Just over a year later, the U.S. Congress imposed often criticized the government's flood insurance plan major changes, I strongly protest the delay by the coastal legislators will keep prices below cost tens of thousands of homeowners face higher premiums people flood risk areas.
Government can not say how many people may face higher premiums, but in Staten Island, New York, New Jersey along the battered coast places, such as in low-lying areas of Louisiana, Florida and Texas homeowners facing the prospect of a new government survey resulting flood insurance premiums are so large that they may be forced to leave their homes, or look at their market value fell sharply.
Robert Taylor, a homeowner in Des ALLEMANDS said: "This is crazy," said Taylor, Louisiana flood of new laws and investigations will encounter his premiums from 400 yuan to the annual income of more than $ 28,000. "Our society since 1923 has been here, never, never flooded over."
The problem is a premium spike driven by a new flood maps from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said Taylor's home is 6 or 7 feet below flood stage. Maps, however, did not take into account a levee was built 80 years ago by the local government through Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Isaac protect society.
Federal flood insurance debate is the intersection efforts to root out waste and abuse against people running real-world impact. Its purpose is to end taxpayer bailouts of flood insurance plan, even overhaul forcing people from their homes, reduce the value of real estate, and changed the fabric of the community.
FEMA estimated that about 20 percent - about 1.1 million - 5.5 million policyholders receive subsidies. Approximately 250,000 people, will see immediate increases: business owners, those with second homes often flooded property. An additional 578,000 policyholders living in hazardous areas, will retain their subsidies until they sell their homes or suffered severe and repeated flood damage. The same is true of people in the apartment.
The program needs $ 2.4 billion bailout plan because founded in 1968, has attracted withering criticism, which is lower than the market premium rate, and from the families and businesses billions of dollars in losses claimed repeatedly submerged every few years.
Program was amended last year, almost everyone from the Tea Party Republican Rep. Maxine Waters and other liberals, California, you can agree with one of several things: It is time to bring people through the charging premium rates steady program reflect their risk of being overwhelmed.
Now comes the implementation. From the second half of next year, the Federal Emergency Management Agency will no longer be at below market rates grandfather who, before their old house built in a few years or a few decades ago flood code, but has been judged to be at greater risk in the new flood maps.
Currently, people pay a higher rate of second homes. October has seriously or repeatedly submerged in a flood zone and the family business rates will go up 25% of the price on behalf of a year, until the "real risk" of flooding. And the subsidy rate will lapse, when a home for sale or repeatedly flooded.
Changes in Louisiana, New Jersey and Florida, where the flood insurance subsidy has been a staple of the economy for decades a place like this triggered a huge controversy. In some areas, home values ??plummeted, because the premium rate uncertainty. Housing sales decline because subsidy rates can not be passed on to the buyer. Some homeowners have learned that the new flood maps will send their premiums skyrocketing.
Response hot, an unusual House Democrats and Republicans together in a 281-146 vote Conservative Union last month to postpone for a year the premium increases. , Sponsored by Rep. Bill Cassidy, R-La. , Measures to prevent the implementation of the legal provisions of FEMA, lower than the market gradually eliminated, grandfather homeowners insurance premiums, which are considered a higher risk of flooding under the new map, but it leaves affect FEMA's efforts to phase out for people living in the flood zone direct subsidies.
Cassidy's amendment added to the capital spending bill, the Federal Emergency Management Agency's budget. Despite the legacy of actions from the opposition conservative groups, many prominent conservatives favor, including Rep. Paul Ryan, R-WIS, Steve said Scalise, R-LA, the Republican Study Committee.
Cassidy run unseat Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu person, she's part of a broader legislative aims of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee, she perched atop write FEMA's budget. She did not reveal her plans.
"I'm talking about the fishermen, dock workers, middle-class family living in the coast and rivers, up to 300 years and we literally pricing their use of geographic one from President Thomas Jefferson purchased the entire Federal Ministry of Finance," Landrieu, D - Shangri-La, said. "In this recession high heels, this is extremely cruel and harsh. Heels of the BP oil spill, on the heels of" Katrina "and" Rita, how much we can take? "
Changes supporters launched their own eyes. They say the law is, in most cases, is implementing the design, it's just that people are upset, they do not have to pay higher insurance rates.
"This program is designed to bring some sanity flood program," they proposed, Rep. 米克马瓦尼 said that in the debate on the postponement of new premiums. "These are the exact consequences ...... We will only charge people who are at high-risk areas for more."
However, FEMA's critics say, ruining the implementation of the legal institutions, for example, failed to take into account the non-federal levees and flood control and other factors, coastal restoration and pumping equipment, watching the flood risk.
FEMA officials, David Miller, is responsible for the procedure, acknowledged that the agency has determined that ignore flood risk, but to reconsider the policy non-federal dams. "We've put all the mapping levees hold until the new policy came into effect," in a few weeks.
You can feel a greater impact, the homeland of the previous building standards compliance, or is regarded as low risk based on past flood maps, but soon will face higher premiums. Under the old system, they can retain their old rates because they follow the rules when they buy or build their own home. The new law will eliminate the grandfather rate, the second half of next year.
Lawmakers say the changes this transition is the source of nightmare stories of homeowners are paying hundreds of dollars each year for their policy, but now faces many times earlier. FEMA can not tell policy makers how many people even benefit from Grandfather interest, let alone predict how it will affect their remapping.
For Louisiana homeowners Taylor, the potential impact is very difficult - unless FEMA issued a reprieve to redraw the new flood maps.
"The worst is my home on January 1 this year, worth $ 230,000," Taylor said. "As of now, I am assessor told me that because of this flood insurance issues, my home is worth $ 35,000, basically a lot."
 



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