SENATE FLOOR DEBATE [From Congressional Record, July 12, 1979] REAUTHORIZATION OF FEDERAL INSURANCE ADMINISTRATION INSURANCE PROGRAMS The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Senate will now proceed to the consideration of S. 903, which the clerk will report. Calendar Order No. 155, a bill (S. 903) to extend the crime insurance and riot reinsurance programs under title XII of the National Housing Act, the national flood insurance program under the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968, to authorize appropriations for studies under the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 for the fiscal years 1980 and 1981, and for other purposes. The Senate proceeded to consider the bill, which had been reported from the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs with an amendment to strike all after the enacting clause and insert the following: That section 1201 of the National Housing Act is amended (1) by striking out in subsection (b) (1), "September 30, 1980" and inserting in lieu thereof "September 30, 1981"; and (2) by striking out, in subsection (b) (1) (A), "September 30, 1983" and inserting in lieu thereof "September 30, 1984". SEC. 2. (a) Section 1319 of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 is amended by striking out "September 30, 1980" and inserting in lieu thereof "September 30, 1981".. (b) Section 1336(a) of such Act is amended by striking out "September 30, 1980" and inserting in lieu thereof September 30, 1981". (c) Section 1376 (c) of such Act is amended by striking out "and not to exceed $114,000,000 for the fiscal year 1979" and inserting in lieu thereof the following: "not to exceed $114,000,000 for the fiscal year 1979, and not to exceed $74,000,000 for the fiscal year 1980". The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Chair recognizes the Senator from Alabama. Mr. ROBERT C. BYRD. Mr. President, will the Senator from Alabama yield? Mr. STEWART. Yes. UNANIMOUS CONSENT AGREEMENT Mr. ROBERT C. BYRD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that on this measure there be a time limitation as follows: A one-half hour time limitation on the bill, to be equally divided between the Senator from Alabama (Mr. STEWART) and the Senator from Utah (Mr. GARN); That there be a time limitation on any amendment thereto of 10 minutes, a time limitation on any debatable motion, appeal, or point of order of 10 minutes; and That the agreement be in the usual form. The PRESIDENT OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. Mr. ROBERT C. BYRD. Mr. President, with respect to the next bill which follows on after the disposition of the pending bill, or Calendar Order No. 169, the rural housing bill, I ask unanimous consent that the following agreement be in order: That there be 111⁄2 hours on the bill, to be equally divided between Mr. Morgan and Mr. Garn; That there be 1 hour on any amendment in the first degree, 30 minutes on any amendment in the second degree, and 20 minutes on any debatable motion, point of order, or appeal; and That the agreement be in the usual form. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. Mr. ROBERT C. BYRD. I further ask unanimous consent, in the case of both bills, Calendar Order No. 155 and Calendar Order No. 169, that following the third reading of the measures, they be put aside. temporarily until such time as the third housing bill. Calendar Order No. 176, has been called up and is in the amendment stage, and that no call for the regular order bring either of those two bills back before the Senate until such time as the third measure is before the Senate, and only then for the purposes of incorporating them into that bill, as amended. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. Mr. ROBERT C. BYRD. I believe that concludes my request, and I thank the minority leader and all Senators. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Chair recognizes the Senator from Alabama. STATEMENT OF SENATOR STEWART Mr. STEWART. Mr. President, S. 903, is a bill to extend the crime. insurance and riot reinsurance program under title XII of the National Housing Act, the national flood insurance program under the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968, to authorize appropriations for studies under the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 for the fiscal years 1980 and 1981, and for other purposes. S. 903 was reported favorably to the Senate by the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs on May 15. The bill is a simple extension and reauthorization measure. It is similar to the bill submitted by the administration in order to continue the programs conducted by the Federal Insurance Administration. S. 903, as recommended by the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs would extend the National Flood Insurance and the crime insurance and riot reinsurance programs for 1 year, and in addition, would authorize appropriations for necessary flood studies not to exceed $74 million in fiscal year 1980. This is the amount requested by the administration. In recommending committee adoption of S. 903, I indicated that I believed passage of this measure is necessary at this time in order to insure that the proper oversight hearings on these programs can be conducted during the coming year and that subsequent legislative deliberations can be held in an orderly manner. Reauthorization for an additional year will, I believe, eliminate the possibility that the Senate would be faced with the necessity for passing a short-term extension for the programs, or making last minute decisions because the programs are expiring. I understand that on several previous occasions, delays in enacting authority for the insurance programs resulted in panic buttons being pressed all across the country because existing insurance arrangements were threatened with unexpected termination. We all know that neither the private insurance industry, nor the Federal Insurance Administration, can operate effectively on uncertainty, delay or short-term extensions. We cannot, this year particularly, permit the flood insurance program to be jeopardized. The crime insurance program is just now beginning a critical test; I believe we should permit the demonstration to be carried out and the results evaluated in a systematic way, rather than force the results by untimely scheduling. The riot reinsurance program and the related FAIR plan property insurance program need a lot of study. Failure to act this year would mean that study, interpretation, and legislative deliberation could be straitjacketed by the calendar. Mr. President, at this time I yield to my distinguished colleague. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Utah is recognized. Mr. GARN. Mr. President, I thank the distinguished Senator. I have no comments at this point. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Alabama. UP AMENDMENT NO. 310 (Purpose: To transfer position of Federal Insurance Administrator to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Transfers Level IV position on executive pay scale from Department of Housing and Urban Development to Federal Emergency Management Agency) Mr. STEWART. Mr. President, I have two technical amendments to offer. These amendments would simply transfer the position of the administrator of the national flood insurance program now lodged in the Department of Housing and Urban Development to the newly created Federal Insurance Administration. This has been discussed with Mr. Macy, designated nominee of FEMA and he desires that this transfer be made at this time. These are technical amendments, and I ask unanimous consent that they be considered en bloc. