MacArthur, Scalise bill prolongs nationwide flood insurance through upcoming hurricane season

As reauthorization work on the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) continues, U.S. Rep. Tom MacArthur (R-NJ) and U.S. House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA) filed a short-term extension bill that would keep the program running through the 2018 hurricane season.

The National Flood Insurance Program Extension Act of 2018, H.R. 6379, would extend the NFIP through Nov. 30, the date officially marking the end of the hurricane season on the Atlantic Coast. Rep. MacArthur introduced the bill on July 16 ahead of the program’s July 31 expiration deadline with Rep. Scalise signing on as the original cosponsor.

“I have met numerous times with House leadership and explained the critical need for NFIP to be reauthorized,” Rep. MacArthur said, noting that more than 140 million Americans living in coastal communities in New Jersey and other states need flood insurance coverage through the entire hurricane season.

“I am calling on my colleagues on both sides of the aisle – and from both chambers of Congress – to come together and pass this bill and ensure that families and communities are not put at risk,” said Rep. MacArthur.

Rep. Scalise said it’s vital that Congress establish a long-term reauthorization of NFIP and then quickly get it signed into law. “In southeast Louisiana, we know the importance of flood insurance and what a disaster it would be for the program to expire, especially in the middle of hurricane season,” the congressman said.

Specifically, H.R. 6379 would amend the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 to extend the NFIP’s Sept. 30, 2017 date – amended to July 31, 2018 after the U.S. House of Representatives passed a five-year reauthorization on Nov 14, 2017 – through the proposed Nov. 30 date.

Rep. MacArthur, whose home-state district was demolished by Superstorm Sandy in 2012, authored several provisions in the reauthorization that would cap premium increases, raise mitigation of damages coverage, and require more accountability at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the U.S. Department of Homeland Security agency that oversees the NFIP.

According to Rep. MacArthur’s staff, the U.S. Senate thus far has failed to act on the proposed reauthorization.

“I will continue to work with House and Senate leadership on a long-term reauthorization that gives homeowners certainty, ensures affordability, increases mitigation funds for shore communities, and instills accountability at FEMA for how they treat disaster victims,” Rep. MacArthur said this week.

H.R. 6379 has been referred to the U.S. House Financial Services Committee for consideration.