House to approve short-term federal flood insurance extension this week

But the bill also requires the program to undergo some reforms, along the lines of what Republicans have been pursuing for the last year.

{mosads}The NFIP provides government-backed flood insurance to people living in communities that adopt floodplain management practices. But the program has run up a deficit of about $18 billion over the years, and Republicans have pushed for reforms that would increase the price of federally backed insurance to match the risks on the ground, and increase annual limits on premium increases.

The House passed a bill last year that would impose these reforms and generate $4.2 billion in additional revenue for the program over the next decade. That bill — H.R. 1309 from Rep. Judy Biggert (R-Ill.) — passed easily in a 406-22 vote, and most of the “no” votes came from Republicans who want the federal government to leave flood insurance to the private sector.

Since that July vote, the Senate has not moved on the bill or any substitute. Just last week, the House passed a bill ending the “sequester” cuts that also include similar flood insurance reforms.

But with no action in the Senate on the horizon, House Republicans on Monday listed H.R. 5740 as a bill that would come up this week. Biggert, who also sponsored this short-term fix, said this week that she hopes a one-month extension would allow the Senate to move.

“It’s been over ten months since we sent the Senate a bill to extend and reform the National Flood Insurance Program,” she said. “Our bill passed with overwhelmingly bipartisan support in the House, yet we’re still waiting on the Senate to act, and now the deadline is looming once again.”

But the bill does more than simply extend the program for a month. It also requires the NFIP to take some steps toward reform, including by requiring the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Comptroller General to study options for privatizing the program.

“Instead of standing still, this 30-day extension will initiate key elements of our bipartisan House-passed reforms,” she said. “It opens the door to private-sector participation, and the sooner we do that, the sooner taxpayers will no longer have the bear the full expense and risk of an outdated flood program.”

The Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI) welcomed the vote to prevent a lapse in NFIP coverage, but said reforms are needed.

“This patch does not alleviate the need for Congress to refocus on passing a long-term reauthorization and reform bill as soon as possible,” PCI Senior Vice President Ben McKay said. “We urge the Senate to make the NFIP reauthorization and reform bill a top priority when they return after Memorial Day and we enter into hurricane season.”

Calling up the bill under a suspension of the rules will require a two-thirds majority vote for passage, a goal that should easily be achieved in light of last year’s vote on Biggert’s bill.

— This story was updated at 3:54 p.m.