Sponsored by Rep. Judy Biggert, (R-Ill), H.R. 1309 makes a series of changes to the debt-ridden National Flood Insurance Program, including reducing price subsidies, updating maps, increasing capacity in the program, and, most importantly, phasing in actuarially-sound premiums. To plug the hole in the program’s finances, the bill now allows the administrators of the program to increase premium rates 20% annually in newly-mapped areas.
“A five-year extension is of the utmost importance, as are reforms to put the program on sound financial footing,” Charles Symington, SVP of government affairs for the
With the existing one-year extension of the NFIP set to expire on September 30, and flood waters threatening to inundate cities across the South, the bill has acquired a new urgency.
"Given the current flooding taking place on the Mississippi River, it is especially critical to get a long-term extension of the program in place so that this debate can move beyond Congress and residents in flood-prone areas can have the stability in the program they so desperately need to insure their homes and businesses,” Leigh Ann Pusey, president and CEO of the
While the bill enjoys bi-partisan support and is widely seen as likely to pass the House, its prospects are less clear in the
"It is our sincere hope that the full House will vote on this bill soon and the Senate will do the same," Pusey added.
