Long term flood insurance fix unlikely in the lame duck

Senator John Kennedy says the chances for a passage of any long-term flood insurance program renewal in the lame duck session are slim. The program is set to expire November 30^th, and in the meantime, Kennedy says he’s proposing a six-month renewal while a long-term fix continues to be hashed out. He says it’s been a frustrating process.

“Some of my colleagues just don’t want to focus on it. You can lead a man to Congress but you can’t make him think.”

Unlike most of the problems on Capitol Hill, Kennedy says this one isn’t actually about Democrats and Republicans, it’s more about people who live near water vs. those who don’t, and those who don’t just don’t consider it a priority…

“We have both Democrats and Republicans co-sponsoring my bill. It’s more geographic. I have some of my Senate colleagues who have just ignored the facts.”

The Senator says there’s been a particularly pervasive impression from non-coastal politicians that the National Flood Insurance Program is just a giveaway to the wealthy and not a crucial protection for working-class waterfront folks.

“They persist in thinking that it is provided subsidized insurance to rich people to insure their expensive beach homes. That’s not true in Louisiana.”

Republican Senators Rubio and Cassidy have co-signed Kennedy’s bill, along with Democrat Bob Menendez.