NU Online News Service, Feb. 8, 3:04 p.m.EST
|The insurance and other industries affected by floods are makinga big push to get the Senate to act on legislation reauthorizingthe National Flood Insurance Program.
|A major part of this effort is a letter being circulated tomembers of the Senate by Sens. John Tester, D-Mont., and DavidVitter, R-La.
|Testor and Vitter are hoping that as many as 40 senators willsign on to the letter, which will then be sent to Democratic andRepublican Senate leadership.
|"We the undersigned urge you to bring legislation to the floorto provide for a long-term reauthorization and meaningful reform ofthe NFIP as expeditiously as possible in February or very soonthereafter," the letter says.
|"The Senate should take this opportunity to capitalize on thebipartisan efforts by both the Senate Banking Committee and theHouse of Representatives thus far to make major improvements tothis important program," the letter states.
|"We believe that passage of a comprehensive, bipartisan floodreauthorization bill is within reach, and we respectfully urge youto schedule such a debate," it adds.
|Besides insurance company and agent trade groups, the letter issigned by groups representing the banking, mortgage, credit union,real estate, apartment, housing and reinsurance industries, amongothers.
|Steve Harty, CEO and president of National Flood Services, says,"The letter should make a difference. Clearly there is strongbipartisan support for the Banking Committee's legislation."
|He adds, "What we need now is a sense of urgency. I think lastsummer's storms served to remind senators of how important the NFIPis across the geographic and ideological spectrum. Reforming theNFIP is one of very few issues where there is broad agreement;let's get on with it."
|The Senate bill would reauthorize the program until Sept. 30,2016.
|The current program has been operating on temporaryextensions—with some breaks in the program—since Sept. 30,2008.
Want to continue reading?
Become a Free PropertyCasualty360 Digital Reader
Your access to unlimited PropertyCasualty360 content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:
- All PropertyCasualty360.com news coverage, best practices, and in-depth analysis.
- Educational webcasts, resources from industry leaders, and informative newsletters.
- Other award-winning websites including BenefitsPRO.com and ThinkAdvisor.com.
Already have an account? Sign In
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
