minute the gentleman from florida, mr. buchanan for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. buchanan: floor insurance has been devastating the people in florida. in my region i have done multiple town halls. it has gone up $1,000%, 500%. businesses can't sell businesses. this bill will bring immediate relief and the market is frozen and will bring certainty to people who can sell and buy their homes. as a co-chair of the florida delegation, i thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle because it is nice where we can work together to get something done for the american people. and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentlelady from california is recognized. . . .

ms. waters: i yield to the gentleman from oregon, mr. blumenauer, for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. blumenauer: i have a slightly different perspective, the problem isn't fema, it's that congress hasn't appropriately dealt with these issues over time. i spent 10, 15 years now working on flood insurance reform. this is not the last word. we're kicking the can down the road, putting a surcharge on other people, grandfathering in some of the properties that are going to get these subsidized rates and transferring it. but this money is going to run out. it's going to have to be re-authorized. and with all due respect, i think we need to look at the big picture, i appreciate what randy -- mr. hensarling -- we need to keep looking at the big picture, subsidizing people, blaming fema because we don't adequately fund them and of course we don't want them to accurately map, we go gunny sack when that happens.

i had redser vations at the time that this was too abrupt but i am concerned that we are retreating too much on the reforms that have been made earlier and it's going to be hard to get back, of course, until the bubble bursts. which it will. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentlelady from west virginia is recognized. mrs. capito: thank you, mr. speaker. next i'd like to recognize a great advocate for this bill and for his state, mr. scalise of louisiana, for one and a half minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one and a half minutes. mr. scalise: i thank the gentlelady for yielding. we have a flood insurance program that's broken. 18 different times in the last five year the national flood insurance program has either expired or nearly expired because of all of the flaws and disagreements within congress. yet the result of that was the biggert-waters law of 2012 that is now being implemented in a way that's unworkable for the nation.

mr. speaker, i think if you look at what american sfam -- families expect they expect a flood insurance program that's sustainable and affordable. these two are not mutually exclusive and in fact what we're acheing with this bill that's on the floor today will accomplish both. it will make the program sustainable for the future with real reforms, reforms that can actually be implemented in a way that will allow the program to move forward and pay for itself. in fact this bill is fully paid for. it also allows it to be done in a way that families can afford to pay the flood insurance premiums because sending somebody a $10,000 or $20,000 a year bill on a $200,000 house that never flooded is not an actuaryly sound rate, it's a death sentence. federal law shouldn't be done in such a way to force people out of their homes who played by the rules. this is a solution to the problem. this is not a delay. it's a solution that pays for itself within the program, with

real reform that allows people to move forward with a program a flood insurance program, that will be sustainable and ultimately lead to a private market where you don't just have fema to go do -- go to, you can have private options for families. i urge passage and yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from california is recognized. ms. waters: i yield to the gentlelady from new york, ms. velazquez for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized for one minute. ms. velazquez: thank you, mr. speaker. i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks. i rise in strong support of this bipartisan legislation. 16 months ago, hurricane sandy battered new york city. even today, efforts to rebuild continue. however, because of unforeseen consequences in previous flood insurance laws, many of the businesses, families, and homeowners affected by this storm may be here again.

-- hay be hit again this time be a flood of rising snurn premiums. because of how the law is structured over 26,000 new york city homeowners and businesses will see their annual flood insurance premiums increase at least 25%. in some cases, people who previously paid $430 annually could see their rates rise to $5,000 or even $10,000, an unsustainable amount. today's bill will address this unintended -- these unintended consequences of last year's reform by eliminating the property transfer trigger, buyers and sellers will now have peace of mind. mr. speaker, we all want to ensure the national flood insurance program is solvent but we must do it in a way that does not harm those who have already suffered enough. thank you and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from west virginia is recognized.

