By STEVE BOUSQUET and ANITA KUMAR
Published October 6, 2004
TALLAHASSEE - With their campaigns disrupted by Florida's deadliest hurricane season, both U.S. Senate candidates are calling for programs to help residents recover.
Republican Mel Martinez offered a detailed hurricane relief plan Tuesday, and Democrat Betty Castor dusted off a plan she first announced last month on the day Hurricane Ivan was moving menacingly toward the Florida Keys. Castor's announcement got little attention at the time.
Borrowing from the federal government's post-9/11 recovery efforts in New York City, which he helped implement as U.S. housing secretary, Martinez called for tax-free, private activity bonds to promote redevelopment and reconstruction in the areas of worst damage.
After the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the New York Liberty Bond Program was created to provide up to $8-billion in tax-exempt bonds for housing, office, retail and utility redevelopment in Lower Manhattan.
Martinez also called for no-interest loans and tax credits for developers who build low- and moderate-income housing in devastated areas, and he urged creating a "strategic petroleum reserve" for Florida, much like the Northeastern states' heating oil reserve for winter months.
"I think it's a comprehensive approach for the long-term needs," Martinez said. "I'm proud of what I put together. I think it's timely."
Martinez said he discussed parts of his plan with former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, who has stumped for him in Florida. But he also attempted to strike a bipartisan note by endorsing proposals by Florida's two Democratic senators to let storm victims make tax-free withdrawals from their IRAs or retirement accounts to pay for damage.
Castor released details of her plan after Martinez's announcement in Orlando. Castor got almost no attention when she introduced the plan Sept. 9 at a campaign stop in Pinellas Park.
She called for a national effort to deal with disasters like hurricanes and earthquakes and better government planning.
Her proposal gives insurers incentives to open their disaster reserve funds to ease the burdens of massive claims and rising reinsurance rates. It offers families eligible for FEMA aid the option of spending relief funds to pay down the large home insurance deductibles, and mandates that FEMA help remove debris from private property.
"Over the past two months, Florida was devastated by storms that tragically claimed a number of lives and caused billions of dollars in damage," Castor said in a statement Tuesday. "As Florida families rebuild after the costly hurricanes, we must examine ways to ease the burden of relief and recovery costs. We must find ways to keep consumers' insurance costs affordable."
Castor's campaign characterized her plan as more consumer-friendly than Martinez's, by allowing people to use FEMA repair money to pay down the home insurance deductibles. Castor's staff developed her plan in coordination with Florida's two senators, Democrats Bob Graham and Bill Nelson.
Under the Castor plan, insurers can receive tax breaks if they set aside funds for paying future disaster claims. The funds can grow tax-free, and reduce the companies' cost of reinsurance.
Preliminary estimates indicate the combined insured losses from Charley, Frances, Ivan and Jeanne total about $20-billion. That does not include uninsured losses or damage from flooding, which is covered by a separate program.
Chats replace debate
Instead of a debate, PBS viewers in the Tampa Bay area will get conversations with the U.S. Senate candidates.
Democrat Betty Castor and Republican Mel Martinez will appear on WEDU-TV Ch. 3 in Tampa at 8 p.m. Thursday. Tampa Bay Week host Rob Lorei will talk to each candidate in one-on-one chats in a one-hour special. The program repeats at 11 p.m. Thursday, 2 p.m. Oct. 10 and 6 p.m. Oct. 17.
WEDU canceled a Castor-Martinez debate scheduled for Oct. 28. Martinez's campaign did not want to participate in a debate so late in the campaign, and the Castor campaign could not accommodate an earlier date.
