Gloria Gonzalez

7/31/2018 6:58:00 AM

Source: Business Insurance

The National Flood Insurance Program is in limbo, on the cusp of either another expiration or short-term extension without any reforms to the debt-ridden program, which would kick the issue down the road for a lame-duck Congress to navigate.

The latest extension debate has unveiled some major political fault lines, with a key House member openly taking the Senate to task for its inaction on the program and stakeholders taking diverging positions on short-term extension bills.

The NFIP will expire Tuesday if Congress does not authorize an extension of the program, meaning that new policies cannot be written after that date and existing policies cannot be renewed.

The U.S. House of Representatives approved a straight extension of the program to Nov. 30 on a 366-52 vote Wednesday. The bill now moves to the Senate, where it is expected to be moved under unanimous consent procedures, although one senator can block such approval.