Insurance

Democrats are raising concerns about a Republican push to transfer more of the risk of flood insurance to private insurers.

Democrats and Republicans, who have agreed on little this year, have found common ground on plans to give private insurers greater access to the $5 billion flood insurance program and to offer more buyouts for homeowners in areas likely to be repeatedly submerged.

Private mortgage insurers have brought their once-beleaguered sector back to financial health. But rebuilding trust with their business partners is still a work in progress.

The Trump administration's decision to slash all funding for the flood mapping and loss mitigation efforts in flood-prone communities is getting pushback from supporters of better management policies.

When Julia Lundblad lies in bed at night in her Titlow Beach, Wash., home, she can hear the water sloshing up under her house. It took some getting used to, but she loves it.

Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., suggested Tuesday that the National Flood Insurance Program should boost its insurance coverage to $427,000 in an effort to put it on sounder fiscal footing.

On the eve of delivering money to help flood victims rebuild their homes, the federal agency is demanding Louisiana repay $6.6 million because of sloppy handling of funds for building low- and moderate-income housing over the past decade.

The debt is costing taxpayers $4 billion a year, but rather than forgive it Republicans remain focused on creating a private flood insurance market.