U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., is calling on Congress to prevent a lapse in the National Flood Insurance Program, which covers tens of thousands of homeowners in the region, and is set to expire by the end of September.
Schumer spoke on Monday in Long Beach, a community devastated by Superstorm Sandy in October 2012.
He warned Congress that disasters like Superstorm Sandy and Hurricane Harvey will continue to be more common in the U.S.
“Now you know what it’s like. And now you should know, as we learned with Sandy, that this kind of flood insurance and the kind of help that FEMA gives is essential.
And today I am saying, in the wake of what we experienced with Sandy, and what Texas has experienced with Harvey, we have to make flood insurance better and stronger, not undercut it, weaken it, or even eliminate it.”
Schumer said he will push for reforms that protect policyholders from high premiums and fraud, which repeatedly occurred in the wake of Sandy.
He also criticized Texan politicians who voted against government relief funds for Sandy and are currently asking for money themselves.