{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.cassidy.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/cassidy-highlights-flood-insurance-risks-in-face-of-government-shutdown/", "Cassidy Highlights Flood Insurance Risks in Face of Government Shutdown", "2025-09-30", "2025", "2025-09", "Republican", "Senate", "LA", "Bill Cassidy", "C001075", "www.cassidy.senate.gov", "cassidy", "https://www.cassidy.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/?jsf=jet-engine:press-list", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u2013 U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) delivered a speech on the U.S. Senate floor outlining the harm the looming government shutdown would have on the 500,000 Louisianans, and millions more Americans, relying on the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). Cassidy called on Democrats to join Republicans in keeping Congress working for the American people.\n\n\u201cIf Democrats would stop trying to please the fringe of their party and start focusing on the real, immediate needs of the American people\u2014like keeping the government open, maintaining flood insurance, and protecting access to rural health care\u2014we could solve this today,\u201d said Dr. Cassidy.\n\nCassidy\u2019s remarks as prepared for delivery are below:\n\nMr. President,\n\nHurricane season ends November 30th\u2014two months left to go.\n\nLast week marked the first anniversary of Hurricane Helene\u2014one of many storms so severe that Louisiana sent its own first responders to affected states to support emergency operations on the ground.\n\nThe weekend saw two Category 4 storms churning in the Western Atlantic.\n\nThankfully, it doesn\u2019t appear that they will hit our coast.\n\nStill, these storms remind folks in Louisiana, and in other states, that flooding isn\u2019t a matter of if, but when.\n\nDemocrats are pushing us towards a government shutdown.\n\nWhat does that mean for those on the National Flood Insurance Program?\n\nImagine you are about to close on a house. That house requires you to have flood insurance.\n\nIf you are in a special flood hazard area\u2014by the way, over half of Louisiana is a special flood hazard area\u2014and you\u2019re purchasing a house with help from a federally-backed loan, you may not be closing on that home.\n\nNor will you be able to renew your existing policy.\n\nAll because Democrats rejected a clean continuing resolution to keep the government open.\n\nLet me repeat: they walked away from a bill that simply extended the existing budget for seven weeks to allow further negotiation.\n\nNow, they demand a highly partisan bill which would add more than one TRILLION dollars to our national debt.\n\nThey want taxpayer-funded health care for illegal immigrants.\n\nTransgender surgery for minors.\n\nAnd to cut the $50 billion Rural Hospital Fund Republicans created as part of our Working Families Tax Cuts bill.\n\nAmericans are left wondering how a shutdown will affect their flood insurance, while Democrats are writing checks to appease the far-Left.\n\nI\u2019ll tell you what the American people care about.\n\nThey want the government to do its job.\n\nThey want disaster recovery when it\u2019s needed.\n\nThey want flood insurance that works.\n\nThey want rural hospitals to stay open.\n\nThey want energy security and a balanced budget\u2014not trillion-dollar add-ons that only serve a political agenda.\n\nMr. President, the American people deserve accountability. And they expect Congress to put their needs before partisan politics.\n\nIf this shutdown happens, it will mean that the National Flood Insurance Program can\u2019t renew policies.\n\nThat\u2019s 500,000 Louisianans, and millions more across the country, unable to renew their policies while we are still in hurricane season.\n\nIt will mean delays in disaster aid and emergency response coordination. It will mean uncertainty for families still recovering from past storms.\n\nThis is personal for families in Louisiana.\n\nIf Democrats would stop trying to please the fringe of their party and start focusing on the real, immediate needs of the American people\u2014like keeping the government open, maintaining flood insurance, and protecting access to rural health care\u2014we could solve this today.\n\nSo I ask them: Who are you working for?\n\nAre you working for the American families watching the weather, hoping the next storm doesn\u2019t wipe out everything they\u2019ve built?\n\nAre you working for the veterans waiting on care, the seniors relying on their Social Security checks, or the communities who count on rural hospitals to be there in a crisis?\n\nOr are you working for political activists and special interest groups that have nothing to do with the lives of the people you were elected to serve?\n\nMr. President, the path forward is simple: pass a clean bill to keep the government open.\n\nBackground\n\nEarlier this month, Cassidy delivered a floor speech warning of the consequences if the National Flood insurance Program lapses.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T19:10:29Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.cassidy.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/cassidy-highlights-flood-insurance-risks-in-face-of-government-shutdown/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.646787092089653, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}