CONGRESSMAN GARCIA ANNOUNCES HURRICANE BILL COMPETITION WINNER

In honor of the anniversary of Superstorm Sandy, voting for Congressman Garcia’s Hurricane Bill competition has been closed and a winner has been named. The contest was launched in August, with the beginning of Hurricane Season, and encouraged constituents to submit ideas for hurricane related legislation, the best of which would be introduced in the 113th Congress by Representative Garcia.

“Evident through our history, hurricanes and other natural disasters have a significant impact on the lives of South Floridians” said Garcia. “It is critical that we remain proactive by implementing commonsense, meaningful policies that ensures all Americans are kept as aware, prepared, and protected as possible.”

Congressman Garcia has long been an advocate of strong disaster prediction, preparedness, and response legislation that puts the people of South Florida first. Earlier this year, Congressman Garcia introduced the HOME Act of 2014 – which seeks to address gaping holes in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) by incentivizing pre-disaster mitigation and strengthening critical relief efforts.

Through this contest, several of Congressman Garcia’s participating constituents shared innovative ideas on how to deal with things  they would like to see addressed or changes they’d like to see implemented when natural disasters strike. The competition encouraged participants to submit any and all ideas for hurricane related legislation, including but not limited to: pre-disaster prediction, preparation, mitigation, and post-emergency response and relief. Once the top four ideas for a bill we’re chosen, constituents had the opportunity to further participate by voting on their favorite of the four bills.

The winner of this competition submitted the idea for a legislatively sanctioned  “Safe Homeowner’s Discount.” The legislation proposed would create a mitigation credit system for policyholders that have not filed a claim for five years. Effectively, the program gives back to home and business owners who have been paying flood insurance rates heightened under the premise of risk, as opposed to reality. This would help Floridians – who have paid four times more into NFIP than they’ve taken out over the past 35 years – immensely. The legislation will be drafted and introduced in the 113th Congress by Representative Garcia.