The House of Representatives is ready to consider a separate bill that would provide millions of homeowners relief from skyrocketing flood insurance premiums - but stop short of the outright delay of the increases approved by the Senate, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor said this week.

Cantor, R-Va., said the House likely would vote on the bill during the week of Feb. 24. Specifics of the proposal are not yet known, but according to published reports, the House legislation would prevent an immediate end to subsidized rates for new policies that is making it increasingly difficult to buy or sell a home in a flood zone. Those policies would be subject to the same gradual increases as grandfathered properties where owners continue to live in their homes.

Legislation to delay National Flood Insurance Program premium increases under the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform and Modernization Act of 2012 for four years passed the Senate 62-37 on Jan. 30. But House Republicans balked, pointing to projections that the Senate bill would add $2.1 billion in debt over 10 years to a program already almost $25 billion in the hole, mostly as a result of disasters such as Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and Superstorm Sandy in 2012.

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