What will House do now that the Senate voted overwhelmingly to delay flood insurance premium hikes? John Boehner The flood insurance debate is now in Speaker John Boehners House of Representatives after the Senate voted overwhelmingly Thursday (January 30) for legislation delaying premium hikes for four years. Print Bruce Alpert, NOLA | Times-Picayune By Bruce Alpert, NOLA | Times-Picayune Email the author | Follow on Twitter on January 30, 2014 at 5:15 PM, updated January 30, 2014 at 8:40 PM 0 LATEST FLOOD INSURANCE STORIES What will House do now that the Senate voted overwhelmingly to delay flood insurance premium hikes? Senate expected to approve bill delaying most flood insurance premium hikes for 4 years Sen. Landrieu blasts White House for opposition to bill delaying flood insurance premium increases Senate votes 86-13 to begin debate on bill delaying flood insurance hikes for four years Pennsylvania senator continues opposition to flood insurance hike delaying legislation All Stories | All Photos | All Videos WASHINGTON - The Senates strong 67-32 bipartisan vote Thursday for legislation delaying large flood insurance premium increases for four years builds momentum as the issue moves over to the House. But will it be enough? Among the obstacles facing those seeking a congressional timeout for large premium increases resulting from the 2012 Biggert-Waters flood insurance bill are: A statement from Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, that he wont bring up the bill, adamant opposition from two influential conservative groups, Heritage Action and Americans for Prosperity, and, perhaps most importantly, opposition from the Republican chair of the House committee where House Biggert-Waters legislation originated. Heritage has already said it will score the vote on its report card of member votes, and some Republicans worry about political heat, and maybe even a primary challenge, if they dont get a 100 percent score, or darn close, from Heritage and similar groups. Still, there are strong reasons why the leaders of the Houses GOP majority will act, though perhaps with a bill offering a shorter delay than four years. Many members of both parties have constituents who either have been told to expect substantially higher premiums, fear they will get higher premiums, or find they cant sell their homes because premium increases are immediate, rather than phased in, once a home changes hands. Or as Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., put it: Literally thousands, tens of thousands of Americans will lose their homes -- middle-class Americans, working-class Americans, poor Americans -- if we dont pass this legislation, Schumer said. The grassroots campaign by groups like Coalition for Sustainable Flood Insurance, led by GNO Inc. head Michael Hecht, and Stop FEMA Now, has been effective at getting constituents facing higher rates to contact senators. One senator said his phone was ringing off the hook Thursday. Though the White House has raised objections to the lost revenue to the debt-ridden flood insurance program by delaying premium increases, it hasnt issued a veto threat. Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., who called the White House message this week unwelcome and unanticipated, said she heard from an Obama administration official Thursday who expressed a willingness to work with her to help prevent unaffordable flood insurance policy increases. A White House official confirmed Thursday night that President Barack Obama would not veto the bill, if it reaches his desk. If it costs money, they (Office of Management and Budget aides) have to be against it, said former Sen. J. Bennett Johnston, D-La., well familiar with White House involvement with legislation. But they know how to issue a veto threat, and there is none here. They wouldnt dare do that to Mary in an election year. Johnston said stopping large flood insurance premium increases is also important to Landrieus top Republican challenger in the 2014 Louisiana Senate race, Rep. Bill Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge. They (House Republican leaders) dont want to kill their own Senate candidate, Johnston said. The grassroots campaign cant be underestimated. Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., credited it with helping the Senate overwhelmingly pass a bill, overcoming the usual partisan gridlock. Landrieu said the Republican sponsor, Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., was also indispensible at building GOP support and stopping Republican delaying tactics. Still, there are no guarantees the House will enact the Menendez/Isakson bill, or something similar. Rep. Steve Scalise, R-Jefferson, said House leaders, including Majority Leader Eric Cantor, are well aware of how important fixing Biggert-Waters is to many members of the House. But his statement Thursday that the Senate bill does not provide the long-term relief we are working to achieve, may indicate that he knows it will be a tough sell for the House GOP-leadership. Some House Republicans have said it is too early to turn back reforms enacted just two years ago designed to make the flood insurance program solvent. And some argue that a Cassidy measure added to a recently enacted omnibus spending bill -- delaying a portion of the premium increases through Sept. 30, 2014 -- is sufficient. Cassidy issued a statement that noted the White House statement of opposition to the bill delaying premium hikes for four years, but made no mention of opposition from some influential House Republicans, Another concern for backers of the Senate bill, including 180 House sponsors, is that an alternative bill by Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., although rejected 65-34 by the Senate Thursday, may not be dead. Sources said that Toomey, who proposes a slower phase in of premiums, but not the four-year delay sought by Louisiana lawmakers, recently met with Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Tex., chair of the House Financial Services Committee, about moving his proposal in the House. Sen. David Vitter, R-La, says the Toomey legislation, though well intentioned, doesnt insure that FEMA completes an affordability study, nor does it give Congress time to work out a fix to ensure middle-class homeowners arent priced out of the program. Thats kicking the can down the road and not ensuring in any meaningful way were going to get it right, Vitter said. Thats simply isnt good enough. In the end, prospects for legislation delaying large premium increases may rest on how much political pressure House members receive from worried constituents, who backers of the delaying legislation say, live in just about every state in the nation, not just in coastal communities. Landrieu said its important that senators contact House members from their state, that grassroots groups continue the pressure, and that Gov. Bobby Jindal and other governors join a strong coalition of local officials, including many Louisiana parish presidents, pushing for relief from Biggert-Waters. Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., who helped write Biggert-Waters and says the large rate increases resulting from the law surprised her, called the Senate vote a huge step toward providing much needed relief for our nations homeowners. Yet the thousands of families reeling from flood insurance hikes will see no assistance unless the House of Representatives brings this measure up for a vote, Waters said. Rep. Cedric Richmond, D-New Orleans, said the momentum from Thursdays Senate vote is undeniable. Sixty seven senators, including 14 Republicans, sent a strong message to the President, leadership in the House of Representatives and policyholders across the country that we will not be denied, Richmond said. Bruce Alpert is a Washington-based reporter for NOLA/Times-Picayune. He can be reached at balpert@nola
Posted on: Fri, 31 Jan 2014 16:09:07 +0000
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