours, and I have had enough. I think the people of America, if they are following this debate, they've had enough. It is time to move this bill. If you don't think it is a good idea to take the profits from this organization and ask that they be directed towards the housing needs of our fellow Americans, vote against the bill. But I happen to think that is a pretty good idea because I know guys who used to live in 6,000 square foot houses who are going to spend tonight in a FEMA trailer. Not because they want to, because they got screwed by their insurance company. They are still going to work. They can't find somebody to build a house. When you lose 60,000 houses overnight, it puts a heck of a strain on the system. And when the workers who want to come there and build those houses have no place to live, it makes it even worse. We are trying to address that. These are real needs for real people. You've made whatever political points you want to make to your constituency, but now it is time to move on and help our fellow Americans.

Mr. TAYLOR. Mr. Speaker, I move to strike the last word. Mr. Speaker, the events of the fall of 2005 were horrible to a large portion of the gulf coast. I understand the gentleman's concern. I would have appreciated if he'd have voted against the Bachus amendment, which would have struck all of this money, but you voted for it. But one thing I wanted to point out is the somewhat arbitrary nature of his amendment. There's no real good way to judge who lost a house. One of the things we can look at, though, is those who asked for the help which was offered by our President which was delivered by FEMA. They said if your house is uninhabitable or if it's gone, we'll make a trailer available for every four inhabitants. In Louisiana today, based on FEMA's numbers, there's still 49,000 FEMA trailers being occupied. In my home State, there are 24,500 FEMA trailers still being occupied. In the gentleman's State, there's 1,700 FEMA trailers being occupied. What I have a problem with is arbitrarily taking a substantial amount of money from a State like Mississippi, that had substantially, according to this, more people lose their homes and just giving it to Texas. Now, if the gentleman is now for the bill, that's wonderful. If the gentleman would ask the chairman to include the word ``Texas'' so that when this goes to conference hopefully with the other body, in the time between now and then we can find some fair way to adjudicate those claims, I think that would be wonderful. But what I object to is literally picking a number out of the sky in a State that's got less than 1/10th of the people living in those trailers tonight, as my State, and asking for half the money that my State is getting. I have been for this proposal. I have sat on this floor for this proposal. The gentleman has objected to this proposal. So, again, if the gentleman wants to make the request of the chairman that somehow the words Louisiana, Texas, Alabama and Mississippi are included in there, and that between now and conference we find a fair way to distribute these funds, I'm with you. But to just pick a number out of the sky and say just because we're from Texas and we've got a huge delegation, we think we ought to get half as much money as Mississippi, even though 1/10th of the people that are in trailers in Mississippi are in trailers in Texas, I just can't buy that. That's not responsible.

