Congress Reauthorizes the National Flood Insurance Program!

In a major victory for REALTORS®, Congress has reauthorized the National Flood Insurance Program for five years. Moe Veissi, 2012 NAR President, sent the following email announcing the program’s passage and recommitting NAR to advocating for your interests:
You did it! All the DC pundits said that nothing would be accomplished in an election year! Late last week Congress finally acted on one of your key legislative priorities, a 5-year reauthorization of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). You just proved them wrong because you didn’t give up, and now you have the victory to confirm it!
The 5-year reauthorization will finally bring certainty to real estate transactions in more than 21,000 communities nationwide where flood insurance is required for a mortgage. The bill ensures the program will continue long-term for more than 5.6 million business- and home owners who rely on it.
This has been a long and arduous battle. The NFIP suffered through 20 short-term extensions and hobbled along for over four years without a long-term reauthorization. But, because of your resolve and with your help and influence, NAR’s management and leadership over the past many years, and most importantly, you, our members, stayed the course to give lenders and homeowners more certainty confidence in the mortgage and real estate market place with available flood insurance for existing homeowners and those buying and selling.
I’m sending you this email to reinforce the commitment NAR makes to you – our key activists – and to every other member who expects us to persevere on issues of importance to our members and your clients – the consumers, homeowners, and future homeowners. It was your charge to us not to give up, not to accept anything less than a long-term reauthorization of NFIP. So, we battled to get every short-term extension until the full 5-year reauthorization was approved.