House Passes Flood Insurance Extension

The House has passed a stand-alone bill to re-authorize the National Flood Insurance Program, which has not been able to issue new policies for the past three weeks. The bill (H.R. 5569) extends the NFIP until Sept. 30 and makes the re-authorization retroactive to May 31 when the Federal Emergency Management Agency had to stop issuing new flood insurance policies. "This is the third time this year that the flood insurance program has expired, causing disruption in the housing market in cases where individuals are trying to purchase a home located in a flood plain," said Rep. Gary Miller, R-Calif. The House passed the September extension Wednesday morning by a voice vote. The National Association of Realtors and other housing groups want the Senate to act quickly. The Senate is currently deadlocked over a $100 billion jobs bill passed by the House several weeks ago that includes an extension of the flood insurance program.