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Flood program at risk as hurricane season approaches

Political Notebook

As Hurricane Harvey pounded the Texas coastline and forced mass evacuations this weekend, a key congressional deadline to keep federal flood insurance — insurance some in the Altoona area rely on — ticked closer.

The National Flood Insurance Program, which provides tax-subsidized insurance to those living in certain low-lying and floodprone areas, is set to lapse Sept. 30. And as a long list of congressional goals grows, so does the chance that the program could lapse.

Sixteen Blair County municipalities participate in the program, according to a list published by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. In those boroughs and townships, residents living in qualified floodplains can get the insurance to protect their homes from rising waters.

Floods are not covered under traditional homeowners insurance.

The program has existed since the 1960s, occasionally reauthorized by Congress to ensure it can keep functioning. But rising expenses, massive disasters and the threat of government gridlock have added uncertainty as the insurance system approaches its next deadline.

“While the NFIP appeared to be able to cover the cost of its flood losses from pooled premiums of the insured for many years, that is no longer the case,” the program’s director, Roy Wright, wrote earlier this year. “The NFIP’s exposure to major floods is on the rise, as evidenced by Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy.”

The program is now tens of billions of dollars in debt, officials said, and it’s unclear how or when that could change. Some in Congress have proposed reforms, but it’s increasingly unlikely much could change before the Sept. 30 deadline.

Many homes here face repeated flooding — raising costs for everyone else as the financial crunch worsens.

As of a decade ago, FEMA identified between one and 20 “severe repetitive loss structures” in Clearfield, Huntingdon and Bedford counties.

While there aren’t many here, those particularly floodprone buildings make up an outsized percentage of the program’s costs.

If the program lapsed, even briefly, experts say it could throw home sales into chaos in low-lying areas.

There’s little reason to think most in Congress would oppose a renewal, but it comes as several key deadlines approach, including those for the debt ceiling and for the federal government’s ongoing funding.

Rep. Keith Rothfus, R-12th District, sits on the committee handling the issue and has publicly backed efforts to open a private market for the insurance. In a statement in June, Rothfus called the insurance “crucially important to many homeowners in my district in Western Pennsyl-vania” — but it remains unclear when the program will get a reprieve.

Pa. congressmen wait for Afghanistan plans

When President Donald Trump announced his plans Monday to send more U.S. troops to Afghanistan, he drew praise from local GOP leaders and skepticism from Democrats.

Trump’s primetime speech — announcing force increases and calling on neighboring Pakistan to curb radicalism — marked his first major policy announcement in the nearly 16-year-old war. The war has claimed tens of thousands of Afghan lives and more than 2,400 Americans, including 92 from Pennsylvania and several from the Altoona area.

“Wars are not won by Washington timetables, they are won by listening to the American soldiers on the ground, responding to their needs and providing them the support they need to win the war,” said Rep. Bill Shuster, R-9th District, a House Armed Services Committee member whose tenure in Congress began just a few months before the U.S. invasion.

Shuster compared Trump’s strategy favorably to President Barack Obama’s in Iraq.

Other Republicans lauded Trump’s comments on Pakistan, a U.S. ally with whom American leaders have sometimes clashed.

“President Trump is right to call out Pakistan for its share of the responsibility for the situation in Afghanistan,” Rothfus said. “As the president noted, we need to be clear that Pakistan has harbored terrorists who contribute to the violence in the region, threaten the safety of Americans at home and abroad and fuel the drug trade that has caused so much pain in our communities.”

Democrats, including Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., reacted more coolly and called for more details on Trump’s plan. And members of both parties appeared eager for more details from a president who has declined to discuss troop figures or precise plans.

“I look forward to hearing more specifics from the president about how we can effectively deploy our limited resources to achieve our goals in South Asia,” Rothfus said. The sacrifices our service members and their families have made demand responsible and deliberate plans.”

In other news:

– Democrats, Republicans and independents can come together Sept. 28 at the Hollidaysburg Area Public Library for a discussion “in a comfortable setting.”

Those of every political stripe are set to meet at 6 p.m. to discuss the issues, library representatives said in their monthly calendar. No signup is necessary.

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