REUTERS/Carlos Barria
House leaders scrubbed a vote today on a bill to continue taxpayer subsidies of flood insurance for private property owners, after criticism from a coalition of conservatives that the measure blocks reforms to the National Flood Insurance Program enacted in 2012.
The Foundry reported Tuesday evening that 28 members of the Conservative Action Project, a coalition that includes the heads of Heritage Action for America and the Club for Growth, urged the House to reject the legislation in a memo circulated earlier in the day.
“Private companies cannot compete with a program that offers artificially low insurance premiums courtesy of the American taxpayer,” Heritage Action argued in a separate release.
Republican leadership aides told the New York Daily News that the House vote could occur Thursday, but involved Democrats weren’t holding their breath. Democrats already were concerned that the bill’s cap on rate increases is too high at 15 percent, Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA), co-sponsor of the Senate version, said in a statement.
Representative Jeb Hensarling (R-TX), chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, underscored his opposition to the bill today during a closed-door caucus meeting, The Wall Street Journal reported, prompting speculation that GOP leadership simply can’t round up enough votes.
Speaking at a policy summit organized Feb. 10 by Heritage Action, Hensarling said that if a policy or bill “hastens the bankruptcy of a program that is already underwater,” he couldn’t support it. “Ultimately, hardworking American taxpayers should not be forced to subsidize other people’s flood insurance premiums,” he said.
This story was produced by The Foundry’s news team. Nothing here should be construed as necessarily reflecting the views of The Heritage Foundation.