Mr. TAYLOR

Mr. TAYLOR. Madam Chairman, I want to thank all of the Members of the Seapower and Expeditionary Forces Subcommittee for their cooperation on this. I want to thank in particular Ranking Member Saxton and Chairman Abercrombie for the funds that were transferred from their portions of the bill to address the immediate warfighter needs in Iraq. Madam Chairman, a disproportionately high number of Americans are dying in Iraq in explosions that involve Humvees. We as a Nation have spent a lot of money to protect the troops that ride in them. Unfortunately, the enemy has discovered that Humvees are vulnerable from the bottom. This bill includes $4.1 billion, ten times more than the President's request, to field a new generation of vehicles, a mine resistant ambush-protected vehicle, to protect the troops in Iraq. This could only be done with the cooperation of the Air and Land Forces Subcommittee and the Seapower and Expeditionary Forces Subcommittee. Keep in mind that the President's budget request was actually written about a year ago. It is responding to the needs as we see them in the field, and I think a very good move. We also want to thank the great staff of the Seapower and Expeditionary Forces Subcommittee for the work that they have done. The President asked for seven ships in this year's budget: a Gerald Ford class aircraft carrier; a Virginia-class submarine; an LPD 17; two LCSs; a T-AKE cargo ship; and a Joint High Speed Vessel. Because of the good work of the subcommittee and the cooperation of the other subcommittees of the Committee on Armed Services, this committee has added an additional LPD 17, an additional T-AKE cargo ship, and the forward funding for an additional submarine. The Bush administration's Defense budgets have grown by well over $100 billion during their tenure. Unfortunately, the Navy fleet has shrunk by 50 ships during the same time. This marks the first attempt on the part of the committee in a long time to reverse that trend and get our Nation back on course for a 313-ship Navy, and I want to thank all those who helped make that possible. Additionally, the bill funds a competitive engine program for the Joint Strike Fighter. It fully funds the administration's request for ship and aviation construction and procurement. It fully funds the administration's request for the operation of the Maritime Administration. The bill would allow the Secretary of the Navy to come up with a program for capital expenditure in shipbuilding to help modernize our shipyard infrastructure and reduce the cost of our Navy ships to the taxpayers. It will allow for the multi-year procurement for Virginia-class submarines, and it will direct the Secretary of the Navy to design and construct the next generation of surface warships with integrated nuclear power systems. Madam Chairman, it makes no sense at all to have aircraft carriers that carry 30 years' worth of fuel on board when the vessels that are necessary to protect them have to refuel every 5 days. We are addressing this vulnerability to our fleet and, more importantly, we are taking a huge step on behalf of the Department of Defense to make our Nation less dependent on foreign sources of fuel. I would like to acknowledge that none of these initiatives could have taken place without the great cooperation and leadership on the part of the former chairman, Mr. Bartlett. Addressing the nuclear power issue is a direct result of his making the committee aware of our vulnerabilities to fuel, and the need for shipyard modernization again is a direct result of his efforts while he was chairman. It is also with the great cooperation of the minority and the members of our staff that we present this portion of the bill to the Congress and ask for its approval. Notice to Alter Order of Consideration of Amendments

Mr. TAYLOR of Mississippi

Mr. TAYLOR of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I won't need 3 minutes. I just want to applaud the conversion of my Republican colleagues. Six years ago the Nation was breaking even on an annual basis. They came to town with a new President and in the span of 3 years added $3 trillion to the national debt, never once explaining any remorse, never once saying, we're going to turn this around. So I am really pleased to see the conversion, and I want to applaud you for it. I just wish it had happened 6 years ago.

Mr. TAYLOR

Mr. TAYLOR. Madam Speaker, I rise today in tribute to the life and service of ENS Jesse LeRoy Brown, United States Navy. Ensign Brown was born in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, on 13 October 1926. He enlisted in the Naval Reserve in 1946 and was appointed a Midshipman, USN, the following year. After attending Navy pre-flight school and flight training, he was designated a Naval Aviator in October 1948, the first African-American to achieve this status. Midshipman Brown was then assigned to Fighter Squadron 32. He received his commission as an Ensign in April 1949. During the Korean War, he operated from USS Leyte, flying F4U-4 Corsair fighter aircraft in support of United Nations forces. On December 4, 1950, while on a close air support mission near the Chosin Reservoir, Ensign Brown's plane was hit by enemy fire and crashed. Despite heroic efforts by other aviators, he could not be rescued and died in his aircraft. ENS Jesse L. Brown was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his Korean War combat service. In honor of his service, the Secretary of the Navy named the 38th ship in the Knox-class of frigates the USS Jesse L. Brown. Madam Speaker, I know my colleagues will join me in honoring Jesse's memory, and celebrating the addition of a plaque in his memory to the Naval Aviation Monument Park in Virginia Beach, to be presented May 5, 2007. Ensign Brown was both a pioneer and a model of service to country, who gave his life that we might enjoy our freedom.

