NFIP Gets a Band-Aid

September 8, 2017

The House and the Senate have both passed the disaster relief package that extends the NFIP until December 8, 2017. The package was developed in response to the catastrophic damage wrought by Hurricane Harvey in Texas. The extension will allow payments to be made to those who have sustained flood damage from the storm and process new flood policies.

The bill includes short-term extensions of government funding and raises the debt ceiling. The package contains $7.4 billion for aid for Hurricane Harvey victims, $450 million for the Small Business Association to aid small businesses, $7.4 billion in Community Development Block Grants for all disasters for the year. The block grants are significantly important as Hurricane Irma bears down on Florida. The flood insurance program is extended until December although no changes have been made, although proposals exist from both the House and the Senate as to how best reform the flood program. It will be interesting to see what happens next; as large as Irma is, more money is certainly going to be needed.