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By Office of U.S. Sen. John Kennedy WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), on the Senate Floor, urged the Federal Emergency Management Agency to explain how it is implementing its new pricing algorithm for calculating flood insurance premiums, known as Risk Rating 2.0. FEMA’s new algorithm has sent the rates of many National Flood Insurance Program policyholders in Louisiana skyrocketing. Despite repeated questions from Kennedy, FEMA has yet to clarify how it determines new rates. “It doesn’t do any good to offer flood insurance if people can’t afford it, and that’s what FEMA’s doing right now,” said Kennedy. “We, in Louisiana, have the highest participation rate in the country, bar none. And despite what some people may think, my people who are buying flood insurance, they’re not multimillionaires. They’re working people. “There is no transparency with Risk Rating 2.0,” he continued. “People have absolutely no idea— members of the United States Congress have no idea—how this algorithm works and how they come up with a specific price for every home in America. But I'll tell you what we do know: All the prices have gone up. “A lot of those levees in Louisiana are paid for by Louisiana citizens. We have asked, ‘How does … [Read more...]