Ledyard King

USA TODAY NETWORK - FLORIDA

WASHINGTON - The debt-ridden National Flood Insurance Program, which is bracing for a potentially unprecedented number of claims from Hurricane Harvey, takes in about $1.4 billion less than it needs annually to pay projected costs.

And Florida is a big reason for the deficit, according to the report by the Congressional Budget Office.

In most counties around the country, the flood insurance program collects more than it needs, with some producing significant surpluses. Those funds offset significant shortfalls in a small group of counties, primarily along the southern Atlantic and Gulf coasts, CBO found.

Of the 33 counties with shortfalls of more than $10 million annually, 12 are in Florida. (No other state had more than five).

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Here are the 12 in alphabetical order: Brevard, Charlotte, Collier, Duval, Hillsborough, Indian River, Lee, Miami-Dade, Monroe, Pinellas, Sarasota and Volusia counties.

And of the 46 counties generating surpluses of $2 million or more, none are in the Sunshine State.

The flood insurance program costs about $5.7 billion a year but only takes in $4.3 billion. Closing that $1.4 billion gap would require Congress to balance sometimes competing goals of encouraging more people to buy coverage by holding down rates, and pricing coverage according to the risk posed by flood-prone properties, especially in coastal areas, CBO said.

The flood insurance program, created in 1968 as commercial insurance companies began to drop flood coverage entirely, is carrying a $25 billion debt, primarily due to claims form Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and Superstorm Sandy in 2012. That debt, which federal officials have said policyholders will never be able to repay, is expected to grow as claims from Hurricane Harvey are filed.

Congress faces a Sept. 30 deadline to renew the flood program, but there are competing plans pending in the House and Senate, and a short-term extension is possible. President Trump’s homeland security adviser, Tom Bossert, said at a White House briefing on Thursday that decisions about “policy ideas” for flood insurance would be made in “late fall.”

Potential solutions to close the funding gap include increasing fees or surcharges, reducing subsidies that primarily go to older properties built before the program existed, or targeting subsidies to low-income households.

“Since the NFIP’s inception, lawmakers have struggled to find the appropriate balance,” the report said. “Actuarially sound rates would help communicate flood risk to homeowners and ensure the program’s sustainability, but holding rates down could save policyholders from facing large new costs or rate increases that could impose financial hardship and depress property values, potentially causing some to forgo coverage.”

Nelson, Scott in statistical heat for 2018 race

Democrat Bill Nelson and Republican Rick Scott are in a statistical tie among Florida voters in their expected matchup for the U.S. Senate next year, a new poll concludes.

Nelson, the incumbent seeking a fourth term, is leading Scott, the two-term governor who cannot seek reelection, 42% to 40%, according to a poll of 800 registered voters released by Florida Atlantic University’s Business and Economics Polling Initiative. The poll, conducted Aug. 24-26, has a margin of error of four percentage points.

Scott has not officially announced his intention to run for Senate in 2018 but almost everyone expects he will do so. President Trump is urging him to run as well.

The poll suggests trouble for Nelson given that only 36% of voters approve of his job performance while 32% disapprove and another 32% are undecided. If a third of the electorate hasn’t figured out how they feel about someone who’s spent nearly 17 years in office representing them, it could give Scott an opportunity to define him negatively.

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Earlier polls showed Nelson with a slightly higher lead and better approval ratings. But even a University of North Florida poll of registered voters in March that showed Nelson’s net favorability at plus-14% also found that three of 10 Floridians had yet to reach an opinion of the state’s senior senator.

DeSantis wants to curtail Mueller probe into Trump campaign

Florida Rep. Ron DeSantis wants to put a time limit on special counsel Robert Mueller’s wide-ranging investigation into the Trump’s campaign ties to Russia.

The conservative Republican, a potential gubernatorial candidate next year, has filed legislation that would prevent funding for the probe beyond 180 days after the measure passes Congress. It would also prohibit Mueller from investigating matters that occurred prior to June 2015, the month Donald Trump announced his presidential bid.

In a statement released by his office, DeSantis said he’s concerned the Department of Justice investigation being led by the former FBI director is irresponsibly open-ended.

“The order appointing a special counsel promulgated by Deputy Attorney General (Rod) Rosenstein didn’t identify a crime to be investigated and practically invites a fishing expedition. Congress should use its spending power to clarify the scope and limit the duration of this investigation. Rosenstein has said that the DOJ doesn’t conduct fishing expeditions; the corollary to this admonition should be that Congress will not fund a fishing expedition.”

DeSantis’ long-shot measure was filed as an amendment to a broad spending bill the House is expected to begin weighing as early as next week in order to keep the federal government open beyond the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30.

It still must be endorsed by the House Rules Committee before it could even make it to the floor for a vote. GOP leaders may be reluctant to add it to the spending package to fund the government because opposition to DeSantis’ proposal from Democrats and some Republicans could be enough to derail the overall appropriations bill and lead to a government shutdown.

Lisa Gilbert, vice president for legislative affairs at the government watchdog group Public Citizen, called DeSantis’ move “appalling.”

“The appropriations process is supposed to be about funding our government, not covering up President Donald Trump’s suspected collusion with Russia,” she said.

The effort to curb the Mueller probe comes only weeks after bipartisan bills in the Senate have been introduced to stop President Trump from being able to can Mueller. Trump cannot technically fire the special counsel who was appointed through the Justice Department, but he could appoint a new attorney general who could.

Two separate measures — one from Sens. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., and Chris Coons, D-Del., the other from Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Cory Booker, D-N.J. — would not permit Mueller’s firing without judicial review.

Trump has called the probe a “witch hunt” but also said he has no plans to fire Mueller.

Earlier this month, the president said he supports the ongoing Russia investigations, including those taking place on Capitol Hill, where multiple panels are also investigating possible collusion between Trump associates and Russians who sought to influence the 2016 presidential election.

“I want them to get on with the task,” Trump said. “But I also want the Senate and the House to come out with their findings.”

Contact Ledyard King at lking@gannett.com; Twitter:@ledgeking.