WHEREAS, every U.S. city plays a vital front line role in preparing and protecting their residents from the ravages of natural catastrophic events;

WHEREAS, every state is vulnerable to natural catastrophes including hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, earthquakes, blizzards, and wildfires;

WHEREAS, there is an increase in the incidence of major natural catastrophes and their increasingly costly nature;

WHEREAS, there have been significant contraction in insurance availability and significant increase in costs for consumers;

WHEREAS, Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma, which struck the United States in 2005, caused well over $200 billion in total economic losses, including both insured and uninsured losses;

WHEREAS, the United States federal government has provided and will continue to provide billions of after-event appropriated dollars and resources to help our nation recover from catastrophes, including hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, blizzards and other disasters, at huge cost to all American taxpayers;

WHEREAS, the United States federal government has a critical interest in ensuring appropriate and fiscally responsible risk management and pre-planning for catastrophes through measures such as loss prevention and mitigation, improved public education and effective emergency management services;

WHEREAS, the U.S. Congress has had under consideration, but taken no action on multiple proposals over the past decade to address natural catastrophic risk insurance, including the creation of a national catastrophe financial backstop program and revision of the Federal tax code to allow insurers to build tax-deferred catastrophe funds;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, That The United States Conference of Mayors strongly urges Congress to adopt legislation creating a comprehensive, integrated national catastrophe plan (which includes the participation of states)to better prepare and protect American homeowners from inevitable, large-scale natural catastrophes that includes a financial backstop supported by actuarially sound premiums to improve the availability of reasonably priced property and casualty insurance from private markets to homeowners throughout the nation.