Hurricane Sandy made flood insurance a priority for the state of New Jersey. Congressman Frank LoBiondo (R-2nd Dist) has been seeking to implement some reforms into the national flood insurance program. LoBiondo told NJ Today Managing Editor Mike Schneider that the program was going broke after Hurricane Katrina and efforts to revamp it began when Sandy struck the Northeast.
After Hurricane Katrina, LoBiondo said the national flood insurance program was close to a $30 billion deficit. While there was a cry to revamp the program, LoBiondo said there were people on Capitol Hill who wanted to see the program eliminated. But five years later, he said stakeholders came up with a plan to keep the program solvent. Then came Sandy.
“We never anticipated dealing with the new national flood insurance program on the heels of a disaster recovery [of] Sandy,” said LoBiondo. He added that he would like to see a bill that, at a minimum, provides the program with a 25 percent per year increase for four years and a 12.5 percent increase over eight years.
In his district, which include Atlantic and Cape May counties, LoBiondo said Sandy caused significant water damage that left thousands of residents displaced from their homes.
Still, LoBiondo expressed optimism about the upcoming tourism season.
“As far as the shore communities are concerned, we actually I think are gonna be in very good shape for this summer,” he said. “We’re pretty excited everywhere from Long Beach Island to Atlantic County. Atlantic City is going to have the opening of Margaritaville [on] Memorial Day. We’re all pretty excited about that. Cape May County is going to do extremely well. So we’re looking to a very, very strong tourism season.”
Looking back at the drama that preceded the Sandy Relief Aid Act, LoBiondo recalled the hard-fought battle he and his colleagues faced in passing the bill.
“You know the story of all the anxiety we had to go through, the hoops that we had to go through to get the emergency supplemental, but it was structured in such a way to try to get, at least at this stage of the game, to be able to move the money to the people and places that need it the most,” said LoBiondo. “The block grants that are going form Washington to Trenton, I think, are going to prove to be a life saver for circumventing the bureaucracy in Washington which has never been known for operating in an expeditious way.”
Since U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg announced in February that he would not seek a sixth term in next year’s election, there has been speculation about potential candidates. Newark Mayor Cory Booker has tossed his hat into the ring.
LoBiondo’s name has come up as a potential Republican candidate. When asked about his intentions, LoBionodo would only say, “that’s next year, we’re still working with Sandy recovery and trying to keep Washington on the right track now.”