The House approved Louisiana Rep. Bill Cassidy’s (R) amendment to protect homeowners in his state from extreme increases in flood insurance premiums on Thursday.
Congress passed the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act in 2012 to overhaul the National Flood Insurance Program. The new law set an aggressive timeline to increase flood insurance premium rates in order to make the NFIP solvent and ensure its long-term sustainability.
Cassidy’s amendment would block those rate increases and allow time for careful modifications to the Biggert-Waters Act.
“It is important to have a self-sustaining flood insurance program,” Cassidy said. “However, it must account for the flood protections throughout south Louisiana that make massive flood insurance rates unnecessary. “
The amendment passed as a provision in the fiscal year 2014 Homeland Security appropriations bill. The passage prompted a string of endorsemenets for the amendment from elected officials and community leaders in south Louisiana.
“The potential flood insurance rate increases are so high and so sudden, that they could destroy communities and the very people the program was designed to protect,” Kathy Benoit, the president and CEO of Thibodaux Chamber of Commerce said. “Congressman Cassidy’s leadership in passing his amendment preventing FEMA from phasing out grandfathered NFIP rates is a critical victory in the fight to restore an affordable and solvent flood insurance program.”