How Virginia’s and North Carolina’s members of Congress voted on
0 Comments | The Virginian-Pilot and The Ledger-Star, Norfolk, VA, Jul 19, 2010
House votes
NATIONAL FLOOD INSURANCE
Voting 329-90, the House on Thursday sent the Senate a bill (HR 5114) to renew National Flood Insurance at an authorized cost of $476 million over 10 years. The renewal, covering five years, would increase premiums and deductibles, raise residential and commercial coverage limits, delay purchase requirements in areas newly added to flood maps and provide $50 million annually in grants for programs to educate homeowners and renters about the program.
Congress enacted National Flood Insurance in 1968 to provide households with coverage that standard homeowner policies do not provide. The law requires participation by most properties located in chronically flooded areas. About 5.6 million U.S. households in 20,000 communities participate, with most premiums subsidized by taxpayers.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency provides the insurance and assumes all risk, while private firms sell and service policies for a percentage of the premium. Although designed to be self- financing, the program is authorized to borrow up to $20.8 billion from the Treasury. It carries a $19 billion deficit attributed to claims from victims of hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma in 2005
insurance for renters