A key Republican said Hurricane Harvey will spur Congress to reach a deal to fund the nation's flood insurance program before it expires next month, even though divisions persist over how much the federal government should be on the hook for future disasters.
"I'm just hopeful this will provide the urgency and onus to get this bill on the floor," Jeb Hensarling, a Republican from Texas and chairman of the House Financial Services said in a phone interview Monday. "We need to make sure we don't compound a physical tragedy today with a fiscal tragedy tomorrow."
The devastating storm in Texas has put a spotlight on the National Flood Insurance Program, which requires the government to foot the bill for most of the water damage done to residential properties. It's already running a deficit of more than $25 billion and Harvey's costs are expected to exceed tens of billions of dollars. While Congress has until Sept. 30 to reauthorize the program, lawmakers have been at loggerheads over how to make the program economically sustainable without increasing costs for homeowners.
Complete your profile to continue reading and get FREE access to CUTimes.com, part of your ALM digital membership.
Your access to unlimited CUTimes.com content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:
- Critical CUTimes.com information including comprehensive product and service provider listings via the Marketplace Directory, CU Careers, resources from industry leaders, webcasts, and breaking news, analysis and more with our informative Newsletters.
- Exclusive discounts on ALM and CU Times events.
- Access to other award-winning ALM websites including Law.com and GlobeSt.com.
Already have an account? Sign In
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
