Senate Banking Committee Chair Tim Scott (R-SC) announced “committee working groups to tackle key issues that Congress has failed to prioritize for far too long,” including the new Addressing America’s National Flood Insurance Program Working Group.  This working group, led by Senators John Kennedy (R-LA) and Mike Rounds (R-SD), will “provide certainty to homeowners, communities, and insurers.”  In addition to working towards a long-term NFIP reauthorization, the working group will lead solutions that “foster adoption of a sustainable flood insurance market, ensure the long-term fiscal sustainability of the program, and align incentives to help families and communities prepare and recover from flooding.”

Senator Kennedy commented, “Currently, the National Flood Insurance Program is not working for the Louisianians or Americans who need it. That makes it impossible to protect their biggest assets—their homes. Our people deserve a National Flood Insurance Program that looks like someone designed the thing on purpose.”  Senator Rounds, a former insurance agent, added, “The National Flood Insurance Program has been operating under a short-term reauthorization for years and with $20 billion in debt, the program is in desperate need of reform.  It is time that Congress do the full work of actually reforming the program to provide long-term certainty to homeowners, financial institutions, insurers and other stakeholders.”