Congress returns from its August recess next week, and not a moment too soon. The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) is set to expire on September 30th if Congress doesn’t act to extend it. The NFIP is currently on its 12th short term extension since its last long-term renewal expired in September 2017. While Congress may try to pass a stand-alone extension of the NFIP, it seems more likely that any NFIP extension will be tied to a federal government appropriations measure, which must also be passed by September 30 to avoid a government shutdown.
In the meantime, PIA National has been building on the progress of the House Financial Services Committee in June to provide a long-term reauthorization of the NFIP. At that time, House Financial Services passed a legislative package that PIA strongly supports to reauthorize the program for five years. This package includes important reforms to the NFIP, and, notably for PIA members, it does not include a provision that would impede independent agents’ ability to be fairly compensated for their work. The full House is expected to vote on this legislation sometime in September.
Unfortunately, some members of Congress may try to attach a provision affecting agent commissions to the House Financial Services bill on the House floor or in the Senate. As such, we remain vigilant in our efforts to ensure the defeat of any such provision in keeping with our longstanding protection of agent compensation here at PIA National.
PIA Advocacy Blog 