Flood Bill in Danger of Washing Out
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's plan to take up flood insurance reform is in danger of a wash out thanks to uncertainty over whether one of his Democrats plans to derail the bill.
Democratic Sen. Mark Pryor, who voted last week against moving the bill forward, is threatening to slow the legislation down unless the Senate considers his amendment to limit some of FEMA's insurance premiums.
Democratic Senate aides said leaders are still trying to reach an agreement with Pryor. His amendment is not expected to pass, but Reid doesn't want to waste floor time on bills that won't move quickly.
Reid ignored the trouble in his own caucus on Tuesday and took to the Senate floor to blame Republicans for the delay. He called Republican Sen. Rand Paul's pro-life amendment "ridiculous," arguing that the amendment was unrelated to the bill, which would reauthorize the National Flood Insurance Program for five years. The current short-term authorization runs out at the end of July.
"We'll either do flood insurance with amendments that deal with flood insurance or we won't do it. We'll have an extension," he said.
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