At midnight Nov .30, absent action in the United States Senate, authorization for the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) will expire. Earlier this week, the House of Representatives passed legislation that would extend authorization until December 7. Senator Menendez has expressed his opinion that the Senate would accept that bill, in the hopes that agreement could be reached on even a six-month extension by that date.
If passed in the Senate and signed by the President, this would be the eighth NFIP short-term extension, since September 30, 2017.
If no action is taken today, existing policies would remain in effect until the renewal date, but the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) would have no authority to issue new coverage. This lapse would likely jeopardize some home sales in our State and others.
Last year, Senator Menendez, Louisiana’s Senator John Kennedy and a number of their colleagues introduced bipartisan legislation (S.3128) that would reform NFIP and authorize the program for six years. The League supports that bill.
Contact: Jon Moran, Senior Legislative Analyst, jmoran@njslom.org, 609-695-3481 x121.