WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), today released the following statement after the Senate passed by a vote of 95-4 his motion to secure an extension of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) until January 31, 2019. The NFIP is set to expire at the end of this month, which would leave many homeowners uninsured during the peak of hurricane season, unable to renew or purchase new flood insurance policies.
The final version of the Energy and Water, Legislative Branch, and Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act (H.R. 5895) is currently being negotiated by a bipartisan conference committee, and the Cassidy motion passed today by the Senate instructs the conferees to include the six-month extension of the NFIP in the final version of the bill.
“Louisiana families depend on the National Flood Insurance Program in case of disaster and recovery after disaster,” said Dr. Cassidy. “We must preserve this program through hurricane season while working on a long-term reauthorization and reform that ensures the program is affordable and sustainable. By instructing conferees to include this six-month extension of the NFIP, we are another step closer to accomplishing this goal.”
While progress has been made on a path forward for a bipartisan, long-term reauthorization of NFIP that would provide greater investment in mitigation, updated flood mapping, more accountability and consumer choice, those discussions will not conclude in the next two weeks, before NFIP is set to expire at the end of this month.
Last year, Cassidy and Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) introduced bipartisan legislation to reform and reauthorize the NFIP.
###