politics, even during theout a rescue plao deploy assets to benghazi to get people out. the added them that was not part of the report and i'm sure the democrats would respond thatlinton would respond she has a lot of issues to deal with, all these different countries and political matters and that she cannot be in the weeds on everything. host: if you want to follow rachel bates, you can go to politico.com. that does it today's washington journal. you over to the senate small business and entrepreneurial committee for a hearing on flood insurance rates in this country.

>> good morning and welcome, thank you for joining us on our senate committee on small business and enter partnership meeting -- and entrepreneurship insurance --scuss what insurance rates on small businesses. i want to begin by offering my condolences to the people of west virginia who are dealing with devastating floods which reports indicated left thousands homeless and took at least two dozen lives. i offer my thoughts, prayers and support to the citizens who are burdened with this disaster and encourage the federal agencies involved to continue their hard work to get these people the resources and assistance they desperately need. this hearing is an important step to begin a conversation in the senate about the national

flood insurance program in advance of the september 30 2017 deadline for reauthorization. we will hear from two panels of experts and stakeholders to examine details of an fip -- of nfip. my role as chairman of the senate committee on small business and entrepreneurship, i am making every effort to help small businesses. -- businesses can operate with long-term certainty they need to make strategic decisions. in this spirit, it is important that congress work to avoid passing acoverage, by long-term reauthorization of national what insurance programs well before next year's deadline.

as many of us remember, the lapses in coverage in 2010 had major negative effects on the economy. it is important for congress to examine the program and consider all potential legislative changes, with plenty of time for this body to take action, and prevent any unintended consequences like huge rate increases. to understand the issues that the nfip has historically created for homeowners and small businesses in the marketplace, it is important to understand the basic changes in the flood policy. 5.1 millionarly policyholders across the nation, which represents a decrease over the last several years. what the big waters insurance reform act was signed to make the program solvent after hurricane sandy, many of these people, my constituents in

louisiana, were outraged at unaffordable increases in their premiums, or the threat of that in the near future. rates were so dramatic in some cases that some folks race 10 times the price of their previous premium or even higher. it is not uncommon to hear horror stories of families paying $30,000 for a policy that had previously been $2000 or less, all on a modest middle-class home. i met with many louisiana hands -- louisianaand's nians who could not afford their mortgages. fema's mishandling in some cases of the bigger waters act implementation resulted in inaccurate rate hikes that placed the viability of the

entire nfip at risk and caused real turmoil in many real estate markets. in some cases did fema published inaccurate flood maps that could have permanently dw the housing market, but these inaccurate maps could have wiped out the life savings of many homeowners and small business owners. as i mentioned, our committee fields meetings in louisiana last may, a man whose home was constructed at or above the nfip required elevation at the time of construction. resident wrote me that his flood insurance annual $633um was increasing from to $28,544 for insurance policy worth $250,000. this is one of the many scenarios we heard about on a regular basis.

that was fueled largely by information from fema going directly to policyholders. because of stories like these, it was clear that the nfip needed an urgent fix to prevent homeowners and small businesses from truly unaffordable rate increases. times0, nfip expire four for a total of 53 days, adding uncertainty to an already fragile housing market, and delaying or canceling more than 1400 home closings every day of that expiration. one of the reasons for passing bigger waters in the first place was to ensure no lapses in coverage. implementation actually price policyholders with excessively high rate increases that would have created lapses in coverage for other reasons. congress acted in a bipartisan

fashion to pass a permanent legislative x that provided relief to homeowners. asortunately, fema was not rick to implement these reforms, but under congressional oversight, devised a plan to refund excessive overpayments to many of the policyholders as mandated by the new law. going forward, we need to find a way to deal with the solvency of the nfip in a responsible way. not place thise, burden on the backs of policyholders. it is important that we understand and examine how fema spends every dollar paid into the system. i hope our conversation today will highlight the need for a long-term solution that prevents coverage lapses and provides stability for small businesses who are trying their best to operate amidst rate increases

and a track record of policy changes and executive orders. let's get to today's conversation. i want to thank everyone for being here and participating. as always, we will invite any other members to submit opening statements that will be made a full part of the record, but we want to get to our witnesses and hear from them and have plenty of time for questions and discussion. our first panel is one witness, one right, the deputy associate -- capacity, mr. wright is responsible for fema's risk management, mitigation and insurance programs, which includes -- welcome mr. wright's, good to work with you.

we will do questions and discussion following your testimony. >> thank you chairman and members of the committee. it is good to be with you. thank you for the opportunity to testify about fema's efforts to strengthen the nfip and reduce the financial loss from damaged property caused by floods. after a disaster, it is crucial for a community's recovery to get local businesses back up and running. these businesses are at the heart of the community, often where residents work and get their resources. following a flooding disaster, having adequate insurance is a key part of a business's recovery. and oftenwerful tool the only tool available to home and small business owners. some reports suggest that nearly 40% of small businesses do not reopen after a flood, because they do not have the capital to rebuild, restock or survive

sustained disruption. thenfip serves as foundation for national efforts to reduce the loss of property from flood, which of the most costly and frequent disasters. as you know, flood insurance is a lightning rod. it is imperative to so many citizens, and the cost of insurance premiums get the wallets of homeowners and small business owners directly. the attention from congress what about the passage of the bigger waters reform act and the affordability act of 2014. these acts direct fema to make changes to look -- major --ponents to the nfip grandfathered and subsidized premium rates. while each approach the subject in different ways, they both laid out congressionally mandated reforms, including

reducing subsidies for existing policy, for both residential and nonresidential -- until they reflect the true risk rate. 6.8% of current policyholders on nonresidential, which includes businesses, nonprofits and houses of worship. nonresidential policies provided to 1 -- $500,000 for building property, and $500,000 for business-related content. the nfip policy allows a property owner to transfer their financial risk so that they can enhe recovery. before you can transfer the risk, you need to know you have a risk and the greatest single risk is inrm on some a pricing signal. all that said, there has been a stickiness to the -- assuming the overall leadership for insurance and mitigation

program last summer, we laid out real parties to change that -- late out priorities to change that in terms of the product that we offer, improving how we understand the risk, reducing the risk, engaging private insurers and continuing to implement the legislative reforms. the attention to rates and our financial footing, let me highlight one of those. nfip's current $23 billion out sunning light -- outstanding liability has resulted from premium subsidies colliding with catastrophic events. to better burden our financial risk in the future, we are looking at insurance as a way to improve the financial stability of the financial -- of the flood insurance program. we are working with the insurance industry, and exploring how to build the cost of reinsurance in the program. we are also re-engaging time

insurers on the primary market as we move forward. flooding disaster survivors can recover more quickly and fully they are insured against those losses. that floody purchase insurance through the program or through private insurers. our goal is to make sure as many citizens as possible are covered for flood damage. to that end, the coverage on the private market must be comparable to what we offer through national flood, and we have to be mine turning the f -- nfip into the insurer of last resort, without the resources needed to map the risk of the nation, support proper land-use and have sufficient revenue to pay claims. directed by recent legislation, we are collecting data to begin assessment of nfip , and their impact on policyholders, including small businesses.

