Steve Scalise strikes deal with key congressman on National Flood Insurance Program’s future
The two Republican congressmen, who'd been at odds over key provisions for months, reached the agreement after weeks of closed-door meetings aimed at ironing out differences.
The compromise would prevent policyholders whose homes flooded multiple times in the past from being booted from the program, but would ratchet up rates for those who make multiple claims to the program in the future, according to three sources familiar with the negotiations.
Hensarling, of
Hensarling's committee oversees the program and his bill would've hit policyholders whose homes had previously flooded -- so-called "multiple-loss properties" -- with significant premium increases or booted them from the federally run program altogether.
Those provisions raised hackles in
Many homeowners in
Under the deal struck between Scalise, of
Hensarling's original bill would have counted all past NFIP claims -- including those filed by prior owners decades ago -- against a property's grandfathered status. It also would have raised rates on multiple-loss properties faster.
Homes that have flooded several times and received NFIP payouts equal to multiple times their value would still potentially lose NFIP coverage under the Scalise-Hensarling compromise. But sources said the threshold to be booted from the program would rise from double a home's value to three times -- and only future claims would count against that cap.
"Being from
"The bill we support will begin to make the flood insurance program more stable and sustainable for the people who count on it," the pair added. "We look forward to bringing this legislation to the House soon and urge our colleagues to support it."
Deep divides between Scalise, who as the House's No. 3 Republican wields considerable power to hold up legislation, and Hensarling, whose committee controls the program, had created a standoff over the program's future.
Scalise's
Hensarling, meanwhile, has viewed the NFIP as fiscally unsustainable. Hensarling has argued that removing multiple-loss properties and hiking premiums on others to risk rates would shore up the program's finances.
The text of the compromise bill hadn't been drafted Friday evening. It's expected to be released either Monday or Tuesday, ahead of a newly scheduled hearing in the
"The concessions secured by
Several key areas of potential disagreement appeared to remain unresolved by the Scalise-Hensarling deal.
Among the chief concerns with private flood insurance policies is that companies would cherry-pick which properties to cover, scooping up low-risk or lucrative policies and leaving the federally run program with only subsidized or high-risk policies.
Beginning with Hurricane Katrina, when extensive destruction in
As part of an October package of emergency disaster relief funding,
It remained unclear Friday evening whether lawmakers in the
Several draft bills remain pending in the
Cassidy welcomed news of the deal in a statement late Friday afternoon but didn't immediately commit his support to the as-yet unwritten new draft.
"I thank
The NFIP is set to expire on
If no deal is struck,
Brief prior lapses in the program have created headaches in the real estate markets as banks, which are federally mandated to require flood-insurance coverage on nearly all residential mortgages in flood zones, have delayed home sales.
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