House rejects Democratic proposal for quick vote on Senate-passed bill delaying flood insurance hikes

By Bruce Alpert, NOLA.com | Times-Picayune 

February 4, 2014

Rep. Cedric Richmond Tuesday pleaded with House members to allow an immediate vote on a Senate-passed bill to delay flood insurance premium hikes for four years. But he and other Democrats were rebuffed by nearly united GOP opposition. (The Associated Press )

WASHINGTON --House Republicans Tuesday beat back a Democratic procedural effort to force a vote on Senate-passed legislation to delayflood insurance premium increase resulting from a 2012 law for four years.

The vote was 225-193 to block a procedural motion that could have led to a vote on the Senate bill. All Democrats voted for the motion. Only one Republican, Rep. Walter Jones, R-N.C., voted for the Democratic proposal.

Democrats said that constituents from across the United States are calling with tremendous concern about rate increases that could make it impossible for them to afford their flood insurance, or, make their homes unsellable because rate hikes are not phased in, but immediate, when a house changes hands.

"I call on the speaker (Speaker John Boehner) to stop fiddling while Rome burns," said Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Ct.

Rep. Steve Scalise, R-Jefferson, called the Democratic maneuver a "political stunt." He said progress is being made in advancing a bill in the House that can provide meaningful relief to homeowners.

Scalise joined Reps. Charles Boustany, R-Lafayette; John Fleming, R-Minden; and Vance McAllister, R-Swartz; in voting against the Democratic proposal. Rep. Cedric Richmond, D-New Orleans, the delegation's only Democrat, supported the effort. Rep.Bill Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge, missed the vote. His office offered no immediate explanation for the missed vote.

The Democratic motion, known as "strike the last word," if successful would have allowed Democrats to modify the rule against amendments for the pending wildlife bill, and if successful, allow them to attempt to add the Senate-passed flood insurance bill to the wildlife measure. Such efforts almost always fail.

Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Tex., said that the House Financial Services Committee is committed to working with members of both parties to resolve what he acknowledged were problems with the implementation of the 2012 Biggert-Waters flood insurance act.

Richmond said the problem is that "we don't have time to wait on this issue."

"Every day is a sale that is delayed or doesn't go through because the flood insurance is so high and the new purchaser doesn't want to pay for it," Richmond said. "And the owner is short selling the house because they have to get out of it, and they can't afford to wait."

"When we talk about home ownership, we are talking about responsible Americans, 1.7 million Americans in this country, who saved up to participate in the bedrock of the American dream. Now, government and FEMA, and now Congress, are turning their piece of the American dream into a government-made nightmare and we have the ability here today to fix this," Richmond said.

The vote Tuesday rejected a Democratic procedural effort to bring up the delaying bill passed 67-32 last week by the Senate.

Sessions said the Democrats were trying to bypass the committee structure designed to respond to the kind of issues being raised about the flood insurance program.

"Thank you for coming to the floor but an answer for this really needs to come from the committee that we need to then work through the rules committee and get it on the floor and I am committed to that," Sessions said.

Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Fla., said she and former Rep. Judy Biggert, R-Ill., who wrote the 2012 law designed to solidify the finances of the flood insurance program, never intended the large increases -- double, triple, 10 even 30 times current premiums -- that are being reported by constituents as FEMA issues new maps to measure flood risk.

Sen. David Vitter, R-La., said he believes the House will pass a bill to deal with large premium increase, though it's likely to be different than the bill that passed the Senate last week. The Senate bill delaying most of the hikes for four years to give FEMA and Congress time to work out a system to keep the program affordable for middle class homeowners.

Once the House acts, Vitter said, it will set up House-Senate negotiations -- a process Vitter said he expects will result in a "strong bill."

Scalise said that he's meeting regularly with House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling, R-Tex., who initially was opposed to any major modification with Biggert-Waters. But he said Henserling is now entertaining ways to keep the program affordable, and that he's confident a solid bill will emerge soon.

It's possible Rep. Dennis Ross, R-Fla., a member of the panel, who has constituents worried about significant increases in premiums, will introduce a new flood insurance proposal. Rep. Michael Grimm, R-N.Y., is lead sponsor of the legislation that passed the Senate last week. It would delay most of the premium increases resulting from Biggert-Waters for four years.

In St. Charles Parish, hundreds of residents were told by FEMA last spring to expect to pay roughly $23,000 per year for flood insurance, according to parish officials. Of the 8,500 policies facing increases, virtually all of the homes were built to FEMA's standards, parish officials have said. But as part of Biggert-Waters, Congress did away with the grandfather clause that would have protected those owners from rate increases driven by new rules or maps

The White House has expressed concerns about the cost impact of delaying rate increases. But after Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La, criticized the statement, a White House official said that the president would not veto the Senate bill, if it reaches his desk.
Landrieu is facing a tough Senate re-election race, with Cassidy, the Baton Rouge House Republican, considered her most formidable opponent.