U.S. Congress Stalls In Efforts To Reform National Flood Insurance Program

With the National Flood Insurance Program set to expire on July 31, efforts by the U.S. Congress to reform the flood insurance program are stalled…

With the National Flood Insurance Program set to expire on July 31, efforts by the U.S. Congress to reform the flood insurance program are stalled. The government still owes $36 billion in debt from insurance payouts from flooding and other storms.

The primary insurer for thousands of property owners in coastal states could expire unless Congress passes, and the president signs, a bill to fund the flood insurance program.

The most likely efforts are two pieces of legislation that would extend the program for another six months under its current terms. Another strategy is to add an extension of the national flood insurance program into a Farm Bill that won Senate approval in June and is now being considered by a conference committee in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Lawmakers, have proposed different bills to make changes to the program but most have stalled in Congress. The U.S. House in November passed the 21st Century Flood Reform Act, a bill carrying some reforms, sending it to the Senate for approval.

This legislation renews the program for five years, updates federal flood mapping requirements and seeks to spur private-sector participation in flood insurance. The legislation also requires communities with 50 or more repeatedly flooded properties to implement improved floodplain management. States also would be required by October 2022 to mandate that home sellers disclose flood damage and insurance claims.

Some advocates for a reform bill say that none of the proposed reform bills address all the problems flood mitigation experts see and none of them will pull the program out of debt.

For instance, the program would need about $4 billion to $7 billion over the next five years to update the flood risk maps nationwide. The proposed legislation also doesn’t adequately address rates for properties at the highest risk of flooding.

This story originally published by Strategic Partnerships, Inc.