Free Republic

Devastating floods in Missouri and Texas have given a new impetus to lawmakers fighting for legislation to reform federal flood insurance. The late-December flooding in the Midwest and Southwest claimed more than 40 lives and caused millions of dollars in property damage, adding further financial strain to an insurance program that was already $23 billion in debt. With the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) set to expire in September 2017, some members of Congress say the time has come to pass legislation that puts the program on the path to solvency. "We need to get the private sector in the...

A major flood insurance bill was a rarity when it passed what is widely derided as a do-nothing Congress in 2012, but a year and a half later, there is now an enthusiastic bipartisan effort to gut it. This week the Senate is expected to approve a measure that would block, repeal or delay many of the key provisions of the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act, which was sponsored by Representative Judy Biggert, an Illinois Republican, and Representative Maxine Waters, a California Democrat. Tucked into broader transportation legislation, the bill had enthusiastic support across the political spectrum, from liberal environmentalists...

They say lightning never strikes the same place twice, but try telling that to Melanie Martinez. Dubbed "America's unluckiest woman," the Louisiana native and school bus driver lost her fifth home last week to a hurricane. This time, Martinez witnessed herself as Hurricane Isaac pummeled her Braithwaite, La. home while she and her family huddled in the attic. (snip) When the storm passed, they faced the all too-familiar wreckage. Martinez lost four other homes in the last 50 years Hurricanes Betsy (1965), Juan (1985), George (1998), and Katrina (2005). (snip) Supporters of the Martinez family have created a PayPal account...