Heartland Institute Urges
Senate Action on NFIP Reauthorization
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The vice president of The Heartland Institute’s Washington, DC office today noted the National Flood Insurance Program will lapse in just 11 days if Senate leadership fails to take up legislation to reform and reauthorize the program.
The House of Representatives passed a far-reaching flood insurance reform bill on July 16, and a comparable measure passed the Senate Banking Committee on September 8. The House and Senate measures under consideration are similar enough that Senate passage of the current bill almost certainly would lead to a successful conference and the president’s signature on the bill.
The NFIP is set to expire November 18 with the end of Congress’s current continuing resolution. The program, which provides coverage for 5.6 million property owners, saw its last long-term authorization expire in 2008.
The following statement from Eli Lehrer at The Heartland Institute – a free-market think tank – may be used for attribution. For more comments, refer to the contact information below. To book a Heartland guest on your program, please contact Tammy Nash at [email protected] and 312/377-4000. After regular business hours, contact Jim Lakely at [email protected] and 312/731-9364.
“For the first time ever, both Democrats and Republicans are saying the right things about NFIP. Although neither is perfect, both the House and Senate bills move NFIP towards charging risk-based rates, protect the environment, and increase the private sector’s role in the program. Flood insurance reform is one of the few major areas where both chambers and both parties have essentially the same ideas.”
Eli Lehrer
National Director, Center on Finance, Insurance, and Real Estate
Vice President, Washington, DC Operations
The Heartland Institute
[email protected]
202/615-0586
The Heartland Institute is a 27-year-old national nonprofit organization with offices in Chicago, Illinois; Washington, DC; Austin, Texas; Tallahassee, Florida; and Columbus, Ohio. Its mission is to discover, develop, and promote free-market solutions to social and economic problems. For more information, visit our Web site or call 312/377-4000.
