{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.reed.senate.gov/news/releases/reed-urges-swift-action-to-prevent-potential-republican-shutdown-of-federal-government-from-upending-housing-market", "Reed Urges Swift Action to Prevent Potential Republican Shutdown of Federal Government from Upending Housing Market", "2023-09-26", "2023", "2023-09", "Democrat", "Senate", "RI", "Jack Reed", "R000122", "www.reed.senate.gov", "jackreed", "https://www.reed.senate.gov/news/releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, DC \u2013 With House Republicans threatening to force a federal government shutdown and prevent a stopgap funding extension, homebuyers and sellers could be forced to scramble and move up or push back closing dates in an already fraught housing market.\n\nU.S. Senator Jack Reed is urging a timely reauthorization of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), which will expire on September 30th unless Congress takes action to prevent an unnecessary lapse.\n\nThe NFIP makes federally-backed flood insurance available in those states and communities that agree to adopt and enforce flood-plain management ordinances to reduce future flood damage. The program provides access to flood insurance to property owners, renters, and businesses.\n\nAccording to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the NFIP will not be able to issue new flood insurance policies during a funding lapse.\n\n\u201cIf House Republicans refuse to renew the NFIP and follow through on their threats to force a federal shutdown, it could negatively impact the housing market nationwide. FEMA would be unable to issue new flood insurance policies, or renew existing ones, until the government resumes operating. That could prove to be a disaster for folks buying a new home in the midst of Hurricane season,\u201d said Senator Reed. \u201cCongress needs to help working families protect their homes and make communities more resilient and flood resistant.\u201d\n\nThe NFIP was originally established in 1968 and is the principal provider of flood insurance across the United States. Today, there are over 4.7 million NFIP policyholders nationwide, including about 15,000 policies in force in Rhode Island.\n\nThe last time the program expired, 1,300 home sales per day were disrupted across the country, according to the National Association of Realtors.\n\nJust one inch of floodwater can cause up to $25,000 in damage, according to FEMA.\n\nSenator Reed says that in case of a flood disaster during a government shutdown, federal funding would still be available to pay out flood claims of current NFIP policyholders. However, if House Republicans force a federal government shutdown it would halt renewals on existing policies as well as the issuance of any new policies, potentially disrupting thousands of home sale closings.\n\nReed says he is working with colleagues on both sides of the aisle on a bipartisan proposal that would reauthorize the program for five years \u2013 providing greater stability for homeowners, small business owners, and the real estate market. It will also implement a series of sweeping reforms to reduce costs, make generational investments in communities to reduce flood risk, and establish a fairer claims process for policyholders.\n\nEarlier this month, at a recent hearing of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, Senator Reed raised the consequences of NFIP funding lapsing and stressed the importance of reducing flood risks by taking proactive steps like restoring flood plans and boosting resilience.\n\nSince 2017, NFIP has had 25 short-term reauthorizations, with the most recent coming last December.\n\n\u201cMillions of Americans rely on the National Flood Insurance program. If House Republicans force it to lapse and then shut the government down, they will be leaving many families high and dry. We should prevent an avoidable disaster and pass a short-term fix without further delay,\u201d said Senator Reed.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-08T00:37:48Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.reed.senate.gov/news/releases/reed-urges-swift-action-to-prevent-potential-republican-shutdown-of-federal-government-from-upending-housing-market"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.069309189915657, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}