Republican lawmakers succeeded in advancing a bipartisan bill to the president’s desk that was signed into law extending the National Flood Insurance Program before it expired, ensuring that the 140 million Americans living in coastal counties will have flood insurance coverage through the end of hurricane season.
U.S. Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Roger Wicker (R-MS) on July 31 voted to get U.S. Senate approval of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) Extension Act of 2018, the companion measure co-authored in the U.S. House by Rep. Tom MacArthur (R-NJ) and House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA).
The Senate on Tuesday agreed to House amendments to S. 1182 and on the same day presented the bill to the president, who signed it into law, meeting the July 31 NFIP expiration deadline. The NFIP is now extended on a short-term basis through Nov. 30.
“I appreciate Senate leaders listening to my request to move the vote up to today so that no one in Louisiana or the rest of the country is left in the lurch,” said Sen. Cassidy. Originally, the Senate was scheduled to vote on the extension bill later this week, which would have caused a lapse in the NFIP, but Sen. Cassidy secured an agreement with Senate leadership to hold a vote on July 31 to extend the program.
“We now have four months to finalize a long-term plan that reforms the program to make it more affordable, accountable and sustainable,” Sen. Cassidy said.
Sen. Wicker pointed out that “passing this reauthorization right before the deadline does not entitle us to pat ourselves on the back.”
“Instead,” Wicker said, “it should motivate members to work across the aisle to provide meaningful reforms. We need to make this program financially sustainable for the long-term. But we also need to assure property owners they are not going to be hit with a huge insurance bill that they cannot afford.”
Sen. Wicker has proposed several NFIP reform bills, including the Coastal Implementation Act of 2017, S. 2242; the Municipality Empowerment Mapping Achievement (MEMA) Act of 2017, S. 2090; and the Flood Insurance Continuing Education and Training Act, S. 2092. The senator also supports private-sector competition to forge lower flood insurance rates, according to his office.
In the House, Rep. MacArthur said he was thankful the Senate “finally acted to pass this bill and protect millions of Americans, including many in New Jersey, this hurricane season.”
“Allowing the National Flood Insurance Program to lapse because of Washington dysfunction is something I would not allow to happen,” the congressman said. “Despite opposition from leaders in my own party, I did what is right for my constituents and fought for a NFIP reauthorization.”
He also acknowledged that Congress still has work to do and said both chambers and all members must cooperate to create a long-term reauthorization “that provides stability, holds FEMA accountable, invests in mitigation, and offers affordable coverage.”
Rep. Scalise agreed and applauded the Senate’s fast action to pass the NFIP extension bill, which the House passed last week.
“Millions of families and small businesses across the country rely on the flood insurance program,” said Rep. Scalise. “While this extension is necessary to prevent a lapse in the program, I will continue to fight for a long-term reauthorization of the NFIP that includes much-needed reforms to the program.”