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Lampson: flood insurance mandate dead in Congress
By AUDREY M. MARKS
A congressional proposal to mandate flood insurance for homes behind levees has been defeated, U.S. Rep. Nick Lampson, said Wednesday night.
“That proposal did not go anywhere in this Congress and it is my understanding that it will not be going anywhere in the next Congress,” the Stafford Democrat said during a candidates forum in Richmond.
The mandatory flood insurance, proposed by Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., would have required homes protected by levees to purchase flood insurance with prices set by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
“It was a means to try and find revenue that could be used by FEMA and it does not need to be taken away from people who have already spent a significant amount of money to protect themselves from floods,” Lampson said.
In July, Congress estimated FEMA pays $1 billion in interest annually on FEMA debt. According to the proposed legislation the agency had to borrow $20 billion to pay claims after the levees breached in New Orleans.
Lampson, with the city of Sugar Land and Fort Bend County, called on House and Senate leaders to exempt areas that had improved their levees from the mandate.
During a July city council meeting, Mayor James Thompson estimated the mandatory flood insurance would cost homeowners between $2,000 and $2,5000 and would have impacted all nine levy improvement districts in Sugar Land and the city’s extraterritorial jurisdiction.
“That proposal did not go anywhere in this Congress and it is my understanding that it will not be going anywhere in the next Congress,” the Stafford Democrat said during a candidates forum in Richmond.
The mandatory flood insurance, proposed by Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., would have required homes protected by levees to purchase flood insurance with prices set by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
“It was a means to try and find revenue that could be used by FEMA and it does not need to be taken away from people who have already spent a significant amount of money to protect themselves from floods,” Lampson said.
In July, Congress estimated FEMA pays $1 billion in interest annually on FEMA debt. According to the proposed legislation the agency had to borrow $20 billion to pay claims after the levees breached in New Orleans.
Lampson, with the city of Sugar Land and Fort Bend County, called on House and Senate leaders to exempt areas that had improved their levees from the mandate.
During a July city council meeting, Mayor James Thompson estimated the mandatory flood insurance would cost homeowners between $2,000 and $2,5000 and would have impacted all nine levy improvement districts in Sugar Land and the city’s extraterritorial jurisdiction.
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