Congress clears bill to ease flood insurance hikes

WASHINGTON (AP) — Less than two years after passing major legislation aimed at reforming the government’s much-criticized flood insurance program, Congress on Thursday sent President Barack Obama a bill to scale back many of the resulting big flood insurance premium increases faced by hundreds of thousands of homeowners. The measure would also allow below-market insurance rates to be passed on to people buying homes with taxpayer-subsidized policies.

The measure breezed through the Senate and on to Obama’s desk by a 72-22 vote. The House passed the measure last week.