FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

CONTACT:

Friday, January 10, 2003

Jesse Jacobs - 202-224-4524



SARBANES APPLAUDS PASSAGE OF
NATIONAL FLOOD INSURANCE LEGISLATION

Senator Paul S. Sarbanes (D-MD), the Chairman of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, applauded unanimous Senate passage of legislation to reauthorize the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), which had expired as of December 31, 2002. The House passed legislation on January 8 and the bill now goes to the President for signature.

"Property owners and mortgage lenders throughout the country rely on the National Flood Insurance Program to insure their properties against flood damage,” said Sarbanes. “I am pleased that the House and the Senate moved so quickly to restore this program retroactively to ensure homeowners will have insurance available if a flood disaster strikes."

The Senate had passed a bill, sponsored by Sarbanes, on November 20, 2002, but the House of Representatives had failed to pass it prior to its adjournment for the year. With the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s authority to manage the NFIP expiring on December 31, 2002, it was critical for the Congress to move quickly to reauthorize the program.

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