Congressman Keating Advances Two Local Amendments

William Richard Keating

HYANNIS – Congressman Bill Keating has advanced two amendments with local significance as part of the FY2018 budget legislation.

“My two amendments address concerns about flood insurance premiums and tick-borne diseases, issues of critical importance to the residents of Southeast Massachusetts,” said Congressman Keating. “It is my hope that these amendments will continue to advance through conference with the Senate and be eventually signed into law.  They could make a real difference to people in our district and across the country.”

The Keating Tick-Borne Diseases Amendment will provide $1 million for the CDC to distribute tick-borne disease education and prevention materials in high-risk areas.

The amendment is a continuation of the work Keating started with his legislation, the Tick-Borne Disease Prevention Act, which was introduced in June of this year.

The Tick-Borne Disease Prevention Act would direct the CDC to publish two sets of materials specific to Lyme disease and tick-borne illnesses. 

The first would update prevention and treatment procedures for both providers and the public. 

The second includes training materials for healthcare providers.

The funds provided by the Keating Tick-Borne Diseases Amendment gives the CDC the resources needed to accomplish the goal of the Tick-Borne Disease Prevention Act.

In July, Congressman Keating the Community Flood Insurance Savings Act. 

The legislation will provide resources so individual towns and municipalities with areas at elevated risk of flood can form regional partnerships and share the cost of flood mitigation tailored to their needs. 

It specifically includes sharing the costs of participation in the National Flood Insurance Program’s (NFIP) Community Rating System (CRS) and hiring regional-level CRS program coordinators.

The Keating CRS Coordinator Amendment provides an additional $7 million to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to fund grants for regional-level CRS coordinators so that more towns can achieve discounts on their flood insurance premiums.

The funding corresponds to the first year allocation of the five years authorized by the Community Flood Insurance Savings Act, which would authorize $7 million per year for five years.