WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) today applauded the Senate for passing the Flood Insurance Authorization Act, but expressed the critical need for Congress to reform the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) rather than pass short-term extensions.

“It is completely unacceptable for the Congress to allow flood insurance authorization to lapse during hurricane season,” said Wicker. “The reauthorization of flood insurance is long overdue, and I am glad the Senate finally passed this bill to provide a little more certainty to those on the Gulf Coast. However, the work is not done. This bill offers only a short-term extension, and the residents and business owners on the coast need a long-term solution to this grave problem.”

The NFIP authorization expired on June 1, 2010. Since March, NFIP authorization has lapsed three times. Lapses in NFIP authorization causes complications for banks, residents, and business owners trying to close on loans for property along the coast and other flood-prone areas. The NFIP has not been renewed on a long-term basis in over 10 years.

“We must do more than temporarily extend the NFIP program for a few weeks or months,” added Wicker. “Congress must reform the program to address the unique flood exposure in hurricane-prone regions.”

In April, Senator Wicker held a roundtable in Gulfport, Mississippi, to work with industry leaders, public officials, and scholars on ways to reform NFIP. Wicker has received a commitment from Senator Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, to hold a hearing on coastal insurance and NFIP reform.

The National Flood Insurance Authorization Act passed the Senate unanimously last night and will now head to the president to be signed into law.

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