"Good morning, Chairman McCaul, Ranking Member Thompson, and Members of the Committee. My name is
"Many members of this committee, including Chairman McCaul and Congresswoman
"Together, in close partnership with the state of
"When Hurricane Harvey hit
"Recovering from Hurricane Harvey will take a number of years, and
Hurricane
"Because of Hurricane Harvey's size and scale, we learned a number of valuable lessons, not least of which was the resiliency and bravery of the people of
"Texans weren't the only ones who answered the call. Volunteers from across the nation, in particular those from
"The state of
"Another important lesson that we have taken away from the impact of Hurricane Harvey is the importance of pre-disaster preparation. When
"One area where we have made progress in building a culture of preparedness is the strong relationship that was already in place between
"One area where we have not made nearly enough progress in building a culture of preparedness is in educating the public of the value of purchasing flood insurance. Too many people in
"As we work to better educate the public about what assistance is available after a disaster, we must do more to promote awareness of the National Flood Insurance Program and other options to purchase flood insurance. Our agency's goal is to double the number of flood insurance policies. Hurricane Harvey provides a powerful lesson about the importance of having flood insurance with the average payout being more than
"Administrator Long also testified last month about his vision of disasters being "federally supported, state managed, and locally executed." To that end, Hurricane Harvey also taught us that we need to do more to empower the states to handle the challenge of a disaster-created housing mission.
"Another important lesson learned was the changing nature of communications during both the short-term response and long-term recovery phases of a disaster. The challenges and opportunities created by cellular technology, the internet, and social media provided
"At
The Path Forward
"As we plan for the future and work on the long term recovery from Hurricane Harvey, we must also consider future threats. We are less than 60 days out from the start of the 2018 hurricane season and we have to be cognizant of very real threats that may be on the horizon.
"In response to the historic nature of Hurricane Harvey,
"Additionally,
"We are working with our federal, state, and local partners to review and revise procedures to streamline and simplify the delivery of our programs, so that we can provide a process that is easier for the public, eliminates duplication of effort, and will allow for a more timely response to their concerns.
"To help our local and state partners build communities that are more resilient we will work on making sure that mitigation funding and planning receives greater emphasis. As an area that is no stranger to natural disasters, we must do more to ensure that construction and development takes place in a way that is consistent with mitigating the impact of future hurricanes and other potential disasters.
"We will also work with our stakeholders and partners on a communication strategy meant to empower individuals and communities to prepare for the disasters that are inevitable in our region.
Conclusion
"Hurricane
"Thank you for the opportunity to testify, and I look forward to any questions you may have."
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