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Stratford: U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and U.S. Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-3) joined by Deb Chamberlain, President of the Connecticut Association of Realtors, and homeowners from communities hard hit by soaring flood insurance premiums will call on the U.S. House of Representatives to pass the Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act, which passed the Senate last week 67-32. This bipartisan bill would delay flood insurance rate increases that took effect following passage of the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012, which sought to reform the nations nearly bankrupt flood insurance program after Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy. Immediate action is vital to stop pernicious premium increases catastrophic to homeowners and local economies, Blumenthal said. I call on the House to approve the Senate measure halting huge flood insurance cost hikes, passed by an overwhelming 67-32 bipartisan majority. Without federal relief, more than 18,000 homeowners and families in Connecticut and millions across the country will be victims of these soaring premiums. Tens of thousands of families are suffering from the uncertainty of not knowing whether they will be able to pay their flood insurance premiums, DeLauro said. For families all over Connecticut, flood insurance is an absolute necessity to protect homes from devastating damage. The Senate has passed bipartisan legislation that delays these rash premium increases until FEMA studies whether these new rates are affordable for families. In the House of Representatives, we tried to pass this bill twice last week and were denied a vote on the floor. That is shameful. The House needs to pass the Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act immediately. Due to the reforms of Biggert-Waters, however, flood insurance premiums have soared for more than 18,000 policy holders in Connecticut and thousands of others across the country, because it had a disproportionate effect on older homes. The Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act aims to delay these rate increases until the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) completes its work on a long-anticipated affordability study.
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