{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.cassidy.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/cassidy-on-senate-floor-end-the-schumer-shutdown-restore-flood-insurance-stability/", "Cassidy on Senate Floor: End the Schumer Shutdown, Restore Flood Insurance Stability", "2025-10-30", "2025", "2025-10", "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 Schumer Shutdown is causing daily for the half a million Louisianans enrolled in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). Cassidy called on Senate Democrats to work with Republicans to reopen the government, restore stability for homeowners, and end the disruption to NFIP coverage.\n\n\u201cThe Democratic Leader said that every day, the shutdown gets better for them. Well, I can tell you that every day the government is shut down gets worse for Americans in my state who are worried about flooding and losing everything.,\u201d said Dr. Cassidy.\n\n\u201cReopen the government. Restore certainty to the American people. Protect homes. Protect families. Protect livelihoods,\u201d continued Dr. Cassidy.\n\nCassidy\u2019s remarks as prepared for delivery are below:\n\nMr. President,\n\nI spoke on this floor a month ago about the consequences of a government shutdown on our country and my state of Louisiana\u2014particularly the half a million Louisianans enrolled in the National Flood Insurance Program\u2014or NFIP.\n\nI called on Senate Democrats to join me and my Republican colleagues in keeping the government open and Congress working.\n\nUnfortunately, the Senate Minority Leader shut down the government nearly a month ago to appease his radical base.\n\nThat\u2019s nearly a month that many Louisianans on the NFIP have gone without the trust, certainty, and stability that the program is designed to provide.\n\nFamilies are unable to close on a new home because they can\u2019t purchase a new flood insurance policy.\n\nHomeowners are vulnerable during hurricane season because they can\u2019t renew existing policies.\n\nAnd that raises a question the American people are asking every day: how can they trust a government that isn\u2019t even open?\n\nWe know the NFIP is not perfect. It faces financial challenges. Some reforms are needed. But shutting it down makes the problem worse, not better.\n\nThe Democratic Leader said that every day, the shutdown gets better for them.\n\nWell, I can tell you that every day the government is shut down gets worse for Americans in my state who are worried about flooding and losing everything.\n\nThe American people want solutions. They want a government that works. They want flood insurance that protects their homes, families, and livelihoods.\n\nThat\u2019s why I\u2019m working on legislation that would automatically reauthorize the NFIP during any lapse in government funding\u2014in other words, prevent any future shutdown from interrupting the NFIP.\n\nIt fixes the damage caused by the Schumer Shutdown and ensures stability going forward.\n\nMy colleague from Louisiana and I have introduced two bills\u2014one to extend NFIP in the short term, another to provide a full year of coverage.\n\nWe\u2019re also working toward broader reforms that keep premiums affordable and the program sustainable for generations to come.\n\nWe must reopen the government immediately. Democrats have voted against doing so 13 times.\n\n13 opportunities we have given them to end their shutdown, and they\u2019ve thrown it back in Americans\u2019 faces.\n\nGovernment services might be on pause, but Hurricane Season isn\u2019t.\n\nReopen the government. Restore certainty to the American people. Protect homes. Protect families. Protect livelihoods.\n\nRepublicans are trying to prevent the worst effects of the Schumer Shutdown from taking place, but Democrats keep blocking our efforts.\n\nWe want to pay the troops, we want to fund SNAP, we want to extend NFIP.\n\nDemocrats are a blanket \u201cNO.\u201d\n\nThe American People deserve better. They deserve more than the Democratic Party is willing to give them.\n\nWith that, I yield.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T19:32:54Z"]], "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-on-senate-floor-end-the-schumer-shutdown-restore-flood-insurance-stability/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.4826958067715168, "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"}