The House voted Friday to extend the National Flood Insurance Program through May 31, 2019.
Lawmakers passed a Senate bill to extend the program late Friday night, while congressional negotiations continued over how to fund portions of the government, including the Departments of Homeland Security, State, and Justice, that will no longer have money for regular operations following midnight.
President Trump still needs to sign the flood insurance extension on Friday night, before the program’s current authorization also expires at midnight.
The reauthorization allows the program, which is over $20 billion in debt, continue to borrow up to nearly $10 billion more. Efforts to reform the program — including a bill from outgoing Rep. Tom MacArthur, R-N.J., that the House also voted on tonight — failed to gain enough consensus to pass.
Had the program’s authorization lapsed, it could have continued to borrow up to $1 billion. After reaching that threshold, communities would not be able to make claims for flood damage until a reauthorization.
