NU Online News Service, Aug. 29, 12:55 p.m. EDT

WASHINGTON—The Senate Banking Committee plans to take up its version of legislation extending the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) on Sept. 8, immediately after Congress returns to work, says an insurance industry lobbyist.

Robert Gordon, senior vice president of policy development and research for the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America, discloses the Senate's plans as a number of industry lobbyists urged prompt congressional action on legislation reauthorizing the NFIP in the wake of the devastation wrought by Hurricane Irene.

“Hurricane Irene is yet another timely reminder that lawmakers need to renew the NFIP when Congress reconvenes in September,” Gordon says.

The current extension of the NFIP runs out Sept. 30, and the Senate has not taken any action to deal with the issue.

NFIP Statistics 2005-2010 “Unfortunately, this is yet another example of the destructive impact of floods upon our citizens and our economy, as well as the clear need for the NFIP to protect against these dangers,” adds Charles Symington, senior vice president of government affairs for the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America. “Though Hurricane Irene was thankfully less intense than originally forecast when it made landfall, it still caused widespread flooding across many states on the eastern seaboard.”

North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Vermont and Massachusetts have all experienced significant floods as a result of the storm.

Blain Rethmeier, a spokesman for the American Insurance Association, says, “Congress gets back on [Sept. 7] and they have one month before the NFIP expires. We can only hope that the severe flooding associated with Irene will create a sense of urgency and something will get done.”

Gordon says the House passed a comprehensive bill with a five-year extension in July, and it is now up to the Senate to follow course.

The NFIP provides flood-insurance coverage to more than 5.6 million Americans across the nation.

“Allowing the NFIP to expire, or returning to the fits and starts of repeated short-term extensions often mixed with repeated lapses, would be a disaster,” says Matt Gannon, assistant vice president of federal affairs for the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies.

While the NFIP is set to expire on Sept. 30, the hurricane season isn't, adds Gannon. “Major storms could strike the U.S. well into November, and Congress must do its part to ensure that the NFIP will be there when the American people need it,” he says.

The House passed H.R. 1309, the Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2011, which would extend the program until Sept. 30, 2016, but the Senate Banking Committee has yet to consider such legislation.

The chairman and ranking minority member of the Senate banking panel have released a draft bill, and committee action was tentatively scheduled for the first week of August, but was then cancelled.

Republicans also quashed an effort by Sen. Tim Johnson, D-S.D., to pass by unanimous consent a bill that would have extended the current program until Dec. 31.

The current version of the NFIP originally expired Sept. 30, 2008 but has been extended intermittently by Congress several times since then.

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Industry Hopes Irene Causes NFIP Reauthorization Urgency

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