House Approves New Flood InsuranceFunds

WASHINGTON - (09/09/05) -- The House unanimously approvedlegislation Thursday that would pump as much as $2-billion moreinto the National Flood Insurance Program to help pay the hundredsof thousands of flood claims expected in the wake of HurricaneKatrina. The program is run by the Federal Emergency ManagementAgency, which is spearheading disaster recovery efforts inLousiana, Mississippi and Alabama. The bill, which is expected tobe approved quickly by the Senate, would increase FEMA's borrowingpowers for the flood insurance prorgam to $3.5 billion from thecurrent $1.5 billion. The flood insurance program is run by FEMAand the federal government because it is too expensive and riskyfor any private sector firms to take it on.