we continue to work with congress to implement a program that meets the needs of individuals to protect themselves and their property from the most common and costly disaster in the united states, while being transparent about their true risk. i thank you for the opportunity to testify. >> thank you. i will get started with discussion and questions. as you know, a perennial issue and problem in the program is the fact that historically, something like only 60% of folks required to have flood insurance have what insurance -- flood insurance. that makes a huge difference in terms of financial soundness of the program. we have been talking about this

for several years with other members. i have been asking what are we going to do differently to get that well above 90%. in general, the answer i have heard is we are increasing the penalties for noncompliance. that always struck me as inadequate, just to increase penalties on a piece of paper, most people will not even hear about that. what else has been going on, and what is the actual record over the last two years of the percentage owned properties that have to be insured actually under law being insured? >> what is important about this kind of penetration rate is the higher that rate goes, the more people covered will actually help bring prices down. we look at who is mandated under the law.

it is those who have a federally backed mortgage. just the residential portion who have the federally backed mortgage, and we look at the studies, number of fema does not have a number of structures that we can count this against. go from the 40's to the 70% kind of penetration rate, as we start asking questions, like who is not covered. many businesses who outright own their properties are not required, as well as folks who have their mortgage not federally backed. under the flood insurance act, the responsibility for that enforcement explicitly does not reside with the federal emergency management agency. it belongs with the lending regulators and we have provided data to them, we have collaborated with them. they said this is a standard part of the audits.

i have spoken to bankers and lenders who tell me this is part of what goes on. i look at penetration rates and they are insufficient. you speak about penalties that are in limited by the regulators instead of by fema. ,o the degree i have seen surges in people's insurance purchasing is a point by which risks are understood, local government officials particularly help us advance this, and we see the synergy with the private sector. just last year, some of it was tied to the piece is related to the potential for el niño flooding. we saw an increase in policyholders of more than 30%. because we lined those three pieces together. we have to make sure the product tothere to buy and make sure work with regulators. is a you suggested, this big deal in terms of insolvency

of the program -- in terms of the solvency of the program. as fema figured out a way to track whether there has been an increase over the last three years?five what is the record over the last several years? is there substantial improvement or not, in terms of those properties that have to be covered under law being covered? >> we have anecdotal evidence -- >> let me stop you here. , why a such a big deal we merely talking about anecdotal evidence -- are we merely talking about anecdotal evidence? this is a huge factor in terms of the solvency of the program. why don't we have a meaningful way to track this, to see if we are getting better or not, and if we are not, which i'm certain is the answer, why don't we do

something about it? year, we have seen some growth in the mandatory purchase areas. you spoke about the decrease in policies, much of that happened in the areas that were the mandate was not in effect, and some of that is tied to the $200 surcharge. -- $250 surcharge. >> what is the percentage within mandatory of compliance? when we went to the national academy of science and asked them to look this question, they came back and showed us a range. i am committed to see the numbers go up and the actions we can take and we will continue to redouble our efforts to give you better numbers. >> you mentioned that you are not in charge of compliance. in this reauthorization, do you want power to make that happen, because it sure affects things you have to deal with like solvency of the program.

needs to have a role to play in this space. it comes from a pure enforcement perspective, i do not have a team of auditors who grow up -- go across the country and look at the lending books, where is the regulators already do. that is why it has already been assigned to them, but it is not producing enough of the outcome, so some adjustments need to -- need to be made and we are willing to collaborate. think about specific suggestions that we can potentially put into a reauthorization to get this above 90%? i do not know exactly what those involvey may regulators, fema, that this is a huge problem. >> i will take this back as something we need to deliver. >> thank you. >> thank you for being here with us. had a thousand

year flood back in october and we certainly appreciated the response from fema. that weresome areas not traditionally hit by floods and saw the devastation and we appreciated having a failsafe position by the government to help out when necessary. it does highlight the chairman's concern about the fact that we assistants --ous a disaster assistance program that is not compel people to participate in some premium or offset of what they anticipate as the federal government's response. very problematic, so we would love to hear what you think would be positive or constructive ways to incentivize folks to do something that they had -- have no incentive to do. i spent about 25 years in the

insurance business, about 25 years selling flood insurance. when you talk about a premium going from $600 to $23,000, there is probably an issue of the original premium, and without any question, a bigger $23,000.the premium of the process of re-rating communities is a important consideration, but maybe it was improperly rating -- improperly rated, consider -- improperly rated, originally. a community during the 1000 year flood, there were thousands of homes that were not impacted by a thousand year flood that according to the new math that is coming out, there will be 35,000 homeowners that we required to buy flood insurance in areas where there is not ever been a flood to include the

latest thousand year flood, so it brings into question, how we are mapping, and where are we mapping and is it actually accurate? to respond toriod a petition that provides -- that says it is not working here, is a fairly short amount of time. i know it is codified, but it seems to be a longer -- it seems to me a longer period to dispute the nfip would be helpful. >> let me start with south carolina. i spent a lot of time with your insurance, and i think there is some interesting corollaries we learned south carolina. 100,000 households registered for individual assistance under the stafford act programs. 32,000 of them qualified. we paid flood insurance claims

on 5000 200 households -- 5200 households. there was a big gap there and it was not because the maps did not show the areas at risk. i spent some time in the communities and homes, and many of the neighborhoods in that area in and around columbia were rental properties. there was no mortgage. the landlord did not have flood insurance, and the renter did not buy contents insurance. the average payment on individual assistance in south carolina was $4500. while that gives a hand, it does not put anyone back. the average on the flood insurance claim was $25,000. things, you can put them back, so we get in this kind of space and we are working farmer inssioner terms of ways to see the

insurance move. i became interested in those renters who did not have coverage in this instance. you talk about the reading element and the two extremes related to those prices. the original rate would have been one of those subsidized for grandfathered rates. we can debate the 23,000, but one of the provisions in bigger waters actually legislated and actuarial practice, which is something that i think we need to be very leery of doing. it required us to concentrate to risk as opposed neutralizing it, which is the way to insurance normally works. we solve those extreme rates begin to play out. let's talk about the maps. as i sat with some of the scientists.

we applied that normally do what columbia experienced. i do not know if myrtle beach experience that level because myrtle beach would hit much more of a coastal event. maps insult to align a are done by the state of south carolina -- maps in south carolina are done by the state of south carolina. the have to meet our engineering standards, that those dollars were put in the state to do the work. to make sure we had the best and, drive towards accuracy throughout the process, you highlight the last 90 days which is codified. the mapping process with the communities lasted more than four years with a series of public meetings. i do not know that we always get the right people in those meetings, and we are working to make sure that across the board,

not only local electives, but business leaders in the community engaging with us. if there are better answers, i want to know about them. the maps are done anyway so that we know it is incredible when it is done. >> thank you. on the point of reinsurance, you are now in the process of engaging hopefully successfully, finding some reinsurance to me seems to be a no-brainer, a necessity that could have been, should have been considered. that weittle surprised have not had that process, previously. >> i cannot speak to why my predecessors did not pursue reinsurance. the i can tell you is, in homeowners flood bill, we were clearly directed to get to this,

which we did. i am spending a lot of time with the reinsurance community. i can never afford reinsurance to the lowest level of what i may experience. >> no insurance company ever does. exactly, but i look at these pieces of if i have my premiums on hand, about $3.5 billion a year worth of premiums brought in. i have a reserve fund that is now in place by the end of this to $2nd should be close billion and then put a reinsurance layer on top of that. it would be inappropriate for me to influence the markets on the front side, but you can imagine the layer of $7 billion. place, i wouldn not have borrowed money after sandy. i would have had the layers in place, and there is clearly

dollars available in the reinsurance markets. there is an eagerness coming to this place, there are a series of legal procedures i have to walk through. said, it is my aim to be able to have reinsurance placed and secured in calendar year 2016. >> the taxpayers would benefit tremendously from that notion, given the true cost savings and the number of catastrophic occurrences around the nation and the definition of a flood zone being so expensive. i want to make sure -- i have to build that into the price, so that we can afford that reinsurance. >> that is a conversation we should have until late in the future.