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection? Without objection, it is so ordered. Mr. STEWART. Mr. President, I send the amendments to the desk. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The amendment will be stated. The assistant legislative clerk read as follows: The Senator from Alabama (Mr. STEWART) proposes an unprinted amendment numbered 319. Mr. STEWART. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that further reading of the amendment be dispensed with. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. On page 3, after line 22, insert the following: Section 1105 (a) of the Urban Property Protection and Reinsurance Act of 1968 (Title XI of Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968) is amended by striking out "Department of Housing and Urban Development" and substituting in lieu thereof "Federal Emergency Management Agency." On page 3, after line 22, insert the following: Section 5313 of Title V United States Code is amended by striking at paragraph "(91)" the words "Department of Housing and Urban Development" and substituting in lieu thereof the words "Federal Emergency Management Agency." Mr. STEWART. Mr. President, my statement indicated the purpose of the amendment. I yield to my colleague. Mr. GARN. Mr. President, the bill before the Senate-S. 903-does two things. It is a simple 1-year extension of the Federal flood insurance, crime insurance and riot reinsurance programs. These programs are presently authorized through September 30, 1980, and the bill would extend the authorizations until September 30, 1981. Further, the bill would authorize appropriations of $74 million in fiscal year 1980 for flood insurance mapping studies, an ongoing process to determine actual premium rates for flood insurance. While I am supporting S. 903, I wish to reiterate briefly the concerns about the bill which I expressed during its consideration by the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs in May of this year. It should be made clear that extending these programs does not represent any conclusion by the Banking Committee or by the Senate that all of these programs should be continued indefinitely, or that they should not be modified. Unfortunately, no hearings have been held on S. 903; as a result, detailed evaluation of the operations of the programs must be deferred. In that regard, my willingness to support the bill has been and continues to be dependent upon an undertaking by the Subcommittee on Insurance to conduct meaningful oversight hearings on the present operations of the programs. At that time the subcommittee will have an opportunity to assure itself that the programs are operating in accordance with congressional intent, and to evaluate the question of whether the riot reinsurance and crime insurance programs should be continued. It should be remembered that the Federal riot reinsurance and crime insurance programs were created as temporary programs to addess the insurance needs of urban areas in the wake of riots which occurred in the late 1960's. The laws creating these two programs contain a provision requiring the submission to Congress of a plan for the "liquidation and termination" of the programs. Thus, it is clear that Congress has a responsibility to judge periodically whether the programs should be continued or, on the other hand, whether the private insurance and reinsurance markets are in a position to provide the needed insurance coverages. I should emphasize that I have not reached any conclusions on these questions, but I believe that Congress has a continuing responsibility to ask the questions. This is of course true of any Government program, but it is particularly true in this case. The Federal Insurance Administration, which administers the insurance programs, was combined into a new Agency, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) earlier this year. However, the administration has been unable or unwilling to appoint a Director of FEMA, even though it has reportedly been seeking to do so since last year. Under these circumstances, it may have been more prudent for the Senate to withhold the extension of these programs until the administration discloses who is going to be in charge of the Agency. Mr. President, the taxpayers of this country are demanding-as they should demand-that Congress stop enacting and extending Federal programs on a bare showing that somebody thinks that they are a good idea. It is incumbent upon the Senate to respond to the public's expectations by carefullly examining existing programs, and I urge the members of the Banking Committee to do just that in its oversight of the Federal insurance programs. Mr. STEWART. Mr. President, I move the adoption of the amendment. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is all time yielded back? Mr. GARN. Mr. President, I yield back the time of the minority on this particular amendment. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Does the Senator from Alabama yield back the remainder of his time on the amendment? Mr. STEWART. Mr. President, I yield back the remainder of my time on the amendment. The PRESIDING OFFICER. All time has been yielded back. The question is on agreeing to the amendment. The amendment was agreed to. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Alabama is recognized. Are there further amendments? Mr. STEWART. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Clerk will call the roll. The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll. Mr. HUDDLESTON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. UP AMENDMENT NO. 320 (Purpose: To require a study of the impact of the national flood insurance program on well developed flood hazard areas) Mr. HUDDLESTON. Mr. President, on behalf of myself, Senator Ford and Senator Stewart I send to the desk an amendment and ask for its immediate consideration. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The amendment will be stated. The Senator from Kentucky (Mr. HUDDLESTON) proposes an unprinted amendment numbered 320. Mr. HUDDLESTON. I ask unanimous consent that further reading of the amendment be dispensed with. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. At the end of the bill add the following: SEC. 3. The Director of Federal Emergency Management Administration, in consultation with the Appalachian Regional Commission, the United States Army Corps of Engineers, and other appropriate agencies, shall carry out a study to identify (1) the extent to which individual political jurisdictions have significant concentrations of population, businesses, and commercial and public facilities within special flood hazard areas under the national flood insurance program but have a limited availability of alternative sites for construction and development, and (2) the impact of the national flood insurance program on property values, the tax base, and economic activity in such jurisdictions, and shall report not later than March 1, 1980, to the Congress on the special problems of such jurisdictions and alternative means of meeting any problems identified. The alternative means considered shall include but not be limited to technical assistance, long-term subsidized interest rate loans, and development of alternative building sites. |