mrs. capito: can you tell me how much time is remaining on both sides. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from west virginia has two and a half minute the gentlelady from california has four and a half minutes. mrs. capito: i'm prefire department close, but i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from california is recognized. ms. waters: mr. speaker and members, i am proud and pleased about this bipartisan effort to fix a serious problem in this country. as a matter of fact, we should all be pleased because it is said by the media and others that we cannot work together. this is a time when we can demonstrate that we really do care about the citizens of this country and we recognize the problems that were created by the biggert-waters billion. i said earlier that my name was on this that biggert-waters legislation and i certainly worked in a bipartisan effort to try and do the right thing and of course someday we would like to move all these subsidies to

actuarial rates. we have unintended consequences in biggert-waters and we have set out to fix them. and so i want you to know that mr. grimm, mr. richmond, mr. cassidy, mrs. capito, all have worked very hard to make sure that we address the concerns of our constituents. let me tell you, with this bill, we're removing certain rate increase triggers, reinstating of grandfathering, lower rate increases, refund of excess premium charges to homeowners, affordability study and frameworks. adding to that, working with the bill the republicans brought to the floor, democrats added to it, individual property rates increase caps. affordability goals. rate increase protection for newly mapped properties. consumer protection. protection of small businesses, nonprofits, house of worship and

residences. mr. speaker and members, again, this is a bill that will address the concerns and the outcry by our constituents, some of whom were experiencing 500% and 600% rate increases. i tried to work with the chearm and was disappointed that mr. hensarling saw differently. he does not support this bill and he said so. mr. neugebauer and mr. hensarling said they had come up with other ways to deal with it. i never saw any of that. nobody ever tried to relate to the fact that i was outreaching to try and get mr. hensarling, mr. neugebauer and others who have a different opinion to come and work this out and do what we could for our constituents. and so i'm very pleased that we had members on the opposite side of the aisle who encysted that their constituents deserve protection, that they deserve support. working with their leadership and mr. cantor, working with our leadership, with the democrats

on this side of the aisle, we've come up with something that is extremely important and effective. now, i must say to both sides of the aisle, we have continuing work to do. this is not a permanent fix on this. what i discovered was, none of us know enough about fema. we have been crying for years about remapping. we don't really know how it works. we don't know the discretion that they have in making some of these decisions. we have got to spend the next few years really learning fema. how it works. how it makes decisions. we should never get into this kind of a situation again because we simpley have allowed them to do what they do without us being involved. they don't report to us on a yearly basis as i would like to have them do. so this is an opportunity for us not only to fix this problem at this time but to focus on the fact that we've got oversight

responsibilities that we've got to carry out to make sure that we are dealing with these issues in a way that makes good sense. so again, i'm very proud and i'm very pleased of this bipartisan effort and i welcome the opportunity to have been able to work with some members from the on site side -- opposite side of the aisle i had not worked with before. i think i learned a lot about them, and they learned a lot about me. i'm so thankful that our ledership gave me the latitude to sago and do everything possible, working with the opposite side of the aisle, to get this problem fixed. and, they have not only supported me, but they've supported all of the members on our side of the aisle who have said to them, this may be one of the most important fixes that we will do this year. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. the gentlelady from west virginia is recognized for two and a half minutes.

mrs. capito: thank you, mr. speaker, and i thank ms. waters for her hard work on this and members on both sides. we can work together to fix a problem and we need to reflect back on how did we get this problem? we were trying to fix a bigger problem, the $24 million hole that the flood insurance program has created because of mismanagement, not looking at it correctly. over 400 of us voted for that bill. we did not realize at the time, the data we were given by fema gave us a certain feeling that certain folks' premiums could rise and as we heard today from everybody, republicans, democrats, no matter where you hi in the country, some of the premium escalation has been incredible system of i am proud we're working together. i mentioned west virginia, we flood a lot in west virginia. we got a lot of hills and hlhl -- and hollows and witchard in st. albans came to me in october of last year, he had just bought a home before they put the new fema rate into effect.

he thought he'd be paying a little over $1,000 in the flood insurance on a $150,000 house. guess what? $14,000 was the rate he would have to pay he said i'm going to walk away, i'll get foreclosed on, this is my dream home. for richard, that's why all of this is important today, for all the richards out there across the country who have had sticker shock, who haven't been able to cope, who have been upset about this and wondering, is anybody going to help me here? so what i think we've learned today is whatever the scenario, whether you're in a mountain or -- in a mountain situation by a river or if you're in an urban area in new york or in florida, these problems were deep, expensive, discouraging and unable for people to understand a way out. and i think that's what we're giving them today. we're still -- the reforms that were built into the first biggert-waters bill, many of those remain. we're refining those to make

sure they make common sense. we're making sure that folks around the country can afford the homes that they've bought with the flood insurance and then get them on a glide path toward the sustainability of not just their home but also the program in general. so i'm proud of the efforts that we have had here today, i would like to say that all of us working together, i would like to encourage the other body to pass this, it's not going to work unless we get the presidential signature that we need to make sure we get the real relief that people need and deserve. so with that, i yield back the balance of my time the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 33 0 as amended? those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed. the gentleman from texas. mr. hensarling: i ask for the yeas and nays.

