Brooklyn, N.Y. – Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke released on following statement on her vote to limit drastic increases in flood insurance premiums. Policies sold to homeowners under the National Flood Insurance Program were otherwise scheduled to increase by as much as thousands of dollars every year for homes in areas with a high risk of damage from flooding.

H.R. 3370, the Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act of 2013, will delay increases in flood insurance premiums for four years, and require the Federal Emergency Management Agency to complete a study to determine whether future increases are affordable for homeowners. In addition, the bill prevents increases based entirely on the sale of a property.

“The families of Sheepshead Bay, Gerritsen Beach, and Marine Park have dedicated themselves to the hard work of recovery from Hurricane Sandy. A drastic increase in flood insurance premiums would only have imposed additional and unnecessary hardships on homeowners in Brooklyn and other places devastated by the storm,” said Congresswoman Clarke. “After Hurricane Sandy, the American people rallied to support these families whose homes and small businesses were ravaged and damaged, we promised to help in the rebuilding of their communities. I believe that this bill will greatly contribute to the process of recovery.”

U.S. Representative Yvette D. Clarke is a member of the House Committee on Small Business, Ethics, and Homeland Security, where she is the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection, and Security Technologies. She represents many neighborhoods in central and southern Brooklyn, NY which include Brownsville, Crown Heights, East Flatbush, Flatbush, Gerritsen Beach, Madison, Midwood, parts of Park Slope and Flatlands, Prospect Heights, Prospect-Lefferts Gardens, Sheepshead Bay, and Windsor Terrace.