the priceence between of something and the cost of something can be drastically different. as i'm sure you are aware, florida is no stranger to floods. at last count, nearly 40% of the national blood insurance policies come from florida. people in florida pay four times more into the program that they receive in claim payments. businesses,merous and look governments expressing concern over not knowing how fema determines actuarial premium rates. fema's plans for updating disclosure and transparency on how it determines -- determination basis for risk premium rates? today,s true that florida has not received payouts at the level they have paid into premiums.

that was also true for new york and new jersey prior to 2012. a large event, and you know this, hurricane david hit the if dave hadea -- hit the template -- tampa bay area, they would be well-paid -- in -- a interest in how we are setting our rates and some are asking me to history and of my what i have had to do is work under the privacy act. i cannot handle of that data over. i have sat with a number of the folks from florida, and have begun to lay out a path, given this insurance piece by how can i go into the model for reinsurance by which i can provide the data they want to see? actuarialleased our practices guide, but folks want to see more inside that only

policy by policy basis, and we are working in tandem with this reinsurance effort to provide more data about the policies, the payouts and the pricing. >> you remarked in a letter that fema is constantly reviewing and refining its ratesetting methodology. to refinecontinue this methodology, how are we going to guarantee people in florida who bear the brunt of these rate increases that the rates are not excessive, not inadequate or fairly discriminatory -- or unfairly discriminatory? what is fema going to do to guarantee its promise -- its guarantee of fair and equitable rates for the state of florida\/ -- congressionally mandated subsidies and discounts i put in place. a look at the actuarial part of the book, we look at an entire

class and we do need -- meet the standards and we have been audited and reviewed. what i have taken on just this spring is an effort to take some pieces that the national academy of sciences gave me, last year, and look at the risk rating methodology, which i believe is and says weuated have to advance down this past -- down this path. i believe you will see elements of transparency as part of that. >> the dallas county in the tampa bay region has more nfip policyholders than 43 states. it recently received an award for an initiative that uses open in order to save property owners potentially millions of dollars on premiums. that is an example of the kind

of innovative solution that localities have the ability to create. how does fema plan to empower these local initiatives? dataat is based on some that we put forward. we are doing this in two ways. we are moving the technology side at the national level, and we are also ensuring that our data is open sourced. you are talking about the flood risk data. at a local level, they can use it and push it in a way, forward. efforts,ur mapping congress has restored us back to the higher levels of funding that we had not had in the preceding five years. we are making more investments in technology and data. im interested in the way i can take that data and set them up so that after the lepers can take them and moved them in a way that best meets the needs of locals. >> thank you.

i want to have plenty of time for a second panel, what i want to highlight three areas for the record and you can submit responses. one is the north carolina program of putting the state in charge of mapping, among other technology and according to the national academy, that has produced more accurate maps at lower cost. think to ask you what you that says about what fema should be doing more broadly with andrd to empowering states andg states and or locals new technology and where fema will -- where fema will be moving with that. in 2004, congress passed legislation to make icc grants available before a flood, where

there is an offer of pre-flood mitigation. understand, that is not being implemented, now. the question is why not and when is that going to be properly implemented? about --our insurance assurance about giving proper credit to all flood control features in an area, which did not happen in the recent past, certainly in louisiana. actualassuring that all features on the ground, whether it addresses 100 year risk or lower is given proper credit in mapping? >> we will make sure we get back to you on the record for all three of those points. >> now, i invite our second panel of stakeholders to the witness table and as they come up and get settled, i will be

introducing them. -- he sells -- held numerous roles within the tampa and florida homebuilders association, including serving as president of the tampa bay builders association in 2011. -- serves as the chair of the association of state floodplain managers. with theeen involved floodplain program since 2002, as an area hydrologist in the twin cities area. mr. david mckee's broker and owner of a real estate company in baton rouge, louisiana.

he has been a licensed realtor since thinking 82, working in the baton rouge markets. thetionally, he served as president of the louisiana association of realtors and is currently the vice chair of the national association of realtors insurance committee. randy morale -- serves as the 2016 second vice chairman for the national association of home builders in new orleans. hasounded it in 1985 and built more than 1000 custom homes in the greater new orleans area. he has more than 30 years experience in the residential construction industry. welcome to all of you and thanks for your participation. each of you will have five minutes to testify before us, and any additional comments, written material, will be made part of the record.

with that, we will start with mr. robles. members of the committee, thank you for the opportunity to testify. i am a builder from the tampa bay florida market. i am here to discuss how drastic rate increases in flood insurance have affected the housing affordability and my company's ability to meet the housing needs of my community. i will address the flood maps, most of which are small businesses, in 2012, the passage of the bigger waters brought on dramatic rate increases that have negatively impacted home sales. homeowners were stuck paying for policies they cannot afford. homeowners and builders saw the unintended consequences of the legislation, specifically on the grandfathered properties. these rate increases took place

the housing market was still in recession. florida was one of the hardest hit. housing prices in florida fell 44%, far outpacing the national decline. today's housing prices remain 22% below normal. any negative change to the market, such as flood insurance rate increases have long-term unintended consequences for florida's economy. as a small-business owner with at least a quarter of a customer base is active or retired military, i have constantly reminded for the need to keep housing prices affordable. $1000 increase in the home pricing, leads to a pricing out er $8,000 per household. congress have passed -- and fixed many problems in 2012, reaffirming grandfathered property premiums. fema is required to refund

homeowners whose rates have already increased. fema is required to notify the community affected and their congressional delegation before updating the new mapping models, and they are required to reimburse policyholders or communities for successful challenges. although problems have arisen, i would like to discuss some of the problems that builders and small business owners face when dealing with what insurance rate maps and their impact on affordability. in florida, there are special hazard. it is difficult to avoid building in these floodplains. you can take months and cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to change the flood maps or elevated property. inaccurate maps are extremely problematic for builders. one of my builder colleagues owned a plot of land for years, only to realize the land had been incorrectly mapped into a floodplain. this builder had an in-house engineer. the funds to pay for the survey

and a staff that could work with fema. small business owners, particularly those trying to start, do not have staff and funds at their disposal to go through a complex application process. there have been cases of fema failing to factor in proper plot control -- proper flood control structures were none exist. homeowners are being incorrectly mapped into floodplains and forced to purchase unneeded flood insurance. it typically takes years for these mistakes to be fixed, often requiring a costly program -- costly process for both builder and homeowner. states with colder climates and shorter construction seasons experience devastating cost and delays, waiting for fema to approve the request. i would like to thank the chairman and the committee for the opportunity to testify. the increasing cost of front --

