The Hill News

The federal government’s National Flood Insurance Program will expire at the end of this month. The next day, Hurricane season begins. As these two events draw near, it is critical that the NFIP be reauthorized for the sake of our economy, our communities and the program’s 5.6 million policyholders.
This vital program has had a rocky history in the past several years. It was extended for brief periods and actually lapsed four times in 2010. The consequences of allowing that to happen again could be dire.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has said that if Congress fails to reauthorize the NFIP, the agency would not be allowed to issue new policies, renew existing policies or make policy modifications. This would create a great deal of uncertainty for the thousands of communities and millions of policyholders who rely on flood insurance provided by the NFIP as a source of protection against the property losses that result from flooding, the most c! ommon natural disaster in the United States.

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