In a letter to Congressional leadership, more than 20 major housing trade groups including the National Association of Realtors, the National Association of Home Builders, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce pushed for the extension of the National Flood Insurance Program this week.
The groups warn Congress in the letter that failure to reauthorize the program by its upcoming expiration date, July 31st, will put an estimated 40,000 American homes at serious risk. The letter echoes last week's call to action by Maxine Waters, D-Calif., Ranking Member of the House Committee on Financial Services, where she reaffirmed the need for Congress to pass a long-term solution for the NFIP, HousingWire reports. The NAR estimates that every U.S. county has declared at least one federal disaster as a result of climate change, adding that floods have taken more lives and property than any other form of natural disaster.
In 2017, the House of Representatives passed the 21st Century Flood Reform, Act H.R. 2874, which aims to reform and reauthorize the National Flood Insurance Program. The act, reauthorizes the NFIP for five years, introducing private market competition, and providing programmatic reforms to help policyholders. Notably, it also reduces direct spending by $187 million. However, as climate change becomes a pressing issue, multiple organizations and political leaders have denounced the House of Representatives’ move.
