Floor Statements

Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the ``National Flood Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2003.'' This bill, which is cosponsored by the Ranking Democrat on the Banking Committee, Senator Sarbanes, as well as Senators Bond and Mikulski, the Chairman and Ranking Member, respectively, of the Subcommittee on VA, HUD and Independent Agencies Appropriations, will provide a one-year extension of the lapsed federal flood insurance program.

The National Flood Insurance Program, ``NFIP'', expired on December 31, 2002. The expiration of the program has prevented homeowners and home buyers from obtaining or renewing flood insurance policies in the intervening time. Since anyone buying or refinancing a home in a flood plan must have flood insurance, NFIP's expiration will block the path to home ownership for many Americans, and have a disruptive effect on residential real estate and mortgage markets.

I have a December 6, 2002 letter from Anthony S. Lowe, the Administrator of the Federal Insurance and Mitigation Administration, which goes into greater detail regarding the consequences of the expiration of the NFIP. As Director Low indicates in this letter the lapse of this authority could effect as many as 400,000 households in the month of January alone. I ask unanimous consent that this letter be printed in the Record.

The bill that I am introducing today simply extends the NFIP through the end of this calender year, retroactive to January 1, 2003. As such, it's purpose is the same as S. 13, which the Senate passed last November 20th.

The House passed companion legislation this week, and it is our hope to have a short term extension of the NFIP enacted into law as soon as possible. This will permit the two Houses of Congress to consider the larger issues confronting the NFIP in a deliberate manner, without creating hardship for homeowners and undue turmoil in our nation's real estate markets.