flood rates and the inaccuracy and mapping has long-term problematic effects and we need to ensure that the next and a five p we authorization is done thoughtfully to prevent the affordability concerns that we have seen. >> thank you. now we will turn to mr. house. -- miss strauss. >> good morning, i am glad to be here. first, we must understand that the national flood insurance program is far more than insurance -- then a insurance program. it includes flood risk mapping, and a mitigation component to help reduce damage to older, at risk buildings. this is a multifaceted, multiple objective program, a four-legged stool. these four components of the nfip work together to reduce future flood damage and associated costs for businesses

and landowners. the adoption of floodplain management standards and more than 22000 and a fight -- nfip dissipating communities results in $1.7 billion in flood losses avoided. the mitigation programs within the nfip increase cost compliance and medicaid -- flood mitigation assistance have mitigated on average, 1850 buildings annually between 2010 and 2014. the nfip program will need to be reauthorized in 2017. we support the current shift to actuarial insurance rates to one big program and give -- and promote mitigation, but flood insurance affordability was largely ignored in a previous two reform bills and must be addressed now.

there are numerous innovative ideas to address flood insurance portability, and we will need to bring all of the tools, including those from outside to bear on this issue. affordability subsidies should support mitigation, rather than subsidize insurance premiums only. if written testimony details fpm's other policies for real authorization. legislation to further promote the growth of a private market for flood insurance is making its way through congress. asf em promotes private sector investment and writing what insurance and recognizes the valuable contributions the private sector brings to the table. the changes congress made in 2012 to promote private flood insurance markets is working, and we are seeing an emerging vigorous private market that is interested and able to write primary or first dollar flood policies. we have concerns with the proposed -- promote -- concerns

with the proposed private insurance bill, the two main issues are the lack of a fee equivalent to the nfip federal policy fee on private policies. this fee pays for flood mapping and floodplain management elements of the nfip. elements that the private sector also depends on. the lack of a provision to ensure that private policies for mandatory purchase would only be sold in nfip participating through disease -- participating communities. em is opposed to schemes that relegate the nfip to a residual market or a market of last resort. nation's most frequent and costly natural disasters. the recovery from major flood disaster often takes years and affects homeowners, businesses, schools and others, impacting

local economies and social resilience. need immediates access to funds for repairs and replacement of inventory and equipment, as well as mitigation of future disaster losses. analysts report that of small businesses affected by floods, they cannot reopen within a reopen.0% will never as flood losses increase, the nation will continue to need a robust, strong nfip to comprehensively reduce flood risk. >> thank you very much. we will turn to mr. mckee. >> thank you. thank you for the opportunity to be here. i am the managing broker and owner of coldwell banker one in baton rouge. i am here are present the views of 1.1 million members of the national association of realtors.

as vice chair of nar's insurance company and a small business owner, i bring a unique perspective on the need for flood insurance. realtors appreciate your continued leadership on flood insurance, and especially your hard work, last congress. you are one of the original team of senators and house members that drafted the homeowner for insurance affordability act. i am pleased to report it has succeeded in reining in the most inaccurate rates -- rate increases across the country. while the act result of the most immediate and pressing issues, a few remain that we would like to bring to your attention. clarifiesability act that small business rates will increase no more than $.25 a year, even if property sale. ambiguity in some

the bigger waters law provided clarity that fema did not. since then, nfip rates have been gradually increasing. however, the market has calmed and real estate transactions are moving. the law did not eliminate the threat of $30,000 flood insurance. under the affordable act, rates keep escalating, 25% year on to property owners reach the full cost rate. the problem is, property owners have to prove the full cost before they can get off the escalator. some small businesses may be stuck paying too much already. most are not being informed that they can pay less if they provided an elevation certificate. some are afraid they will pay $100 or $1000 more for elevations advocate and even then, their rates will not change or may possibly go up. we do not know how many small

businesses are facing extreme flood insurance rates at the top of the escalator. fema does not collect elevation data on structures before the first flood insurance rate maps. data, we do not know the scope of the affordability issues in the program, or funding needed to solve the program. nar has several recommendations of like to share with you. to act before september 2017, when the nfip sets.-- nfip sun short-term extensions only exacerbate the market uncertainty and will disrupt property sales were flood insurance is required for federally funded mortgage.

one million nfip insured properties are not yet paying full cost. the more of these properties that are mitigated, the lower the nfip rates will be and the less that taxpayers will be exposed to future borrowing. while the federal government already provides a substantial mitigation and existence, most property owners cannot access the systems until after the property floods, when costs go up and funds will not go as far. congress to look governmentwide it all mitigation programs to find ways to pool resources and allow access before flooding well there is still time and the lower-cost options are available. realtors believe that private insurance alternatives can provide a competent -- a compliment to a strong and vibrant nfip. the combination of private market options and a strong nfip

will ensure that what insurance remains available in all markets at all times. we urge the senate to take up 2901, the flood insurance market modernization act and allow consumers to shop around for comparable coverage. fema's attempt to publish reasonably accurate flood maps based on available resources, fema attempts to publish reasonable inaccurate -- and accurate insurance maps based on their resources. the anc relies on communities to spot inaccuracies, appeal maps and provide data and analysis needed to support corrections. the state of north carolina on the other hand uses lidar to solect that property data homeowners will not have to provide elevation certificates. based on the information we have gathered so far, using lidar to

remap the nation would -- gifford's benefits that are four to five times the cost. not only would fewer property owners have to appeal, but would also give congress the elevation data it needs to determine and address affordability issues in next year's reauthorization bill. i want to thank you for the opportunity to testify. nar greatly appreciates the committee's work. realtors look forward to working with you and congress to get the renewal of the insurance program before september 30 of 2017. this is incredibly important for my state, and i think the country. >> thank you very much. now, we will turn to the stirred randy noel -- to mr. randy noel. >> thank you for the opportunity

to testify. i am a homebuilder from louisiana, also second vice chairman of the national association of don't -- homebuilders. we have a long history of support for the nfip. however, due to a few major disasters, nfip's solvency has been threatened. many thought bigger waters would ensure the soundness of nfip. however, there were major consequences to the housing industry. figure waters if i of preferred and grandfather properties by triggering an immediate shift to full risk rates with rates increasing by 25% of the full risk rate each year. across the country, builders noted how drastically increased rates had a negative impact. only tor bought a home realize the flood insurance rates had increased from $400 to

the full risk rate of $13,000. this problem was not only affecting homeowners, i had a friend of mine who had a small home-building business in louisiana, and his insurance $4000 to from $400, $40,000. one neighborhood near my home became fully devalued because the flood insurance rate increased. they were required to build 11 feet above the ground, because they had a privately constructed levee that never flooded. the levy was not maintained by the core. it had been there for seven years. enacted,12 was homeowners were pay between $12,000 and $17,000 on flood insurance.

