A coalition of business and environmental groups is demanding congressional action on flood insurance overhaul before the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) expires December 08.

The SmartSafer coalition sent a letter to members of the House of Representatives urging them to pass a compromise bill that would extend the NFIP to 2022.

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“This legislative package moves the flood program in the right direction and contains needed reforms that will better protect those in harm’s way, the environment, and taxpayers,” the letter said. The coalition wants Congress to surmount a stumbling block placed in flood reform’s way when a scheduled House Rules Committee hearing for the bill was postponed indefinitely, Reuters reported.

“Clearly they’re trying to make sure they’ve got all their ducks in a row and they’ve got all the votes they need,” said Steve Ellis of Taxpayers for Common Sense, a conservative group that is part of the coalition.

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But Joshua Saks, the legislative director of the National Wildlife Federation, told Reuters that the compromise bill had its problems – one of which was that it didn’t guarantee money earmarked for flood mitigation projects would ever be spent.

“We need an Apollo project of mitigation right now,” Saks said. “We need billions right now up front.”


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