Congress has until July 31 to extend the National Flood Insurance Program, which provides policies in 22,000 communities nationwide, and this week brought a last-minute flurry of activity as the deadline approaches.
Reps. Tom MacArthur (R-N.J.) and Steve Scalise (R-La.) introduced a bill to extend the NFIP through Nov. 30. Reps. Ed Royce (R-Calif.) and Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) also introduced a four-month extension bill, which included eight bipartisan reform bills. Meanwhile, 62 members of the House sent a letter to leaders in both congressional chambers, urging them to take action to avoid a lapse in coverage.
After behind-the-scenes wrangling, the House is now expected to take up and pass the MacArthur-Scalise bill early next week and send it to the Senate for consideration with little time to spare before the July 31 deadline. Congress has enacted six short-term extensions of the NFIP since September 2017. The National Association of REALTORS® has called on its members to take action and tell their congressional representatives to not let the NFIP lapse.
NAR estimates that a lapse in the NFIP could result in about 40,000 fewer home sales per month. REALTORS® can use a prewritten letter template to email their legislators.
Source:
“House Bill Would Reform and Extend Flood Insurance Program,” National Mortgage News (July 18, 2018) and “Reps. Royce, Blumenauer Introduce Legislative Package Extending and Enhancing National Flood Insurance Program,” Insurancenewsnet.com (July 18, 2018)