they could not sell their homes, they could not make their payments. the community mail fema the keys to their homes. they told fema to keep their keys because the homes were now worthless. ae rate increases also have direct impact on small business homebuilders. although the brunt of the effects of increased rates are experienced by those who own or purchase older properties, the trickle-down effect prevents move-up buyers from purchasing newly constructed homes that are more resilient and built to hire building standards. if buyers are not able to sell their properties and move into the newly constructed homes, it puts homebuilder businesses in jeopardy. the rate increases also affected homeowners who want to make renovation. the substantial improvement threshold under bigger waters was decreased from 50% to 30% of the market value of the structure. this provision represented a major deterrent grandfather property owners within the

special flooding hazard areas for making minor renovations, such as adding energy-efficient updates or strengthening their homes. at the risk of paying significant premium -- premium increases, once they reached the threshold they were required to raise the home to comply with the base elevation. congress acted quickly to change so the unintended consequences of bigger waters. the homeowners flood insurance affordable he act no longer triggered the immediate increase to full risk rates for pre-firm or grandfather properties and fema was provided -- required to provide refunds to homeowners who nfip -- whose nfip rates increased. the threshold was restored to its traditional 50%, giving owners -- giving homeowners the ability to make renovations. a,2014, because of have

there were $750 million more in construction and 61 million -- $361 million a year in additional remodeling. housing was reported to represent 15% of the gdp. it is critical that this industry stay in business. homebuilders live and work in their communities. you see the effects of flood insurance rate increases in our professional and personal lives. i would like to thank the chairman and senator rubio for the chance to testify. meetings like this give us the opportunity to learn. we have long supported commonsense changes to the nfip. we urge congress to consider that any reforms begun thought police of the program can continue to attack small business owners and homeowners from the exorbitant rate hikes we saw with bigger waters. >> thanks to all of -- thanks to all of you for your excellent testimony. senator rubio has another commitment, so he will start the engines and discussion. >> thank you for being here.

obles came appear from florida. what insurance premiums were as premiums were as high as they are today when you first started, would your business have been able to start or grow the way it did? >> certainly not. especially when you have limited resources, the homebuilding business is entrepreneurial and cash intensive. anything that is a threat to the affordability of housing is a threat to the essence of what we do. it would not be able to. senator rubio: being in tampa bay, you have a new that's unique perspective, your businesses work in constructing homes for the active-duty service members in the different facilities. what kind of challenges have you

seen with the american service men and women and the -- that they face? a unique -- >> a unique challenge, we do business among active and retired military. there is an air force base jack -- geographically close. there is a housing crisis within the air force base based upon its uniqueness of being attached to an urban setting. unfortunately, for the active military, they work off a base house allowance, any increase in flood insurance severely impacts their ability to find housing within that area. fundamentally, almost a double-edged sword for them because if they are not a ,andidate for a home purchase even the rental market is further exacerbated because ands go up significantly

they passed a cost to the active serviceman. some requirements that they are within a certain distance of the military based on their particular assignment, especially oppressive for active military. you mention the cost to elevate or make a change to the flood map, how do inaccurate maps affect affordability? >> if i could equally every eight inches in my particular toiness, of inaccuracy $6,000 in hard cost. youror rubio: one of recommendations for reforming nfip was encouraging the expansion of the private market options, i am a cosponsor of the flood insurance market modernization act which will allow private flood insurance as determined by state regulators to be accepted to meet mandatory

purchase requirements. describe what a private market and how it would complement the nfip and have the expansion of a private flood insurance marketplace benefit both consumers and small business. david mckey: thank you for the question, what property owners are looking for is options. there are none for them now, as the nfip rates go up, they are at a loss for what to do, they do not want to walk away from their property, yet it makes it tough for them to sign a buyer for it -- find a buyer for. what the private industry getting into the market will give them options. if they go into the private insurance market and the rates on that go up, one thing with the bill is it gives them the option to come back to the nfip program without losing the grandfathering clause that most of them are being priced at now,

we think that is a great thing that would help ono -- homeowners go back and forth if they need to. realtors come into my office and say we have a property, the owner cannot afford to pay the nfip rates and they cannot afford to sell it, what are their options, it is tough for me as a broker that has been in this business for so long to say, you do not have an option. i think that is what consumers and property owners are looking for. sen. rubio:: you mention property owners overcharged, potentially thousands of dollars to theirp, that is due one rate table for premiums across the whole country. what kind of opportunities as a marketplace for bringing about lower premiums? >> it will not be a quick fix, the private industry will have to come into the market and assess their risks in the market

for the flood insurance program. i do think, if they go in and look at areas where we have flood zone that covers whether you are a coastal property or you are a property away from the coast but the same rate, my hope is that at some point they will be able to maybe a road those rates down where you pay more in line with what the risk is for your property. if that makes sense. >> thank you, senator. i will continue with the discussion. noel, you have heard opponents of nfip argue that taxpayers should not have to subsidize new land development through nfip, do you believe new construction is the reason why nfip is cash-strapped and facing

solvency issues? randy noel: under new construction you are required and in many instances construction is required to .uild higher than a bfe and you have people paying premium less likely to have a client. that premium they are paying in is helping to offset the both that are grandfathered new construction is part of the solution and not part of the problem. new vitter: without construction the rates would be astronomical. for either or both of you, we have talked about this substantial improvement threshold, can you explain how the decrease from 50% to 30% or

more of the market value of a structure what effect your business in the industry? randy noel: we dealt with this with the storms and louisiana. people could be changing their floors out and reach the 30% threshold and find they have to raise the house which is hundreds of thousands of dollars as we found out in new orleans. 50% makes a whole lot more sense. someeed to be doing substantial to the house to raise the house to meet the new base flood elevations because you are stopping people from putting in energy-efficient items, from strapping the house for storm items, lowering the homeowner insurance, you tie their hands, counterintuitive for what we want to see done. mckey, i am mr.

open to creating more opportunities for private firm participation in the market. i am supportive of that in general. like a lot of people i have one big question -- how do you do that and prevent cherry picking so that private firms cover low-risk polities is that policies and nfip is stuck with a much higher percent of high rates?d/or subsidized david mckey: i do not see the private markets living in -- flooding in based on the passing of this bill because i think there will have to be a lot of studies and they will have to assess their risk. what i have read, chairman, and what i have seen and spoke with people, the insurance industry is in business to make a profit. what they have said or what i moreread is that they are

interested in getting into some of this high risk areas at this point, not cherry picking the 200 dollar and $300 premiums because that is not where the profit center is. that is an issue with them, they are running up against now, is the subsidized rates and have you overcome that and how do you compete in that area? i think we have to give them an opportunity to see what they can do and as long as they follow state law i think our consumers and our property owners are looking for an alternative. not allowis it, why them to have the alternative and let the private industry come into the market and let's look and see how it will help? sen. vitter: for a possible possible-- what a solution to mandate whoever

wants to come and has to come into a full geographic area however it is defined to cover covering be open to anything within that area, including the subsidized rates? david mckey: i would think that would be something you would want to look at, absolutely. again, as a realtor, we are not looking at doing away with nfip, that is a critical -- sen. vitter: absolutely, my concern is if nfip at the margin or in a more substantial way has a much higher percentage of high risk and/or subsidized rate properties, then it's fundamentally less fiscally stable. that mckey: i understand point and that is one of the issues you do have to look at to see if that will work with the private market. sen. vitter: you mentioned the

