NACo Continues Push for National Flood Insurance Reauthorization

The Sustainable, Affordable, Fair and Efficient National Flood Insurance Program Reauthorization Act (S. 1368) (SAFE NFIP) would reauthorize the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) for six years and ensure the program is accessible and affordable for all county residents.

The National Association of Counties’ summer advocacy toolkit outlines top priorities and urges all counties to reach out to their Congressional representatives during the summer on key topics affecting their residents.

NACo’s advocacy toolkit includes policy briefs on top federal policy issues for counties.

One of those topics is the National Flood Insurance Program which is currently operating under a short-term extension.

NACo outlines the issue with a policy brief and several talking points, including:

  • Congress should enact a long-term reauthorization of the NFIP. When the federal government uses short-term funding extensions, counties are often unable to effectively plan and implement a workable budget. The NFIP is currently operating under a short-term extension that will expire November 30, 2018.
  • Congress should act now and pass the SAFE NFIP Act. The SAFE NFIP Act would reauthorize NFIP for six years and has strong bi-partisan support. The bill caps all premium rate hikes at 10 percent, provides funding for local mitigation projects and streamlines the administration of the NFIP.
  • Flood insurance policy surcharges should be limited to maintain accessibility and affordability for homeowners. New surcharges could make flood insurance unaffordable for some policyholders.

For more information about this topic and other priorities, see the complete summer advocacy toolkit from NACo.