Senate heads toward brink on flood insurance as deadline looms; ‘this bill has to pass’
The federal flood insurance program appears destined for another temporary extension, this time for four months through
The
"We wanted to send a message to the
It would be the seventh short-term extension for the NFIP since the program came up for periodic renewal last September. The NFIP underwrites most flood coverage in the country.
The series of short reprieves for the NFIP point to bitter underlying divides on
The NFIP's financial woes began with Hurricane Katrina in 2005 but have worsened over the past five years. Hurricane Sandy in 2012, the
Rising sea levels, a warming climate and scientific projections of increasingly violent storms in coming years could put further pressure on the beleaguered program.
A group of fiscal hawks have sought an overhaul that would hike rates on many high-risk homeowners (including those in low-lying south
Those reforms could hit some vulnerable
Coastal lawmakers, including
They've also sought more investment in flood-prevention efforts and looked for ways to bring more premium-paying policyholders into the program to spread out risk.
The NFIP will lapse at midnight Tuesday if senators can't agree on an extension. A handful of conservative
Although the vast majority of senators support another short-term extension -- all but ensuring Scalise's four-month extension of the program will pass the
NFIP policies would remain in effect during a lapse and the NFIP would cover claims if a storm struck. But insurance agents couldn't issue new policies and expiring policies wouldn't be renewed.
That would leave housing markets in flood-prone areas -- including much of
Three
Hensarling has long complained the program incentivizes development in flood plains and stuck with his convictions even after parts of his
Hensarling, who's retiring at the end of the year, voted against Scalise's four-month extension and pleaded with his colleagues to reject the extension in an effort to force concessions.
"I've made it clear to (the
Rep.
"We need to (...) look where we can protect areas and where that's the most cost-effective solution," said
Sen.
"I've done everything I can to try to convince them," Kennedy told reporters on Monday. "Including, but not limited to, kissing a part of their anatomy."
But Kennedy and fellow Republican Senator
"I'd rather have a one- or two-day lapse and get a better product than have something which I just think is bad policy," said Cassidy, who has written his own flood-insurance overhaul proposal with New York Democratic Sen.
Kennedy, Scalise and other
They've also pushed for a number of policyholder-friendly changes to the NFIP's claims procedures, which have repeatedly caused headaches and agony for flood victims.
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