.fip rate escalator how do you suggest making it better known to property owners that they can get an elevation certificate, do you think it is fair that owners have to finance that certificate? david mckey: i do not think it is fair, i think a lot of that has been put on the property owners and a lot of them are concerned about it. one of the things i mentioned is let's do a better map making on the map and look at something like -- where the burden of proof does not fall on the property owner as it does right now. issuek education is a key and we have to get that out there that you can get an elevation certificate at this particular point that may make your property premium go down. i think that realtors, our association is doing a better job than we did before when it

did not seem to be as big of an issue in informing property owners about that. that that could make a difference in their premium. hopefully that will continue but the bottom line is -- is there an alternative to where the property owners are not having to show that they may be isessed a premium that higher than what it should be based on them having to go out and spend hundreds of dollars to get an elevations of the forget -- elevation certificate. sen. vitter: how many years would you propose that would -- we authorized the program? >> the five-year cycle, having a long cycles make sense for the same concerns everybody else has brought up, the uncertainty, it is chance to look at what needs to be updated in a timely manner. uncertainty is difficult for people. sen. vitter: how many years?

>> we do not have a specified recommendation but five years seems reasonable. why do you think keeping nfip solvent and avoiding lapses is important for the folks you serve in minnesota? insurances: the issues are similar to what the others have brought up and keeping the program solvent because that is the basis for having the communities have you regulations. the regulations are what are really important for avoiding future damage and communities and reducing those risks. funding the mapping. we need to update a lot of the maps, many do not have accurate boundaries and do need updating. that would help with some of the affordability. in our case, when we have had

the boundaries map, people except those maps or they are less likely to complain about them. that gives you a much better product to show the risk for people. sen. vitter: let me ask any or all of you, the experience in the past when there were lapses, 2010 is a worst-case, multiple lapses, 53 days of lapses. , yourl-world terms business and your clients and people on the ground, what did that mean? are building a home for someone, it takes time to get it done, particularly if the weather slows you down. when we are coming up on a reauthorization it is everybody out as hard as they can go to beat that deadline because at

one point, senator, we expected 35 -- dayss you -- a delay any time we had to reauthorize flood insurance and it happened every year and was expensive because we had to pay the interest while we waited and expedite everybody. i would like to answer the seetion -- i would like to where it would never have to be reauthorized unless it gets in trouble like you did with katrina and sandy. so we do not have to go through this, if we set up a good program for next year, september of 2017, why not let this program run until we have to address it? sen. vitter: anyone else on the issue of lapses? reverberates through the market, the resale market, the new home sale market, it is cast as traffic -- catastrophic from

people living in hotels because they cannot get into a new home or a resale home, delayed closings, other transactions that do not get made because of that. i would encourage this committee to act in a prudent manner so that we do not face those things again. the real estate market in baton rouge, it has affected our market, the worst thing that can happen in real estate is uncertainty and that is what he created, not only the person selling the property when the lapses happened, those transactions were not able to move forward but the person that was in line to have their home purchase, which may not have been a flood insured property also got affected by that, the domino effect. i think it would behoove us to get this approved on a timely manner and not put ourselves in

a position where we are really having a tremendous impact on people's lives that are trying to sell their property and move forward. it stopped that and i would hate to see that happen again. obviously, i agree, worst-case example was 2010, four different lapses totaled 53 days, every day of those 53, an average of 1400 home closings canceled. it was a mess. that affected people's lives, huge costs, huge inconvenience, huge market uncertainty. first goal in terms of this reauthorization, we need to do it in plenty of time, it will be next calendar year but we need to do it in plenty of time and not be bumping up on that september 30 deadline. i think we have other goals in terms of improving the program.

we can meet those other goals and we have talked about those today. certainly i will continue to advocate with others on this committee for congress to address this correctly and in plenty of time. to avoid those lapses. thank you all very much for your testimony, it was extremely helpful and we look forward to following up with that, the hearing is adjourned.

>> you can buy all of the small business committee hearing online at c-span.org, also today on capitol hill, homeland security secretary jeh johnson touched upon the for the senate judiciary committee but protesters interrupted his testimony, here is a look. >> do you feel you have enough in your arsenal to go after sanctuary jurisdictions? >> i would like to see more cooperation from counties and cities. yelling]r

>> we will stand in recess. >> would you proceed or did you finish? >> we will stand in recess.

protester: stop deportations. morning -- one warning. >> when he was deported, he was murdered. deported in 2015. blood is on your hands. hands.e blood on your

protester: jeh johnson, you have blood on your hands. have one warning. protester: jeh johnson, you have blood on your hands. enddeportations -- deportations.

>> does anybody else want to exercise their free speech? do it now please. >> with all of that, the oversight committee hearing can be found on her website, c-span.org. later, national transportation safety board chairman speaking to reporters at the national press club, talking about self driving cars and what they mean for safety on american roads, his speech at 1:00 eastern live on c-span. , the state department briefing on the 2016 human trafficking report, secretary of state john kerry released the report and this afternoon the department's ambassador to monitor and combat human trafficking will answer questions from reporters, that is live here on c-span at 2:00 p.m. eastern.

on american history tv on c-span3, this july 4 weekend, friday evening beginning at 6:00 eastern, american history tv is live at business only in national air and space museum sports 40th anniversary, we will tour the museum and see one-of-a-kind aviation and space artifacts and speak with the museum's director. we will also talk with the very -- museum curator and chair of the museum space history department and you can join the conversation that will take your phone calls come in e-mails, and tweets, saturday night at 8:00 on lectures and history -- increasingly focused on her position as a mother which roper support for sevres, her position as a mother to say that women are different than men, women really can do society better than men have done. professor onollege the new role women assumed in the workforce and a politics during the late 19 century, and

the growth of political organizations ran by women that folk is -- that focused on prohibition and women severs, sunday morning at 10:00 on road to the white house rewind, >> resolute, without being bellicose, strong without being arrogant. and that is the kind of in america that will help build the peace of this world. >> the time has come for us to leave the valley of despair and climb the mountain so that we may see the glory of the dawn, a new day for america and the new dawn for peace and freedom in the world. >> richard is an accepted gop presidential nomination in miami beach and vice president hubert humphrey accept the democratic nomination in chicago. monday evening, before 7:00, ruth better ginsburg and soanya sotomayor share stories about the current supreme court food traditions.

>> whenever the justice has a birthday, the chief brings in wine and wheat toast the birthday boy or girl and saying happy birthday -- sing happy most of them cannot carry a tune. >> supreme court to greater will talk about culinary customs dating back to the 19th century and 20th century, for complete holiday schedule, go to c-span.org. secretary of state john kerry this morning released the 2016 human trafficking report, thailand was removed from the state department list of worst also knownnd myanmar as burma was added to the list because of forced labor and children serving in the military.

