As of press time, the U.S. Senate was expected to pass legislation that would fund the government through March 11, 2022. The legislation would also reauthorize the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) for the same period.

The NFIP is currently scheduled to expire on Friday, Feb. 18, the same date government funding is scheduled to run out. The legislation had previously passed the U.S. House of Representatives and President Joe Biden is expected to sign it into law.

The enactment of this short-term federal government funding legislation until mid-March is meant to give federal policymakers more time to complete negotiations on an agreement to fund the federal government to the end of 2022. 

Allowing the program to lapse would be devastating to policyholders across the nation who are still being impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and have faced an increasing number of severe flooding events in recent years.

As a result, the first priority for the Big “I" is to avoid a lapse in the program. In the meantime, the association looks forward to continuing to work with Congress and the administration to enact a long-term reauthorization of a modernized program that would increase take-up rates for flood insurance, both in the NFIP and in the private market.

Wyatt Stewart is Big “I" assistant vice president of federal government affairs.