Congress clears bill to ease flood insurance hikes
Source: AP
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Less than two years after passing major legislation aimed at reforming the government's much-criticized flood insurance program, Congress on Thursday sent President Barack Obama a bill to scale back many of the resulting big flood insurance premium increases faced by hundreds of thousands of homeowners. The measure would also allow below-market insurance rates to be passed on to people buying homes with taxpayer-subsidized policies.
The measure breezed through the Senate and on to Obama's desk by a 72-22 vote. The House passed the measure last week.
The legislation significantly rewrites a major overhaul of the flood insurance program that passed almost unanimously in 2012. Those 2012 changes were aimed at weaning hundreds of thousands of homeowners off of subsidized rates and required extensive updating of the flood maps used to set premiums. But its implementation has stirred anxiety among many homeowners along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts and in flood plains, many of whom are threatened with unaffordable rate increases.
Obama was expected to sign it into law despite a White House policy statement issued in January that criticized an earlier Senate bill that would have delayed implementation of the 2012 law.
Read more: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_FLOOD_INSURANCE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2014-03-13-17-46-08
AwareOne
(404 posts)The same Republicans who screamed bloody murder about the ACA being, "Govt insurance and socialism" are happy to take Govt. subsidized home owners insurance for their waterfront mansions. Citizens Insurance is the largest insurer in Florida and insures all the high risk homes the private sector won't touch. Every citizen of Florida gets hit with a surcharge to subsidize Citizens with each renewal of our Home Owners and car insurance, apparently forever. Your welcome Rush.
dbackjon
(6,578 posts)modrepub
(3,502 posts)don't forget the public infrastructure that connects the houses to the mainland. Roads, bridges, sewer lines, water lines, cable lines, electric lines; all that stuff may have to be replaced if there's a bad storm or flooding.
Adrahil
(13,340 posts)not so much with houses built in obviously unsuitable dangerous places, especially if it's some guys beach house.
They wanna build there? Fine. Take the risk.
Nitram
(22,853 posts)Who can afford to buy land and build close to the beach. Another subsidy for the wealthy.