Club for Growth key votes against flood insurance bill

The conservative Club for Growth on Thursday said it would punish any senators voting for a flood insurance bill in its annual scorecard. 

The key vote announcement is not a surprise given the Club’s support of the 2012 Flood Insurance Reform Act and opposition to attempts to gut it.

The National Flood Insurance Program has a history of troubled finances, and the 2012 legislation authorized premium increases. The Senate on Thursday is expected to approve a measure to rollback many of the increased premiums.

{mosads}”This bill delays the much needed phase out of certain flood insurance subsidies for four years. The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) itself unfairly transfers risk from homeowners in flood-prone areas to taxpayers. And that risk has manifested itself in recent years to the tune of $24 billion,” the Club statement reads.

“The Government Accountability Office has even deemed the NFIP as a “high-risk government program” because it keeps premiums actuarially too low. Rather than continue this unfair program that is hostile to liberty and limited government, Congress should end the NFIP and return the flood insurance industry back to the private sector.”

Heritage Action said Monday it would key vote against the NFIP bill, which is sponsored by Sens. Mary Landrieu (D-La.), David Vitter (R-La.), Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), and Robert Menendez (D-N.J.).