Taylor, Baker Appeal to House Financial Services Committee to Backdate Flood Coverage

Mississippi Rep. Gene Taylor, D-4th District, and Rep. Richard Baker, R-La., were key witnesses Thursday in Washington at a House Financial Services subcommittee hearing on the financial health of the federal flood insurance program. Being questioned was whether the program has the finances to pay more than $22 billion in flood claims linked to hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

The Hattiesburg, Miss. American reported that Taylor pleaded with his colleagues to back a bill to compensate thousands of Mississippians who did not have flood insurance when their homes were destroyed by Hurricane Katrina’s storm surge and torrential rains.

“The likelihood that tens of thousands of Mississippians will lose their homes is extremely high,” Taylor said. “I would welcome anyone’s help to make these people whole.”

But thousands of homeowners whose homes were destroyed by the hurricanes had no flood coverage. Many of those people lived in areas that were considered safe from flooding before Katrina hit on Aug. 29.

Taylor’s plan would allow Katrina and Rita victims with homeowners policies to buy flood insurance and backdate the coverage to a date before the storms.

There is no estimated cost yet for Taylor’s proposal, but some lawmakers say it would be too expensive. Others say it’s not the federal government’s responsibility to help rebuild the homes of hurricane victims.

Topics Flood Hurricane