Jan. 15, 2014 – The 2014 appropriations package unveiled late Monday includes a NAFCU-sought delay in some National Flood Insurance Program premium increases imposed under the 2012 Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act.The one-year delay is provided in Section 572 of the package. Its inclusion was hailed by Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., who chairs the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security and played a leading role in getting the delay included.
The measure is a temporary fix for some properties, but a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers, including Landrieu, who represent coastal areas continues to seek a more permanent fix.
NAFCU is strongly urging a delay in the NFIP premium increases until a federally mandated affordability impact study it completed. The association has warned of the negative impact these increases will have on homeowners and local housing markets. It recommends halting the increases in flood insurance premiums until the affordability impact study can be reviewed.The appropriations package also:
Credit unions with NCUA’s low-income designation qualify to seek grants and assistance from both funds. The House on Tuesday passed a three-day stopgap bill to give lawmakers time to complete the larger package and avoid another federal government shutdown, and the Senate is expected to clear it as well. The current stopgap measure expires tonight.