NU Online News Service, July 23, 11:15 a.m. EDT

The House leadership pulled a bill off of the floor before a vote could be taken on legislation that would add windstorm coverage to the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).

The bill, H.R. 1264, introduced by Rep. Gene Taylor, D-Miss., could still be taken up again at any time, but for the moment, insurance industry representatives were satisfied that the House did not pass the measure after legislators discussed it on July 22.

An insurance industry representative told NU Online News Service that it is believed the bill was pulled because Rep. Taylor did not have enough votes to secure passage. The industry representative said the bill is not likely to come up next week and could be on hold until September.

Ben McKay senior vice president, federal government relations for the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI), said the bill could be taken up next week if Rep. Taylor finds the votes, but he said "more likely than not" it will be delayed longer.

In a statement, Jimi Grande, senior vice president of federal and political affairs for the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies, said, "We are pleased to see that the House leadership decided to pull the bill from consideration, recognizing that this bill could effectively lead to nationalized insurance for windstorm coverage."

He added, "The NFIP is already facing a debt of nearly $20 billion, which was borrowed from the taxpayers in the wake of the 2005 hurricanes. Even [the Federal Emergency Management Association, which administers the NFIP] has acknowledged that it will never be able to repay that debt, and by expanding the NFIP this bill would put the taxpayers at risk for an even greater exposure."

Mike Becker, director of Federal Affairs for the National Associatoin of Professional Insurance Agents, said, "We are encouraged that the House leadership pulled H.R. 1264 from the floor and we are optimistic that opposition to this bill will continue to grow. This legislation may be well-intentioned, but it is counter-productive. A federal government takeover of wind insurance is unjustified and unwarranted. As House members examine H.R. 1264 they are realizing that it is not a good idea and support for it is eroding."

Mr. McKay said PCI has "mixed emotions" about the House's actions, noting the group would have preferred if the bill was voted down.

"However, we think it's a positive sign," he said, noting that if Rep. Taylor had the support, the vote would have occurred.

He said House members are sympathetic to Rep. Taylor and his constituents, but said this bill is "just such a bad public policy."

He noted that opposition is coming from tax groups, environmentalists, the insurance industry and the President.

PCI, Mr. McKay said, is going to continue under the assumption that the bill could resurface at any time. Rep. Taylor, he noted, will not stop trying to gain support.

On July 21, a day before the House discussed the bill, the Obama administration signaled its opposition to adding windstorm coverage to the flood program. In its statement of policy, issued by the Office of Management and Budget, the administration said that although it believes in strengthening the NFIP for the benefit of policyholders and taxpayers, "the central rationale for the program–the difficulty of obtaining flood insurance through either the private market or state programs–simply does not apply to windstorm insurance in most markets."

Special Reports /

Bill To Add Wind To NFIP Pulled From House Floor Before Vote

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