“The reforms passed under the Biggert-Waters Act were designed to strengthen the NFIP financially and reduce the potential need for a taxpayer funded bailout,” Grande said.

“Any move to delay those reforms only serves to weaken the program, and we urge Congress not to take any steps that could weaken the financial stability of the NFIP,” he added.

“The NFIP has been offering flood insurance at below-risk rates for 45 years, in the process racking up some $30 billion in debt to the federal Treasury,” Lehmann said. “Congress finally acted last year to end the most egregious subsidies, but still preserved them for most primary residences. These reforms are modest, fair and were subjected to years of debate before they were signed into law. There is no call to slow or reverse that process now.”

The amendment would stop premium-rate increases on second homes under the National Flood Insurance Program coverage until the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) conducts an affordability study and there is adequate time to act on the results.

Mandates that actuarially sound rates for second homes and chronic-flood properties be phased in over four years was the price demanded for long-term reauthorization by Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., last year.

The program lapsed effective Oct. 1, 2008, and was reauthorized on a short-term basis approximately 12 times from 2008 until the program was reauthorized effective in July 2012. There was a 53-day period during that time when the program was not allowed to add new subscribers because of a gap in temporary reauthorizations by Congress.

However, various bills have been proposed this year to delay the rate increases.

In March, a Mississippi congressman introduced a bill in the House that would slow rate increases over the next 10 years by phasing out insurance subsidies over a longer period of time.

And last week, a Jackson County, Miss., official said that higher flood-insurance rates will be a “financial disaster” for some who live in special flood-hazard areas.

“I think it's going to be huge,” said Michele Coats, Jackson County's planning director. “You're going to see a lot of people who can't afford this. I don't think anybody here can afford the rates (the National Flood Insurance Program is) talking about.

“We got the impression after Katrina it wasn't going to change that much, the rates were going to go up a little. This is catastrophic.”

The first wave of premium increases this year will hit only a small percentage of policyholders. Increases for a broader population will start in 2014, she said.

And the New Jersey state Senate 10 days ago passed a resolution demanding that Congress subsidize flood insurance for beachfront properties.

“I have been warning about these increases for some time and calling on FEMA to address these rate increases for nearly a year,” Landrieu said in announcing she will seek to add the amendment to the water resources bill.

“We don't have time to wait for FEMA – we need to stop these rate increases now,” she said.