I know we live in a world where every kid gets a trophy and every toddler does a good job sometimes for just a normal bodily function. But when our legislators pat themselves on the back for changing a poorly conceived piece of legislation their bad decisions put in place, chances are we just passed through Alice’s looking glass.

By now, anyone who lives even remotely close to the water has heard about, and probably felt, the effects of the 2012 Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act resulting in increases for homeowners and business owners. The act phased out some federal subsidies for flood insurance in an effort to reduce some of the National Flood Insurance Program’s $24 billion deficit.

In an effort to quiet the outrage felt by their constituents when they started getting their flood insurance premiums, members of Congress and the Senate began offering legislation to “tweak” the negative effects of the original bill. Even the originators of the bill that bear their name now admit that it was poorly designed and are calling for amendment. What they came up with and what passed as part of a massive government funding bill was short-term relief that most homeowners will undoubtedly think is too little too late.

The short-term relief is in the form of a delay in rate increases for property owners who are facing huge premium increases because their property now falls below an acceptable elevation level because of Federal Emergency Management Agency remapping. And short-term relief is far from an understatement since this measure expires at the end of September 2014, not much to cheer about.

In addition, the delay measure fails to help homeowners with flood insurance on homes that have been repeatedly flooded who are facing increases of 25 percent a year until the premiums reflect the true risk of flooding. Also, second homeowners are not getting any flood insurance relief at this time and face a 25 percent annual increase until they get to the acceptable actuarial level.

Particularly distressing are current subsidies on older homes that cannot be passed along to new buyers who will be facing thousands more in flood insurance premiums than the current owners pay. Many of these homes face the prospect of becoming unsalable, and in fact, many sale transactions have fallen though because of flood insurance uncertainty.

Remember that home buyers who require mortgages are obligated by their lender to purchase and provide proof of flood insurance prior to closing on the property. Buyers are starting to ask for flood insurance contingencies to be written into contracts of sale capping what they are willing to pay for flood insurance. If the flood insurance premium comes in over that mark, buyers will be let out of the contract without penalty.

If there is any glimmer of light, it rests with the Senate, which will be looking at broader reforms that include a four-year delay as well as allowing new owners to benefit from subsidized policies. The Senate did vote on this measure, which passed last week. The Congress, however, is decidedly less enthusiastic about the Senate’s bill and is looking for more modest changes to the original bill.

Never-the-less, even the broader reforms at this time will not protect second home owners in flood zones. Also, Gov. Rick Scott is attempting to appeal to President Obama directly hoping to achieve a delay in implementing the act through executive order until there is more time to study the effects.

If you’ve been chasing the white rabbit down the rabbit hole of flood insurance, I hope you liked the trip because no way is it over. Get on the phone, get on the internet and start making a lot of noise to your representatives in Congress before the rabbit hole gets reclassified as a flood zone.