Fresno Bee Logo

EDITORIAL: Congress must find a balance on flood insurance | The Fresno Bee

×
  • E-edition
    • Customer Service
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • FAQ
    • Advertise
    • Place Classified Ad
    • Display Advertising
    • Stay Connected
    • Mobile & Apps
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • E-mail
    • RSS Feeds
    • Archives
    • Activate Digital Subscription
    • Manage Account
    • Newsletters

    • News
    • Local
    • Crime
    • Weather
    • Education
    • Marijuana
    • California
    • Nation/World
    • Databases
    • Special Reports
    • Obituaries
    • Sports
    • High Schools
    • Outdoors
    • Grizzlies
    • MLB
    • NBA
    • NFL
    • College
    • Columnists
    • David White
    • Politics
    • Elections
    • The California Influencer Series
    • Political Notebook
    • Fresno State Bulldogs
    • Football
    • Basketball
    • Entertainment
    • Calendar
    • Movies
    • Movie Times
    • Music
    • TV
    • Theater & Arts
    • Comics
    • Puzzles & Games
    • Dine Out
    • Peoples Choice
    • Blogs & Columnists
    • Beehive
    • Rory Appleton
    • Joshua Tehee
    • Living
    • Food & Drink
    • Calendar
    • Religion
    • Horoscopes
    • Blogs & Columnists
    • Beehive
    • Bethany Clough
    • Carmen George
    • Fresno Famous
    • Ask Amy
    • Business
    • Agriculture
    • Personal Finance
    • Technology
    • Mortgage Rates
    • Blogs
    • BoNhia Lee
    • Opinion
    • Editorials
    • Letters
    • Influencers Opinion
    • Valley Voices
    • Other Opinions
    • Submit a Letter
    • Columnists
    • Armen Bacon
    • Victor Davis Hanson
    • David "Mas" Masumoto
    • Marek Warszawski
    • Today's Obituaries
    • Place an Obituary
  • CV Magazine
  • Peoples Choice Awards
  • Best of Clovis
    • Today's Hot Deal
    • Today's Circulars
    • Classifieds
    • Auctions/Estate Sales
    • Garage Sales
    • Real Estate
    • New Homes Map
    • Jobs
    • Automotive
    • Merchandise
    • Pets
    • Legal Notices
    • Service Directory
    • Classified
    • Open House Weekend
    • Real Estate Marketplace

    • Jobs
    • Fresno Bee Jobs
  • Moonlighting
  • Cars
    • Search Real Estate
    • New Homes Map
  • Mobile & Apps

Editorials

EDITORIAL: Congress must find a balance on flood insurance

    ORDER REPRINT →

October 29, 2013 10:00 PM

Congress had good intentions when it passed legislation in July 2012 to reduce federal liabilities for subsidized flood insurance. The Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act was aimed at shrinking the $20 billion in debt the federal government assumed after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. That debt increased in 2012 when Hurricane Sandy smashed into the Northeast.

There's little doubt that reform is needed of a flood insurance program created in 1968. Subsidized insurance has encouraged developers and property owners to build in the wrong places, and it has done little to encourage them to take measures to limit damage from floods and hurricanes.

Yet it's also clear that Biggert-Waters moves too quickly in reducing federal liability and transferring it to individual property owners. With the law taking effect Oct. 1, homeowners have become alarmed by dramatically higher premiums and uncertainty about which areas will be affected.

U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters, a Los Angeles Democrat who co-authored the law, released a statement saying she is "outraged by the increased costs of flood insurance premiums that have resulted from the Biggert-Waters Act." Mississippi has sued the federal government. U.S. Rep. John Garamendi, a former California insurance commissioner, said "the new flood insurance rates demanded by FEMA are absolutely unaffordable.'

Sign Up and Save

Get six months of free digital access to The Fresno Bee

SUBSCRIBE WITH GOOGLE

#ReadLocal

On his website, Garamendi has a chart, prepared by the Dewberry firm, showing the impact of higher premiums on houses in different locales. A $200,000 house 1 foot below the "base flood elevation" could see insurance rates rise from $2,235 to $5,623 yearly. The same house 10 feet below base flood elevation could see rates rise from $2,235 to $25,000 annually.

Garamendi and 31 others in the House are co-sponsoring the bipartisan HR 2199, the Flood Insurance Implementation Reform Act of 2013, which would delay the rate hike. That may be a needed move, but it hardly resolves the question of how to reduce federal liabilities over the long term.

In the meantime, residents in the low-lying parts of the Central Valley should prepare themselves. One way or another, insurance rates will rise. The question is, how high -- and how fast -- will they rise?

  Comments  

Videos

WWII vet recalls sinking of the USS Lexington

Around Donald Trump in the first 100 days

View More Video

Trending Stories

A woman selling roadside flowers was robbed. A passerby made sure she got her money back

February 17, 2019 11:00 AM

One man dead, two children injured in Fresno crash; police say one man arrested for DUI

February 17, 2019 09:02 PM

Infant and 5-year-old boy among those killed in South Valley crash. Deputies seek public’s help

February 18, 2019 08:09 AM

Tedford remodels Fresno State football coaching staff. Here are the big changes

February 18, 2019 03:39 PM

Suspected gas thieves suffer major injuries after SUV plunges into Fresno County creek

February 17, 2019 09:40 AM

Read Next

Nasreen Johnson is the best choice for north Fresno on county Board of Supervisors

Editorials

Nasreen Johnson is the best choice for north Fresno on county Board of Supervisors

By The Fresno Bee Editorial Board

    ORDER REPRINT →

February 15, 2019 02:45 PM

The editorial board of The Fresno Bee is endorsing Nasreen Johnson in the special election on March 5, 2019, for Fresno County, California, Board of Supervisors, filling the seat left by Andreas Borgeas.

KEEP READING

Sign Up and Save

#ReadLocal

Get six months of free digital access to The Fresno Bee

SUBSCRIBE WITH GOOGLE

MORE EDITORIALS

Editorials

#BulldogBornBulldogBred is a popular hashtag. Here is what to add to that: BulldogBacker

February 12, 2019 10:35 AM
Three words change the fate of high-speed rail, and with it, the Valley’s future

Editorials

Three words change the fate of high-speed rail, and with it, the Valley’s future

February 12, 2019 02:44 PM
Bee Editor Joe Kieta answers reader questions about online commenting, staff hiring

Editorials

Bee Editor Joe Kieta answers reader questions about online commenting, staff hiring

February 08, 2019 01:28 PM
New jobs or good planning? Fresno can have both in proposed industrial park

Editorials

New jobs or good planning? Fresno can have both in proposed industrial park

February 06, 2019 09:59 AM
Monarchs are disappearing, yet California has not listed them as endangered. Why not?

Opinion

Monarchs are disappearing, yet California has not listed them as endangered. Why not?

February 01, 2019 03:57 PM

Editorials

To solve California’s housing crisis, the state and cities must aim for the same goal

February 01, 2019 09:46 AM
Take Us With You

Real-time updates and all local stories you want right in the palm of your hand.

Icon for mobile apps

The Fresno Bee App

View Newsletters

Subscriptions
  • Start a Subscription
  • Customer Service
  • eEdition
  • Vacation Hold
  • Rewards
  • Pay Your Bill
Learn More
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletters
  • News in Education
  • Archives
Advertising
  • Advertising with the Bee
  • Place Classified Ads
  • Local Deals
Copyright
Privacy Policy
Terms of Service


Back to Story