Mr. TAYLOR

Mr. TAYLOR. First let me tell the gentleman from Georgia I appreciate him trying to save some money. I think his efforts, though, are a year late. If you want to look for Katrina fraud, look for Katrina fraud that was perpetrated by the Bush administration. In south Mississippi we had 40,000 people at one point living in FEMA trailers. We are grateful for every one of them, but those trailers were delivered by a friend of the President, Riley Bechtel, a major contributor to the Bush administration. He got $16,000 to haul a trailer the last 70 miles from Purvis, Mississippi down to the gulf coast, hook it up to a garden hose, hook it up to a sewer tap and plug it in; $16,000. So the gentleman never came to the floor once last year to talk about that fraud. But now little towns like Waveland, Bay Saint Louis, Pas Christian, that have no tax base because their stores were destroyed in the storm, a county like Hancock County where 90 percent of the residents lost everything, or at least substantial damage to their home, he wants to punish Bay Saint Louis, he wants to punish Waveland, he wants to punish Pas Christian. * * * announcement by the acting chairman

Mr. TAYLOR

Mr. TAYLOR. First let me tell the gentleman from Georgia I appreciate him trying to save some money. I think his efforts, though, are a year late. If you want to look for Katrina fraud, look for Katrina fraud that was perpetrated by the Bush administration. In south Mississippi we had 40,000 people at one point living in FEMA trailers. We are grateful for every one of them, but those trailers were delivered by a friend of the President, Riley Bechtel, a major contributor to the Bush administration. He got $16,000 to haul a trailer the last 70 miles from Purvis, Mississippi down to the gulf coast, hook it up to a garden hose, hook it up to a sewer tap and plug it in; $16,000. So the gentleman never came to the floor once last year to talk about that fraud. But now little towns like Waveland, Bay Saint Louis, Pas Christian, that have no tax base because their stores were destroyed in the storm, a county like Hancock County where 90 percent of the residents lost everything, or at least substantial damage to their home, he wants to punish Bay Saint Louis, he wants to punish Waveland, he wants to punish Pas Christian. * * * announcement by the acting chairman

Mr. TAYLOR

Mr. TAYLOR. First let me tell the gentleman from Georgia I appreciate him trying to save some money. I think his efforts, though, are a year late. If you want to look for Katrina fraud, look for Katrina fraud that was perpetrated by the Bush administration. In south Mississippi we had 40,000 people at one point living in FEMA trailers. We are grateful for every one of them, but those trailers were delivered by a friend of the President, Riley Bechtel, a major contributor to the Bush administration. He got $16,000 to haul a trailer the last 70 miles from Purvis, Mississippi down to the gulf coast, hook it up to a garden hose, hook it up to a sewer tap and plug it in; $16,000. So the gentleman never came to the floor once last year to talk about that fraud. But now little towns like Waveland, Bay Saint Louis, Pas Christian, that have no tax base because their stores were destroyed in the storm, a county like Hancock County where 90 percent of the residents lost everything, or at least substantial damage to their home, he wants to punish Bay Saint Louis, he wants to punish Waveland, he wants to punish Pas Christian. Mr. Price, I wish you would have the decency, if you are going to do that to the people of south Mississippi, that maybe you ought to come visit south Mississippi before you hold them to a standard that you would never hold your own people to and that you failed to hold the Bush administration to. With that, I yield back my time. announcement by the acting chairman

Mr. TAYLOR

Mr. TAYLOR. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to address the House for 1 minute.

Mr. TAYLOR. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you, Mr. Buyer. In the course of the debate I encouraged, with words that were a little bit too strong, my colleague from Georgia to come visit south Mississippi and see the aftermath of Katrina. I used the word ``decency'' when I should have said ``the courtesy.'' If I have offended his decency, then I apologize for that. But the offer stands. The gentleman was good enough to admit privately that he has not visited south Mississippi since the storm, has not seen that the town of Waveland is virtually gone, that Bay Saint Louis is virtually gone, that Pass Christian is virtually gone. To the point of his amendment: How does a town that is gone come up with matching funds to restore itself? So I appreciate the gentleman yielding. I hope I have made my point to the membership, and I thank the body.

