Sandy recovery top priority, Jeffries says

A little more than a month into his second term, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-Brooklyn, Queens) said helping his constituents recover from Superstorm Sandy remains the top priority for him.

“Over the next two years, we will be making sure that every individual homeowner is in a place where they’re financially capable of living as comfortably as they were prior to the Superstorm Sandy experience,” Jeffries said in an interview with the Queens Chronicle.

But he won’t be able to do it alone and the New York delegation of federal representatives is not enough to push forward legislation to help affected homeowners, he said.

He’ll need the help of his colleagues from across the country and political aisle.

“It will be important to pull together a diverse political and geographical coalition,” he said.

Jeffries, who represents parts of Queens including Howard Beach, is looking to have this coalition tackle issues such as flood insurance hikes and the recoupment of post-Sandy aid by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

“Escalating flood insurance could present a risk of pushing homeowners out at a rate we cannot tolerate,” he said.

Although Congress last year passed legislation that delayed premium increases in flood insurance rates mandated under the Biggert-Waters Act of 2012, Jeffries said many homeowners still face the looming threat of increased premiums because the 2014 law mainly applies to those who had flood insurance prior to its passing.

The law also required FEMA to conduct an affordability study to determine how the Biggert-Waters rate hikes would affect homeowners in food zones.

“I look forward to the receipt of that affordability study,” Jeffries said.

The Biggert-Waters Act would’ve rolled back subsidies for those with flood insurance, in an effort to stop the National Flood Insurance Program from going into bankruptcy. At the time, the program was $24 million in debt.

He added that a similar coalition of federal representatives he seeks to form this year was established in 2014 to delay the hike in flood insurance rates — the House voted in favor of the law 306-91 and the Senate by a vote of 67-32.

“That effort last year was bi-partisan,” he said.

The congressman also said he plans on hosting town hall meetings, including several in Queens, to provide his constituents with the latest information on flood insurance.

Jeffries also said he would look to support his colleague Rep. Gregory Meeks’ (D-Queens, Nassau) proposed legislation that would give FEMA the power to forgive the overpayment of emergency aid to victims of natural disasters, if they were given the funds due to a clerical error.

“If FEMA made a clerical error, that is not the responsibility of the homeowner to reimburse the federal government for funds erroneously given,” he said. “I’m confident the entire New York delegation will stand behind Meeks on this issue.”

He said he has received several calls from his constituents, mostly in Howard Beach, who have received letters from FEMA seeking the recoupment of money.