-- mr. neugebauer: i request the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. those in favor of taking this vote by the yeas and nays will rise and remain standing until counted. a sufficient number having risen, a recorded vote is ordered. pursuant to clause of rule 20, further proceedings on this otion will be postponed. for what purpose does the gentleman from washington seek recognition? mr. hastings: i move to suspend the rules and pass h.r. 2197. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: union calendar number 163, h.r. 2197, a bill to amend the wild and scenic rivers act

to designate segments of the york river and tributaries for inclusion in the national wild and scenic rivers system. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from washington, mr. hastings, and the gentlewoman from maine, ms. pingree, each will control 20 minutes. mr. hastings: i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the legislation under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. hastings: i yield myself uch time as i may consume. this bill authorizes the national parks for possible inclusion into the wild and scenic rivers program. the act of 1968 was intended to put a development freeze on rivers to preserve their, quote, free flowing unquote

characteristics. even though no risk has been identified, proponents of the study explain they would benefit from the expertise of the national park service and interaction with the surrounding community. due to a number of real -- very real concerns that have risen through prior designation, this bill has several commonsense provisions aimed at informing property owners and communities about the full impact of a wild and scenic designation. the national park service will be required to consider the effect of designation on commercial and recreational uses, such as hunting and fishing and bothing. the study -- boating. the study must look at energy production and transmission. it requires the federal government to identify all existing authorities that could be utilized to condemn private

property. we want property owners to know how much power the government will be given so they can form an educated opinion whether they should participate in or support a wild and scenic river designation. and mr. speaker, the bill would require the federal government to identify those authorities that compel it to become involved in real local zoning. while federal designation of the york river clearly has an appeal to the local advocates, supporting this legislation, it's important for the community to be aware that it requires local zoning to conform to the dictates of the federal act. and lastly, mr. speaker, i would note, that this exact legislation passed the house last congress, but because the senate failed to act on it, it is being considered once again in this congress. and with that, mr. speaker, i reserve the balance of my time.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentlelady from maine is recognized. ms. pingree: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized. ms. pingree: i'm happy to stand in support of my bill the york river wild and scenic study act and i thank mr. defazio, mr. gridge and mr. hastings in supporting this bill out of the committee in september. i want to thank them and now former congressperson, senator markey's help, in passing this bill last congress. i very much appreciate their persistence and their help to get this bill passed and into law. i know the people of maine will appreciate their commitment, too. this bill was proposed by the folks back home, the same people who live and work around the york river and who care deeply about it. this bill would allow organizations working around the

york river to partner with the national park service to conduct a study that would provide the information that is vital to making smart decisions about the future of the york river and its communingts. i have heard from small business owners, community groups, state and local governments, state and local land trusts, fishermen, hunters, school representatives and historical and environmental conservationists, all agree that recognizing and protecting the river's important and unique qualities. there are many unique features of the york river. and i'll talk about those in a minute but i want to start with a little history. the first english settlers came to the york river nearly 400 years ago, but there is ecological evidence along the shores of european settlers who were here even earlier and before anyone came from europe,

, indians named the river which means little cove beyond the hills. when i first visited, i spoke with members of the local community of the importance of the river to the people today, to the economy and wildlife of york river watershed. the river is home to important and rare species and the box turtle and the duck. the salt marshes serve as a nursery ground for nearly 30 species of fish that are vital to maine and the watershed is important where children are learning. students from nearby school districts gather data and inform community decisions about the environment and the economy. but maybe the most important factor is many of the hard-working people in this particular part of the state depend on the york river to support their jobs.

the york river is a place where people go to work. ommercial and

we see this especially in the western part of the united states that when he's areas are designated either wild and scenic or wilderness, what happens is areas around that become de facto wilderness or de facto wild and scenic which many, many times imposes on private property rights. now we've experienced that more in the west than what my colleagues have in the east and my colleague from maine expressed rightly so this has very, very broad support. i'm sure it does. they work very hard on that but the danger in the future is, if taken to the extreme, you could have, unless we had within the study, you could have some pressures on private property rights. we think that is sufficiently important to put that in the studies so that those that will be affected know about it.