Mr. TAYLOR

Mr. TAYLOR. Will the gentleman yield?

Mr. TAYLOR. It is interesting, since you were talking about history and since you have been using this quote, and I knew this before the gentleman got here, but the last time, to my recollection, that the United States Congress has cut off funds for troops in the field and demanded they be taken out of someplace was in November of 1993. It was a motion written by a gentleman from New York, a Republican by the name of Ben Gilman. It was brought to this floor by a Republican by the name of Jerry Solomon, and it instructed the Clinton administration to get troops out of Somalia. I just think that is important to add, in a historical context, that this has happened before. In fact, Members through the Republican party have led the effort to get the troops out of a Muslim-dominated country within the last couple of decades. I do want to remind the American people that you were not here for that. I was. I had to do a little research to remember the exact set of circumstances, but I do think it is important to add to this debate.

Mr. TAYLOR

Mr. TAYLOR. Madam Speaker, I have the great fortune to represent the people of south and coastal Mississippi, and I never want to miss the opportunity on their behalf to thank the other people of our great Nation for the help that has been provided to us in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, both individuals, Rotarians, college kids. But so many people have just been magnificent in their helping South Mississippi after the storm, and we want to thank you. There has, Madam Speaker, unfortunately been a group that has been particularly unhelpful to the recovery of south Mississippi, and that is the insurance business, in particular the property and casualty business around the country. I want to bring to your attention just one of the many of the thousands of homes in south Mississippi that were destroyed by the storm. The people there had insurance, contrary to what the Wall Street Journal will tell you. They had insurance against flood. They had insurance against wind. And when the storm came, they thought they were covered. And they woke up the day after the storm, and their homes were gone. This is a sketch of Will Clark's home in Pass Christian, Mississippi. Being very fond of his place, he hired a local artist to sketch it. This is what it looked like the day before Katrina. That is what it looked like the day after. Will, being a good businessman, had $250,000 worth of homeowners insurance on his home. The folks from State Farm, within a few days of the storm, came to his property, looked around, said they saw no evidence of wind damage, despite all the things you see knocked down by the wind, and paid him nothing on his insurance claim. A $250,000 policy paid him nothing. The next homeowner I want to bring to your attention is the home of Mr. and Mrs. James Scanlon. This is what it looks like. The Scanlons had $304,000 worth of insurance on this home. The day after Katrina, it looked like that. The Scanlons were with Nationwide Insurance Company. Nationwide paid them $13,000 on that damage. For those of you who have done some remodeling yourselves, you know that $13,000 might replace that front door and maybe that window; $304,000 worth of insurance paid them $13,000. The third one I want to bring to your attention is the home of Ms. Diane Quinn in Biloxi, Mississippi. To give you the magnitude of this storm, it stretched all the way from New Orleans to Mobile, Alabama. This is what Mrs. Quinn's home looked like the day before Katrina. She had $249,000 worth of insurance with Allstate Insurance Company. The day after the storm, her home looked like that. Within days of the storm, in addition to all the other trauma she had been to, the folks from Allstate, I believe that is ``The Good Hands'' folks, came and told her that they would give her $10,000 for the loss of her home. Mr. Speaker, there is zero Federal regulation of the insurance industry. When people came to me with claims like that and said, ``What can you do for me,'' I had to give them the unfortunate answer, ``Absolutely nothing.'' But it wasn't just these folks who were harmed by the storm, you see; it was every American. The people that did pay claims was our Nation's flood insurance policy. The Nation's flood insurance policy is written in a way that we hire the private sector to sell that policy, and we hire the private sector to adjudicate the claim in events like this. The problem that came in is, when those insurance agents went to those three properties, and even though the Navy tells us we had 5 hours of hurricane-force winds before the water got there, the insurance agents said, ``We see no evidence of wind damage. So, therefore, we are not going to pay you on your homeowner's policy; you have to pay your flood policy.'' Under the law, they are required to have a fair adjudication of the claim. And yet, at the same time that they require our Nation to have a fair adjudication of the claim, folks like State Farm and Nationwide are sending out memorandum to their claims adjusters, and this is a quote: ``Where wind acts concurrently with flooding to cause damage to the insured's property, coverage for the loss exists only under the flood coverage.'' That means that not only these folks were cheated out of their homeowners policies, but you as taxpayers were cheated to pay claims that should have been paid by the insurance industry. Now, the folks who run that company, a gentleman by the name of Ed Rust to be particular, rather than expressing remorse for what his company did to the people of America, was rewarded this year with a $9,890,000 bonus for telling folks like that, ``We're not going to pay you.'' Madam Speaker, this needs to be investigated. There are claims adjusters who were so disgusted with what they saw and what they did to individuals that they have turned the insurance industry in for this fraud that has been perpetrated upon the American people. Madam Speaker, this Democratic Congress needs to keep faith with the people of America and investigate this, because I am convinced that the biggest Katrina fraud of all was ripping off the American taxpayer to the tune of billions of dollars.

