Centralia — U.S. Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler’s legislation to delay and eliminate portions of proposed flood insurance changes could be put to a vote as early as next week.
She is one of 192 co-sponsors of the bipartisan legislation, known as the Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act.
The bill would delay flood insurance rate increases until the Federal Emergency Management Agency presents an affordability study to Congress that proves homeowners can afford the suggested changes.
According to FEMA, floods have caused more than $25 billion in losses over the last 10 years, and responding to them has put the agency more than $18 billion in the hole.
To repair the financial damage, Congress passed reforms in 2012 requiring FEMA to raise rates and close any resource-draining discounts. Herrera Beutler voted for that change.
Congress required that all policies be brought up to what’s known as the full risk rate, or the rate that reflects the risk assumed by FEMA — as determined by the average claims payment — and all administrative expenses.
Herrera Beutler says FEMA has ignored parts of the 2012 bill that allow leniency in rate increases and their implementation.
“(FEMA has) allowed zero fudge room,” she said. “They are going with shock and awe. We’re not the only area that’s not going to be able to handle it.”
Under FEMA’s plan, grandfathered properties will go to the full risk rate when a community adopts an updated map.
It’s not known when the new maps will be published, but preliminary versions indicate that Lewis County’s floodplain and floodway will be expanded significantly.
Currently, the National Flood Insurance Program allows property owners to hold on to the rates determined by previous flood maps, as long as they owned insurance prior to the map change and maintained continuous coverage.
In a Feb. 7 letter to Jeb Hensarling, chairman of the House Committee on Financial Services, Herrera Beutler listed her concerns and urged him to action.
“The uncertainty families and businesses face with premium rate increases in the National Flood Insurance Program is a serious concern for folks in my district, especially low income, the elderly, and working families who may not be able to stay in their homes because rates have spiked well past the point of what they can afford,” she said in the letter. “The rise in rates is having a ripple effect throughout local economies; bankers are apprehensive to approve mortgage loans, home building and renovation are stalled and realtors cannot close property sales because of the uncertainty circling around this problem.”
In Centralia last month, Herrera Beutler expressed concern about the changes. “This is a mess,” she said. “I’ve seen different increase numbers, from 40 percent to 400 percent. It’s completely untenable.”