i hope the outcome is such that everybody believes that we can work with whatever restrictions come up but that's the precise reason, mr. speaker, why, when we look, and i say we, as a member from the western part of the united states, when we look at these degree igs -- signations it becomes pretty darn rigid even when you have acts of natural disaster. let me tell you about something that happened in my old district, prior to redistricting. in the a wilderness area north cascades, it's a wonderful area. to access it from the eastern part of the united states, you have to go up a lake, and then you have to traverse some 10 or 20 miles to the wilderness area and the only way to get there is through a road. and so the nature washed community up there has been trying to rebuild that road.

what does this have to do with wilderness. ic and sometimes these things become so rigid you can't affect something that needs to be done. unfortunately, the road was on the border of a wilderness area. no. no, say all the national groups. not the local groups. not the people that are affected but all the national groups, no, you can't build this road. we are in the third congress, last two congresses we passed bill to address this issue but we haven't been able to succeed because we have to go through the senate. national groups with a wilderness designation and it has happened with wild and seenic designations have unintended consequences on the community. this legislation has, has within, within that study, we need to find out what these

potential impacts can be. that's why we put it in this legislation. with that, i reserve my time. the speaker pro tempore: reserves. the gentlelady from maine is recognized. ms. pingree: i wanted to take a moment to say to mr. hastings, i appreciate the work you have done in your committee, the amount of bipartisan support in your committee and your assistance in bringing this bill to the floor. i know you are preparing to retire and i wanted to wish you the best on whatever journey happens next and thank you for your long service to your state and the rest of us in congress. you have been a wonderful colleague to work with. and representing washington state, while we are at opposite ends of the country, many of the concerns that you have raised and constituents have raised, given you have a tremendous amount of open land and coastal shore land, you deal with some of the same issues that we do in

maine and i appreciate you bring that perspective to this bill and the many other bills that you have worked on. i would add in speaking about this particular program, it was a wonderful experience for me when many residents of this community as i mentioned earlier from all diverse walks of life, some of them were fishermen, farmers, some who care deeply about the history, many of them came together, people who didn't have the opportunity to work before but realized this was a very important concern, that this particular river has enormous impacts and because this river is in the southern part of my district which means it is close to the southern border of maine, it is surrounded by a developed part of our state. we are one of the most rural states in the country with 1.3 million people. this is part of the southern part of the state where there is

a lot of activity going on and people were concerned even more so because they wanted to make sure that when visitors come to our state and residents decide to make it their home, we will continue on the fact that this will be the part of the river and around it that we will be looking at at it to make sure it is always there for the jobs and fishing industry, for the communities that care deeply about its history and the activities that go on there. so that is part of what has made this bill so particularly important to our state. and i'm extremely grateful on the committee who did their work and with that, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from maine yields back. mr. hastings: i thank the gentlelady for her kind words and i support this legislation. the speaker pro tempore: the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass h.r.

2997, those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed and without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid n the table. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, proceedings will resume on motions to suspend the rules previously postponed. votes will be taken in the following order. h.r. 3370 by the yeas and nays. house resolution 488 by the yeas and nays. the first electronic vote will be conducted as a 15-minute vote. the remaining electronic vote will be conducted as a five-minute vote. the unfinished business is the vote on the motion of the gentlewoman from west virginia, mrs. capito, to suspend the rules and pass h.r. 3370 as amended, on which the yeas and nays are ordered. the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 3370, a bill to

delay the implementations of certain provisions of the biggert-waters flood insurance reform act of 2012 and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill as amended? members will record their votes by electronic device. this is a 15-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]

the speaker pro tempore: on this vote, the yeas are 306, the nays are 91, 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended and bill is passed and the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. the unfinished business is vote on the motion of the the gentlewoman from florida, ms. ros-lehtinen, to suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 488 as amended, on which yeas and nays are ordered. the clerk will report the title. the clerk: house resolution 488, resolution supporting the people of venezuela as they protest for democratic change and calling to end the violence.

the speaker pro tempore: the question is will the house suspend the rules and agree to the resolution as amended. members will record their votes by electronic device. this is a five-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]