WASHINGTON, D.C. - The federal government is currently working to approve a bill that would prevent a government shutdown on Friday.The bill includes the extension of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), which is set to expire Friday at 11:59 p.m.If it expires, the program wouldn't have been able to provide more flood insurance contracts.Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) was one of the biggest supporters of extending the bill while also calling for reforms to make flood insurance more affordable for Americans.Cassidy recently introduced legislation alongside Sen. Corey Booker (D-NJ) called the Flood Insurance Affordability Tax Credit Act. The legislation would provide a 33% refundable tax credit on flood insurance premiums for low—to middle-income households enrolled in the program."That would help give a tax credit to a low-middle income family that can't afford their premium. We know the Risk Rating 2.0, families that have never flooded, are suddenly seeing their premiums boom, boom, boom, boom, boom go up," Cassidy said.He added that the credit wouldn't be a permanent solution and that serious reform is needed.The NFIP was launched in 1968. FEMA sells about 90% of the nation's flood policies through the program. Louisiana has the highest percentage of NFIP policies in the country, with over 400,000 as of 2023.Flood insurance costs have become a problem for many in Louisiana.Cassidy argues that costs have been skyrocketing because of FEMA's Risk Rating 2.0, which calculates flood insurance premiums based on a property's specific flood risk.Central resident Robert Burns told WBRZ he doesn't live in a flood-prone area but was affected by the 2016 floods. It made him buy the insurance."I guess since then it's probably tripled by now, and I'm actually one of the better ones because what I'm paying is substantially less than a lot of my friends," Burns said.Cassidy says the program will last for another three months if it's passed, but hopes it will be longer."We've been able to extend it and always keep it from lapsing. I think the last time that it lapsed for just like a week, was about 10 years ago, so three months would be good, but I want a two, three, five-year extension," Cassidy said.Cassidy also said this past hurricane season with Hurricanes Francine, Helene and Milton showed people just how important affordability for flood insurance is."some of the states most impacted are inland states, but they tend to have this kind of river-type system," Cassidy said."Permalink| Comments