[applause] >> thank you for being here, that was quite a reception, on behalf of the sea wrote -- heroes and secretary, thank you. the secretary will make some remarks. we will honor our wonderful heroes this year, nine heroes from eight countries, one of them will make brief remarks and i will do the closing. , you can take up your much-anticipated copies of the 2016 trafficking in persons report, thank you for coming. mr. secretary, thank you for raising issues pertaining to the human trafficking year round and for supporting the trafficking in persons office here at the state department.

it is an honor to work with you as an honor that this issue has such a strong champion. with that, the secretary of state, john kerry. [applause] secretary kerry: susan, thank you very much and welcome everybody. event, my last one. not the least important i think in many ways because it represents a continuum and a lot of work that is done by a lot of people. particularly proud of the work she has done in leading this initiative, she is all in. and she was a prosecutor before she came to the state department.

i asked her to take on this task with my own prosecutorial experience in the back of my head. -- early in my career i've been a number of years as a prosecutor, started a rate counseling initiative -- rape counseling initiative and focused on personal crimes against people which we prioritize in a significant way. thatember how difficult can be and how difficult it is for people to come forward and talk about very personal things and a very public way. not easy. the pressure can be intense. it was clear to me that susan came with a particular level of commitment and understanding and i think we have all benefited from that. her very first human trafficking trial led to the conviction of more than one dozen criminals who were forcing teenagers into prostitution.

all told she successfully prosecuted nearly in -- nearly 50 human traffickers, helping nine -- 90 victims obtain justice, a remarkable record and we are grateful in the state department to have someone so committed and 10 a shows in leading our efforts -- and tenacious in leading our efforts , that is what we need and i know you will join me in saying thank you to susan and the entire team who produced this document. [applause] very happy to welcome all of you to the ben franklin room here this morning, i am particularly grateful and happy to welcome the chairman of the senate foreign relations committee, bob corker and the ranking member ben cardin, they are unbelievably strong and committed leaders on the subject.

this is a truly bipartisan effort. [applause] and bob., ben [applause] that --h understand there are no partisan lines on this one. they have been particularly committed on eradicating human trafficking. i am grateful for them and grateful for all of your excellency's come a members of the diplomatic corps, many ambassadors, which underscores the importance of this issue. i want to welcome those from the private sector and civil society. you are indispensable partners in this effort. finally, a very special thank you to our team at state. a great document and i was presented with an embossed copy,

i have one each of the years i have been here in my office. i am grateful for having gotten my copy today. this is a heck of a piece of work. a lot of information in here, studious work goes into thinking it through. some top calls. -- tough calls. they come down to an element of discretion but not much, we have six rules the congress has created and we follow those rules. therefore, there are some folks in here who will obviously be concerned about the conclusions by the conclusions are based on facts and a lot of analysis over a year. teamvery grateful to our that does not just put this together in the last weeks, the work on next year's report has already begun. it is a time that goes from april 1 to march 31 and we are already beginning to collect and

build the information we gained in prior years and work with countries, i want to say that with any country that evaluates this and says why am i here? countries, ithese have made personally plenty of phone calls to my counterpart foreign minister's, two prime ministers, presidents come and said, you are not cruising in the right direction and we need to start to move and we sent people to work with those countries and our embassies are deeply engaged in helping to promote transformation. it is thanks to everybody and all hands on deck, full team effort that this document comes out, not an insignificant document. bp or rankings that i have peergnated -- the recommendations have tried to eliminate human trafficking. they do not take into account political and other factors. they are based on a criteria.

in addition to the rankings, the report outlines our specific concerns. as well as the ways we can improve our efforts, not meant to be -- meant to be a demarcation, and encouragement, a process of evaluation and work towards changing rankings. this is now the 16th report. of the state department feared one of the things i have found is that we can always become more effective in fighting trafficking by working with the true experts. those experts are sitting here. they are also all of the survivors. last december, president obama appointed an advisory council on human trafficking, giving to offer a direct line recommendations and guidance on our strategy. i have had the chance to meet with members of this council.

some of whom are here today. i know that every aspect of what we do, including in this report, is stronger because of the engagement of these folks. make no mistake, my friends, as we get other here on a beautiful day, a couple of days before our national celebration of july 4, when we talk about human traffickingwe are talking about slavery. modern-day slavery. that is still today claims more than 20 million victims on any given time. all 20 million are people just like everybody here. they have names, they have or had families in many cases. they are enforced to endure a hell, a living hell in modern times that no human being should ever have to experience.

some places, particularly where violent extremists are able to find a contemporary safe haven and i might add a temporary safe haven, the atrocities are both rampant and overt. survivor recalls approaching one of her captors in syria, a member of the esh, shet group da pleaded with him to stop the rape of a 20 -- 12-year-old girl, saying she is just a girl, and he replied, she is not a little girl, she is a slave. modern slavery does not happen only in war zones. it exists in areas of darkness and plain sight of people all over the world. even at sea. you may be familiar with the story of someone who left

cambodia on the promise of a construction job in thailand. it was supposed to help them and his family and he had dreams of providing for his family but after arriving in thailand, he was forced to walk on a fishing a fishingwork on vessel where he was beaten with a metal pole and drink water from this barrels, allowed little rest, when he was not working, he was chained by a rusty metal collar to an anger post so that he could not escape. it was not until a cambodian fisherman saw him and paid $750 to secure his release that the shackles were undone. his story was brought to the world by the new york times, a reporter who is here with us today, and i thank him for providing us with this gutwrenching insight into what is happening in terms of slavery. you story, i regret to tell

is far from unique. the fact is that there are many, many stories like that where unscrupulous fishermen use the isolation of the sea to hide their crimes. in slave crew members, most of whom under 17 years old, they are forced to work 18 to 20 hour days, denied medical care, force-fed amphetamines to help them work through the pain. the reasons are not hard to figure out. the criminals can turn a profit in any legal fishing market, they will go after as many fish as possible. they also not only destroyed lives and human beings but they destroy an ecosystem. the more labor they have on board, the larger catches will be geared the economic incentives are there, which is why illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing practices

have grown into a $20 billion a year industry. that is why stopping those practices will be a major focus of the oceans conference that i will be hosting here at the state department on september 15. a global, coordinated effort is desperately needed and long overdue. with the help of the senate, bob corker, and ben cardin and others, that is exactly what we intend to do. it is clear that there are a lot of challenges in terms of exposing labor abuses that take place off our coasts. these crimes can be just as hard to detect. when they are happening behind closed doors. the closest doors of a next pointers home. -- exploiter's home. . paul was 14 years old when he moved in with a british-nigeria couple living in the u.k. company promises family they would look after him, enroll him

in school, pay him, help him with housework. guess what -- they live. -- they lied. they did not send in to school or pay him, instead they took away his passport, monitor his movements with security cameras and forced him to work 17 hours a day as a servant. he tried to escape but it was not until he had been living with the couple in the state of fear and intimidation and deprivation and inability to move that he finally was able to work his way out of it 24 years later. he hurt on a report on the radio about an ngo fighting to eradicate modern day slavery. that is the difference these make, he bravely reached out to the organization and they helped give him his life back and see that his tormentors were prosecuted. domesticctims of

servitude enter these dangerous situations willingly. lured by the false promises of money and a better life. lots of places in the world today where a better life looks very enticing and you are willing to take a risk. they remained enslaved in part because they are convinced by their captors that i have no way out, nowhere to go, and no one to help them. that is one of the reasons why the state department and the global walk form -- and a global law firm have gone together to increase the availability of pro bono legal services and other tools to combat trafficking. today, we are pleased to announce the release of two documents which our teams have developed, the first is a model contract for domestic workers to use with their employers. the second is a memorandum of understanding between countries sending unwelcoming migrant domestic workers setting forth clear standards for those

workers protections. all documents are based on international law and both are designed to prevent abuses in domestic work. my friends, this is the 21st century. we know that human civilizations thousands of years has developed and made progress, and established rules, to discern the difference between right and wrong. we are part of a community of nations proudly, particularly that lives by and advocate for and believes in a universal declaration of human rights. frankly, it is stunning, outrageous that even today, the magnitude of human trafficking challenge cannot be overstated. we all know the sad litany, girls compelled sexually slavery

