WASHINGTON -- Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Sen. David Vitter, R-La,., announced on the Senate floor Wednesday that they have reached an agreement to extend the National Flood Insurance Program for 60 days. They said the Senate will act on a long-delayed five-year re-authorization of the program when it returns to Washington in June. Reid said the failure...
WASHINGTON -- Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Sen. David Vitter, R-La,., announced on the Senate floor Wednesday that they have reached an agreement to extend the National Flood Insurance Program for 60 days. They said the Senate will act on a long-delayed five-year re-authorization of the program when it returns to Washington in June. Reid said the failure to extend the program before it expires at the end of the month would have jeopardized 40,000 home sales a day.
Sen. David Vitter speaking on the floor of the Senate last month. "The National Flood Insurance Program has been barely hobbling along with a Band-Aid approach -- extending it for short periods of time. Reaching an agreement to allow the Senate to fully debate this on the floor and to work on getting it reauthorized for five years will be great, much needed news for homeowners and the housing market," Vitter said. "Moving the ball forward on this is a big, big step."
Vitter also said a failure to offer the stopgap extension would have jeopardized "thousands of good closings and really put a hiccup in the economy for no good reason."
Under the Reid-Vitter deal, the Senate will approve the 60-day extension before adjourning for the Memorial Day break today.
The agreement would allow a limited number of amendments when the longer-term reauthorization is considered.
Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., wants to limit the program so that it no longer subsidizes the insurance costs of second and third homes.
"This program is not financially sound and it is not self-sustaining." Coburn said. "It runs a $900 million deficit every year. What is the National Flood Insurance Program? Do we need it? Yes. Am I objecting that we do need it? No. But the vast majority of the monies that are expended by hard-working Americans go to subsidize the insurance for homeowners of second and vacation homes."
When the House recently approved a 30-day extension for the program, it also included a provision designed to encourage private insurers to enter the flood insurance market.
The program, started in 1968, subsidizes about half a million policyholders in Louisiana.
Jonathan Tilove can be reached at jtilove@timespicayune.com or 202.450.1404.