News Briefs - Flood Insurance Bill Seeks to Curb Rising tide of Bankruptcies
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Flood insurance bill seeks to curb rising tide of bankruptcies |
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The Hill, May 19, 2022 |
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Americans with homes that are repeatedly flooded by extreme weather events could soon have the federal government buy their houses under a new bill introduced Thursday by Rep. Sean Casten (D-Ill.). The bill would allow the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), the federal flood insurer of last resort, to buy houses and zones deemed indefensible in lieu of continually paying to repair them. “You’re not obligating people to move, but you’re saying like, you know … if you want to avail yourself with the NFIP program, we’re going to structure it toward a buyout rather than rebuilding,” Casten said. Casten, who worked on the bill with Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), says it aims to solve two problems: one serious, the other potentially catastrophic. More immediately, there’s looming the risk of bankruptcy of the NFIP, which is straining under the weight of ever more frequent and severe flood events. Congress paid $16 billion to bail the program out in 2018, and Congress proposed another $20 billion in 2021. |
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