National Flood Insurance Program Imperiled Yet Again
Feb. 16, 2010 – Once again, federal lawmakers have failed to come up with long-term changes to the National Flood Insurance Program, which is slated to expire on Feb. 28.
Senate Democrats nixed temporarily extending the National Flood Insurance Program once again from the Senate’s latest legislative effort to “stimulate” the U.S. economy. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) trimmed the measure to help reduce the cost of a proposed $85 billion economic stimulus legislation being called the “Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act.” Reid wants to trim the measure down to $15 billion to make it more politically acceptable during a time when the national deficit stands at $12.37 trillion, which the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office estimates will grow by another $1.35 trillion in 2010.
Extending the National Flood Insurance Program until May 31 originally was part of the latest “stimulus” effort but was nixed as part of Senate Democrats’ cost-cutting efforts. Federal officials have extended the debt-riddled program’s deadline several times in lieu of enacting permanent changes. Lawmakers are divided on how to sufficiently fund the program and don’t agree on proposals to add coverage for wind damages to the National Flood Insurance Program.
The National Flood Insurance Program’s expiration potentially would leave more than 5.5 million U.S. homes in flood-prone areas without flood insurance protection. The National Flood Insurance Program covers homes located in high-risk flood areas across the United States and is the insurer-of-last-resort in areas where private insurance companies deem it too risky to provide typical flood insurance protection.
The flood insurance program’s expiration date already was extended three times last year to give members of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate time to work out differences in the program’s direction. House members are demanding the program be expanded to provide insurance protection against wind damage, according to Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), chairman of the House Financial Services Committee. The National Flood Insurance Program originally would have expired at 11:59 p.m. on March 6 of last year.
Federal lawmakers previously delayed enacting permanent changes to the National flood Insurance Program while debating highly controversial national health care reform measures that would not have taken effect for several years. Republican Scott Brown’s recent upset win over heavily favored Martha Coakley to fill the U.S. Senate seat vacated by the late Ted Kennedy’s death put the brakes on Democrats’ efforts to initiate national health care reform.
But instead of reconciling various differences and moving forward with long-lasting changes to the National Flood Insurance Program that would impact millions of families in the United States, Capitol Hill lawmakers are prepared to yet again delay real action and now have chosen to delay their latest delaying action.
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