Mr. TAYLOR of Mississippi

Mr. TAYLOR of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the people of South Mississippi, I want to thank my fellow Americans for the incredible generosity they have shown the people of south Mississippi in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Literally within hours of that storm, fellow Americans who were National Guardsmen, who were Coast Guardsmen, in the Armed Forces, the Army, the Navy, the Air Force and Marines. They were there helping the people of south Mississippi recover. Since that time, the people of America dug into their pockets as taxpayers. They dug into their pockets as individuals. They sent Christmas presents, and they donated their time. From school kids to senior citizens, they all came to south Mississippi to help. It seems like for a while everyone was trying to help south Mississippi, and then the harsh reality was that not everyone really was going to help; that there was actually an element in corporate America that thought they could use this storm as a way to make a lot of money. I am referring to the property and casualty business that insured many of the people in south Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, almost as soon as the roads were cleared of trees and power lines and dead animals and all the things, we found, unfortunately, in the wake of Katrina, representatives of property and casualty companies were showing up on people's lots, what was left of their homes, and telling them that they had found a reason in the fine print of their policies not to pay. Even before I made my way back to Congress, and it took about 2 weeks after the storm for me to get here, they were already working the lobbies, buying steak dinners, buying lobster dinners, buying champagne and telling my colleagues, well, you are going to hear from those people in Mississippi; and, you know, yeah, we denied them, but they are not very smart. They didn't have enough insurance. They built their houses too close to the ground, and they flood all the time, and that is why we had to tell them no. So, Mr. Speaker, we need to change that. But before I tell you why we need to change it, before I need to tell you what we need to do, I want to give you a couple of examples. Remember they said they are not very smart? This was the home of John and Molly Hadden. John has a Master's in business from Tulane University. They said their home was too close to the ground. As you can see, it was about 11 feet off the ground, or 22 feet above sea level. They said they were underinsured. If you had gone down Beach Boulevard in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, a week before Katrina, this is what you would have seen. A beautiful home, less than 10 years old, and built to all the current standards. If you would have gone down that same road, when you could go down that road, a couple weeks after the storm, this is what you would have seen. John Hadden, being an MBA, a pretty good businessman, knew that to replace this, should something bad happen, would cost a lot of money. He had a $650,000 insurance policy, to which the folks from State Farm, 16 months later, have given him nothing. If you had gone a little farther down that street before the storm you would have seen approximately a 130-year-old house owned by Joe and Betty Benvenutti. Joe is himself in the insurance business. This house had been there and survived no telling how many hurricanes, five in my lifetime, and many more prior to that. Joe, being in the insurance industry, knew the importance of being properly covered. So for this beautiful classic historic home, Joe and Betty had $586,000 worth of insurance. Yet 16 months later, their carrier, State Farm Insurance Company, has paid them nothing, and this is what they found after the storm, by the way: a couple of their kids' trophies, a couple of bricks, maybe a toy or two laying around where the foundation used to be. Next door to the Benvenuttis we have Mike and Eileen Chapoton. Mike is the head of the trust department of the Whitney Bank, a very, very large regional bank, a job of incredible responsibility. Again, a good businessman who thought he had done all the things you are supposed to do with all the people you are supposed to do it with to protect his home in case something bad should happen. Mike purchased $236,000 worth of insurance through State Farm, and 16 months after the storm, he has been paid nothing. Mr. Speaker, what State Farm says is, well, you weren't there when it happened, so we don't know how it happened. So unless you can prove to me that it wasn't a flood, we are not going to give you a dime. Now, this leads to a couple of things. Why should a person have to stay in their home during a hurricane to get some fairness. I thought we put satellites in the sky. I thought we put buoys at sea, I thought we had the hurricane hunters fly planes into hurricanes to give us the warning to get the heck out of there. To encourage people to stay behind is only to encourage people to die. And yet the only people in south Mississippi who really got fairness from the insurance companies were the ones who stayed behind and miraculously lived, because they were an eye witness. So we need all-perils insurance throughout our country. The second thing. The insurance industry that told the Chapotons and the Haddens and the Benvenuttis now have the privilege of calling each other up; State Farm could call Nationwide, and say, you know what, I am not going to pay; don't you pay. And it is perfectly legal because they are exempt from the antitrust laws. That needs to change. Lastly, because there is zero Federal regulation of the insurance industry, at this time there is absolutely nothing that I or any other Member of Congress can do about this. It is my hope that in the coming weeks we will fix all three of those problems.

