WASHINGTON—The House Financial Services Committee has approved legislation to reauthorize and scale back the National Flood Insurance Program and agreed to continue its mark up next Wednesday when it plans to take up five other related bills.
The committee voted 30-26 to advance a bill by Rep. Sean Duffy (R-WI) that would reform NFIP processes while also moving towards a more private approach to flood insurance, reported NAFCU.
The bill, which was revised by a 20-page amendment from Duffy, would phase out government-backed coverage for new construction in high-risk areas and cap compensation for insurance firms participating in the NFIP's "Write Your Own" program. Duffy's amendment would establish a "Flood Insurance Clearinghouse" intended to fill in the gap for properties that could lose NFIP coverage under the bill, NAFCU explained.
The committee's Republicans rejected an amendment by Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) that would have replaced the bill with a bipartisan flood insurance proposal just introduced by Sens. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and John Kennedy (R-LA).
The committee voted 53-0 to approve a bill introduced by Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY) to limit premium increases for residential properties to $10,000 per year, a provision supported by NAFCU, the trade association noted.
NAFCU said it has pushed for a number of improvements to the NFIP, including increases in coverage limits, and capping premiums and rates. In a letter to the committee last week, NAFCU Vice President of Government Relations Brad Thaler said the association supports long-term authorization for the program but is concerned about proposals that would drastically increase NFIP privatization efforts. He said privatization could lead to cherry-picking of low-risk policies, raising premiums on those who could least afford it.