Jeb Hensarling Wants To Screw With Flood Insurance

Once again, Texas Congressman and deficit hawk Jeb Hensarling (R-Dallas) is in the news…in Pennsylvania. This time, he’s catching flack for wanting to end the practice of government subsidized flood insurance.

You are probably wondering why in the hell you should care. You are also probably wondering how this has any bearing on Texas.

I’ll do my best to give you all of the necessary information on both counts.

First off, the National Flood Insurance Program (administered through FEMA) is a program by which property owners in high-risk areas (such as the Texas Gulf Coast) can by insurance to protect their homes from flooding. The reason the government is in the business of providing flood insurance is because, in many areas prone to flooding, private insurers are unwilling to insure properties or charge sky-high rates that middle class families can’t manage to pay for.

The reason this is important to Texas is because the entire Gulf Coast, by virtue of…well, being the Gulf Coast, is a bit, shall we say, “prone to flooding.”

Flood insurance, a topic that would normally bore me to death, is making news because the program is reeling from losses from hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Last week (hold your pants on, I’m getting to Hensarling), the House voted 416-4 to increase the amount of coverage a property owner can buy, boosts fines for morgtage lenders who don’t tell customers they have to buy flood insurance and phases out subsidies on some vacation homes and commercial properties, and raises premiums at a faster rate.

However, had Hensarling had his way, subsidies would have ended for all the poor and middle class families in flood prone areas all across the country. Hensarling proposed an amendment when the bill was before the House Financial Services Committee that would have immediately ended subsided flood insurance rates for everyone. Luckily, the committee had a bit more sense than to approve that, and it went down 45-10.
Hensarling, for once evidently not wanting to look like he was supporting screwing the poor and middle class (for once) voted for the bill on final passage (final roll call on the bill here).