Home owners in flood-prone states, like Louisiana, will see relief with changes to the costly federal flood insurance program.

(Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Homeowners who buy federal flood insurance are closer to seeing relief from costly rate hikes after the House approved legislation Tuesday night to roll back the program. The bill will now go to the Senate.

Both sides of the aisle have been working toward a solution after homeowners in flood-prone areas complained about sharp premium increases. Costs skyrocketed after changes to the program forced costs so high, many homeowners who relied on it simply couldn't afford it. The bill the House passed Tuesday would help tone down those changes, which were originally meant to help better fund the program.

(MORE: Explosion Damages N.J. Homes)

Rep. Michael Grimm, a New York Republican who co-sponsored the bill, said it would ensure that families across the country, including those still struggling to recover from Superstorm Sandy, can avoid "a wave of devastating premium hikes and foreclosures."

The bill now goes to the Senate, which passed a measure in January delaying implementation of the insurance overhaul by four years.

Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., sponsor of the Senate bill, said Tuesday night he supports the House measure, which he said closely mirrors his bill.

The House bill "will end the most egregious problems with the flood insurance program and bring some real relief to thousands of homeowners who desperately need our help," Menendez said in a statement. "I'm encouraged by this progress and hope we can bring the bill over the finish line very, very soon."

The 2012 law was co-sponsored by Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., who also co-sponsored the latest fix to what she called the original law's "unintended effects" of dramatic rate increases for homeowners.

"Relief is on the way," Waters said, adding that the new bill would make insurance premiums more affordable while making the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which administers the flood program, more accountable.

Implementation of the 2012 law has stirred anxiety among homeowners along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts and in other flood plains. Many homeowners have complained they face unaffordable rate increases. Anger over the higher rates has fueled a bipartisan drive to delay or derail many of the 2012 changes. A Senate bill approved in January delayed implementation of the insurance overhaul by four years.

The House bill would permanently repeal a provision that imposes sharp rate increases on people who buy homes in flood-prone areas. The bill also preserves below-market rates for people whose homes meet federal flood map standards.

Rates imposed by the 2012 law are particularly high in older coastal communities in states such as Florida, Massachusetts, New York and New Jersey and have put a damper on home sales as prospective buyers recoil at the higher premium rates.

(MORE: Stuck on the Highway for HOURS)

The House bill was brought to the floor under special rules that limit debate and require two-thirds support from those voting. That standard proved little challenge for bill supporters, despite opposition from tea party groups and other conservatives who said the measure would continue unfair federal subsidies for people who choose to live in flood-prone areas. Some environmental groups also opposed the bill, saying that climate change has increased the risk of flooding in coastal areas, making it illogical to continue to rebuild in flood-prone zones.

The House measure would also give relief to people who have bought homes after the 2012 overhaul and therefore face sharp, immediate jumps in their premiums. Those homeowners would see rate increases capped at an average of 15 percent, with a maximum of 18 percent per years.

People whose second home is in a flood zone and those whose properties have repeatedly flooded would continue to see their premiums go up by 25 percent a year until reaching a level consistent with their real risk of flooding.

FEMA would retain the ability to increase premiums each year, but the increases wouldn't be as steep as mandated under the 2012 law. A surcharge on each of 5.6 million policyholders would offset the cost of continued subsidies for about 1.1 million homeowners.

The changes proposed by the House dismayed supporters of the 2012 law, who said it began to remove incentives for people to live in costly, flood-prone areas.

"Nobody wants to see their rates go up. But taxpayers across the country don't want to support a (federal flood) program that is $24 billion in debt and climbing," said Steve Ellis, vice president of Taxpayers for Common Sense, a Washington-based watchdog group.

A far better solution than either the House or Senate bill would be to slow down the rate increase, even dramatically, "but still allow rates to continue to move toward their risk-based" level, Ellis said.

MORE ON WEATHER.COM: SuperstormSandy Strikes

Long Beach Island, N.J.

In this aerial photograph, heavy equipment pushes sand to restore a barrier dune along the Atlantic Ocean on Long Beach Island, N.J., Friday, Nov. 9, 2012, after the region was pounded by Superstorm Sandy the previous week.