US Senator Bill Cassidy (R)
Senator Bill Cassidy, Southwest Louisiana Congressman Clay Higgins and Democratic lawmakers from New Jersey have filed legislation they say will make flood insurance affordable again. The Baton Rouge Republican says flood insurance is a necessity in south Louisiana and it has become unaffordable.
“Some parts of St. Charles Parish are prone to flooding and the people that live there are the ones that work in the petrochemical refineries. And the nuclear power plants, and the industries up and down the river that are powering our nation’s economy.”
The National Flood Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2023 would provide vouchers to low- and moderate-income homeowners and renters if their premiums become too expensive. The legislation creates new oversight measures for insurance companies and vendors and gives FEMA more power to terminate contractor abuse. Cassidy says it also caps annual rate hikes.
“FEMA’s taking that up to 18 percent per year compounding and we bring that back down to where it is now to 9 percent which is high but it’s what people seem to be able to tolerate because that’s what the program has been doing for a while.”
According to the Associated Press, the NFIP over the last year has lost 100,00 policyholders due to FEMA’s new rating methodology Risk Rating 2.0. FEMA’s new rate calculations have dramatically increased the price of many policies. Cassidy says they will continue to work with every congressional member to secure passage.
“And so I can’t promise it’s going to happen, but we keep working it, working it, and working it and someday it will.”
New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez and New Jersey Representative Frank Pallone are co-sponsors of the bill.
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