Heartland Institute Vice President: Senate Flood Proposal a Step Forward

Published September 7, 2011

Eli Lehrer, Heartland Institute vice president for DC operations and director of its Center on Finance, Insurance and Real Estate, says the flood insurance bill scheduled for mark-up in the U.S. Senate tomorrow would take significant steps towards improving and stabilizing the troubled program.

The Flood Insurance Program, originally intended to promote coastal conservation and break even when it was created in 1968, currently owes the U.S. Treasury nearly $18 billion and has no way to pay it back. The program has also encouraged significant construction in coastal areas.

The following statement may be used for attribution. For additional information or to interview Mr. Lehrer, please refer to the contact information below:

“I really think something is going to pass this year and we’ll finally have a reauthorization of the flood program. For the first time in my memory, the House and Senate seem to be on roughly the same page when it comes to reforming the flood program. There are a lot of other good ideas being proposed in the Senate – particularly Mississippi Sen. Roger Wicker’s COASTAL ACT.”

Eli Lehrer
Director, Center on Finance, Insurance and Real Estate
Vice President, 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.