Mr. TAYLOR of Mississippi

Mr. TAYLOR of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the contributions of the crews, past and present, of the Submarine USS Hyman G. Rickover (SSN 709). On the 14th of December, this vessel will be inactivated, and its name struck from the rolls of U.S. warships. The contribution of this vessel to the defense of this Nation has been second to none, yet somewhat unheralded. From the Cold War through the current War on Terrorism, she and her crew have stood the watch. The Rickover served as a testament to the standards of excellence inspired by her namesake, the late Admiral Rickover. The father of the nuclear Navy, Admiral Rickover instilled a culture of technical excellence and individual responsibility in the Navy Nuclear Propulsion Program that continues to this day. I would also like to commend the sponsor of this ship--Mrs. Eleonore Rickover, for her years of faithful support to the crew. She struck a chord at the ship's christening, when she said, ``In the name of the United States, I christen thee Hyman G. Rickover. May God bless her and all who sail in her, and may God bless their families and loved ones, for they also serve who only stand and wait.'' Mrs. Rickover lived up to those words in the years since that day with generous and heartfelt support of the sailors and families of Rickover. Going far beyond an occasional appearance, she embraced the ship and her crew--interested, involved and caring. Her service was a fitting testament to the legacy of pride and service left by her husband, ADM Rickover, to the Naval nuclear power program, and the entire U.S. Navy. Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in commemorating this exceptional Naval warship; her crew and their families; their sponsor, Mrs. Eleonore Rickover, and the man who brought our Navy nuclear propulsion, Admiral Hyman G. Rickover.

Mr. TAYLOR of Mississippi

Mr. TAYLOR of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, on Tuesday, December 5th, 2006, I was unavoidably detained, and I was unable to cast my vote during rollcall number 524 on H. Res. 1070, expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that Members of the House should actively engage with employers and the American public at large to encourage the hiring of members and former members of the Armed Forces who were wounded in service and are facing a transition to civilian life. As a member of the House Armed Services Committee and a long-time champion of the military men and women who serve our Nation, I would have voted ``aye.''