On May 26, 2009, Florida Rep. Ron Klein (D- FL-22) introduced the Homeowners’ Defense Act of 2009 and urged quick enactment of the bill.

This bill takes meaningful and important steps toward improving America’s system of dealing with natural catastrophes.  The bill will improve mitigation and land use policies, strengthen first responder programs and provide a fiscally responsible way for our nation to prepare for the event of a truly massive natural catastrophe.

The Homeowners’ Defense Act of 2009 (HR-2555) builds upon legislation passed by the House of Representatives in 2007 and sets up financial mechanisms to provide a backstop for privately funded state catastrophe funds to assure that families are able to get insurance and can rebuild, repair and recover in the aftermath of a devastating natural catastrophe like a massive hurricane or vast earthquake.

The previous bill, the Homeowner’s Defense Act of 2007 (HR 3355), passed the House of Representatives by an overwhelming bipartisan vote of 258-155. The bill was sponsored by Florida Reps. Ron Klein (D), Tim Mahoney (D), Ginny Brown-Waite (R) and nearly four dozen cosponsors from around the country.

According to Risk Management Solutions (RMS), the nation’s foremost authority on catastrophic risk, fully 57 percent of the American population currently lives in areas that are prone to natural catastrophes.  Recent experiences prove that no region is immune from the threat of catastrophes, and when major catastrophes strike, such as Katrina, everyone, everywhere is affected.  Populations living along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts are directly exposed to hurricanes while major cities throughout the Midwest and all along the West coast are located on fault lines that are prone to earthquakes.