NU Online News Service, Sept. 26, 3:06 p.m. EDT
Extension of the current authorization for the National Flood Insurance Program will be hanging in the air today if a planned Senate vote on a continuing resolution conflicts with an earlier House vote.
The House on Friday passed a continuing resolution designed to fund the government until Nov. 18. If the Senate passes its own version and the House—which is in recess—does not return to deal with the issue, some parts of the NFIP would shut down at midnight Friday.
Both versions contain a short-term flood-program extension.
Technically, the House is in session, but only a few people are in order to keep it that way. If the Senate clears a bill—drafted by Senate Majority leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.—for final vote, the House would have to return to vote on it before Friday. If the House refuses, authorization for the NFIP to approve new contracts and do other back-office work would have to cease as of Saturday.
The controversy deals with funds designated for the Federal Emergency Management Agency to use for emergency funding for those affected by floods and tornadoes.
Both versions provide FEMA with $3.65 billion, but the bill the Senate will deal with today does not require a $1 billion cut to the Department of Energy's Advanced Technology Vehicle Management (ATVM) loan program. Democrats argue the ATVM program helps create jobs, and want to avoid cuts the House has approved.
The Senate bill would also restore last-minute House language that rescinds $100 million from the Department of Energy's Innovative Technology Loan Guarantee Program.
This language was added by Republicans to spotlight a $500 million loan that helped fund Solyndra, a California solar-panel company which is now in bankruptcy.
Want to continue reading?
Become a Free PropertyCasualty360 Digital Reader
Your access to unlimited PropertyCasualty360 content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:
- Breaking insurance news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Weekly Insurance Speak podcast featuring exclusive interviews with industry leaders
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical converage of the employee benefits and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, BenefitsPRO and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