, women sleeping in closets, let out only to cook, wash clothes, and scrub floors. men and boys forced to forgo sleep and sustenance so they can work around the clock, often in blistering heat or otherwise upload link conditions -- appalling conditions. we have the ability to fight back. believe me, we are determined to do so. this is reflected in the 2030 sustainable goals which include an unprecedented commitment to halt human trafficking. it is reflecting in the palermo protocol, ratified bite nely 170 nations, and aimed at preventing suppressing and punishing those despicable crimes. it is reflected in the steadily increasing efforts to cooperate and share information among law enforcement authorities on every continent. it is reflected in efforts by the media to cast a spotlight on

the shadowy areas where traffickers exist and thrive, and it is reflected in a growing gos and advocacy groups who work hard everyday to bring modern-day slavery to a permanent end. assisting all of these efforts is what our annual report is all about. earlier, aas i said catalogue of abuses, it is a detailed analysis of the challenges we face, it is a targeted roadmap to measure how we can better overcome the challenges. it is a clarion call to each of us, to everybody in the world to do all weekend to eradicate these horrors and to hold countries accountable to a higher and better standard of behavior. as has become our custom in recent years, we are very privileged to highlight the work of a few of the men and women who have committed their lives,

not one day, but there lies, combating human trafficking and these are our 2016 report heroes. it is with great pride that we honor them today and i asked the ambassador to join me as we pay tribute and hopefully inspire people around the world to understand why this is so important. thank you. [applause] >> thank you secretary kerry, you are an inspiration from your days to chairing rights for victims as a prosecutor to your days championing anti-trafficking efforts at the state department, we appreciate and are honored to have you here today.

i would like to ask each report hero to stand up when his or her country is called out. the bahamas. [applause] in recognition of her role as the driving force behind the trafficking in persons committee of the bahamas, her leadership in implementing the country's national action plan on human trafficking and her commitment to training those likely to come into contact with the victims of rigby.rafficking, karen [applause] secretary karen: senators, would you come up -- secretary kerry:

senators, would you come up? thanks. botswana. [applause] in recognition of her vital contributions to the implementations of anti-trafficking legislation in botswana, her steadfast commitment to enhancing law enforcement and judicial awareness, understanding of human trafficking and bringing prosecutions in botswana, her dedication to a victim center's approach in those prosecutions, priscilla israel. [applause] from the republic of cyprus. [applause]

in recognition of her dynamic leadership as the head of the police antitrafficking unit and the republic of cyprus, her passion for and commitment to the protection of victims throughout the prosecution process and her devotion to the fight against human trafficking. [applause] >> to hear us from mauritania -- from mauritania. [applause] >> >> in recognition of the steadfast resolve in stopping slavery, by their dynamic partnership to affect causes of

change and their courage to insist on justice for the most vulnerable in their country, we recognize these two heroes. [applause] from the paul -- from nepal. [applause] in recognition of her outstanding leadership in investing cases of human trafficking, her dedication to education lnerable groups about human trafficking, and her tenacity in enabling the

prosecution of members of organized crime networks perpetrating this crime. [applause] i told her the state department should give out medals, she looks wonderful. from pakistan. [applause] in recognition of her unwavering advocacy on behalf of victims of bonded labor in pakistan, her courage in providing aid and protection to those she has helped to free enter commitment to helping them rebuild their lives. [applause]

from russia. [applause] in recognition of his steadfast commitment to assist nigerian and other african victims of sex trafficking in russia. his dedication to their comprehensive care, and his persistent engagement with members of the antitrafficking community to further protect and repatriate victims of human trafficking. [applause] from senegal. [applause]

in recognition of his selfless dedication to protecting young boys in senegal, his commitment to providing them comprehensive care and his vital role in building support among local officials to prevent human trafficking. [applause] >> i am pleased now to introduce the head of the police and i trafficking unit in the republic of cyprus, she will make a remark on behalf of all of the heroes. [applause]

>> thank you secretary kerry. 2016half of the trafficking report heroes, i want to thank you, secretary kerry. [applause] i really strive to find the words to express the deep thattude and appreciation i and the rest of the heroes feel for this great honor. a defining moment in our lives. we have devoted to come back human tribe -- combat human trafficking and protecting victims. some years ago, i could not have imagined i would be receiving the title of hero. i realized trafficking is like a , only to trapul

you in a storm, where victims are sucked down to the dark ocean floor and helplessly waiting. soon after starting at the police antitrafficking unit in cyprus, i realized a huge responsibility i put on my shoulders. the fight to free and support victims and work to achieve the maximum punishment for the perpetrators. whereot even imagine somebody would be had we not freed her from the criminal network that forced her into prostitution a few years back. she was only 20 years old. andhad come to cyprus earned a scholarship. she was instead forced into sex trafficking.

they were looking for her. we changed her name. when the trial started. she was threatened that she would be sent back to her country in a cough and last coffin. the defendants were acquitted. this does not make her less of a victim. her studiesompleted and works for an international company. [applause] i cannot imagine the state of mind of charlie from the dominican republic has she not been freed, what would happen if she continued in prostitution day in and day out so she would not miss any clients. i cannot imagine what would

who's arm wasone poorted due to their very working conditions and who spent a year in a hospital because of the injury. he was arrested as an illegal then it came only out that he was a victim. the classic victim of labor trafficking. i couldw heroes and tell you hundreds of stories like these, stories that have left a mark not only on our career but our lives. , from the human pain stories and from the cruelty and greed of the traffickers i put myself only to in the shoes of the victims but to walk in them. we can do more to make sure we truly understand the experience

of victims so that we can protect them. in a recent trial where i was a witness, the lawyer of the defendant asked me -- this girl went to mcdonald's every day for food, she could have sat down in the middle of the street and started screaming for help, this?'t she have done i replied, and her -- your logic she could, she could not. we should stop judging the victims by our own logic, we need to reach -- rid ourselves of prejudices, let us understand them and place ourselves in their situation, only then can we truly help. thank you. [applause]

>> thank you, you have a truly fitting name for a hero. in the dark world of human trafficking, these brave men and women are like and thank you for shining -- light and thank you for shining on us today. they are a source of hope for trafficking victims and a source for inspiration for all who strive to make the world a more humane that is why i'm honored to share the stage with these individuals. the world needs antitrafficking solutions across orders and industry sector yours.