U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., on Wednesday delivered a speech on the Senate floor warning that the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) faces serious consequences if it lapses on Sept. 30.
Cassidy said nearly 500,000 Louisianans and millions of other Americans depend on flood insurance under NFIP. He said a lapse would leave policyholders without protection as the hurricane and flood season continues.
He criticized repeated short-term extensions of NFIP and said Congress should enact a long-term solution. Cassidy also urged measures that would ensure the program remains affordable for homeowners, accountable to taxpayers and sustainable for future generations.
Cassidy recounted recent storms and argued that prevention through infrastructure and mitigation saves more than recovery alone. He noted grants given to Louisiana in the wake of Hurricane Francine, along with mitigation funding under the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities, as examples of federal recovery and mitigation efforts.
He concluded that the program should not be “held hostage by short-term funding battles.”
NFIP was established in 1968 to provide flood insurance where the private market could not offer it on reasonable terms. Cassidy has introduced reform proposals, including a tax credit for low- and middle-income households, and invited input from stakeholders on S. 2142, the National Flood Insurance Reauthorization and Reform Act of 2023.
Congress must act by Sept. 30 or risk a gap in coverage for many who rely on NFIP.
