Big ‘I’ Sees Win as Congress Passes Spending Bill

Government funding measure extends NFIP and includes key crop insurance provisions.

The Big “I” applauded the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives for passing legislation that would extend the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and support crop insurance agents, all as part of government funding legislation.  “We are grateful that the passage of this government funding legislation includes key NFIP and crop insurance priorities, and the Big ‘I’ would like to thank Congress for ending 2022 with good news for the independent agency channel,” says Charles Symington, Big “I” executive vice president. “We now urge President Biden to quickly sign this package into law.”

The $1.7 billion bipartisan agreement, which passed both chambers of Congress, would fund the government until Sept. 30, 2023. President Joe Biden is expected to sign the legislation into law before the 11:59 p.m. deadline on Dec. 23. The NFIP, which was also scheduled to expire on Dec. 23, would be extended for a year, providing much-needed certainty for the program. Additionally, the package contains $25 million for specialty crop administrative & operating (A&O) expenses, as well as language that reaffirms the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s authority to resume inflation adjustments and provide specialty A&O relief without having to reopen the Standard Reinsurance Agreement (SRA) for further negotiation. Recently, specialty crop A&O expenses have seen drastic cuts across the county.

“The Big ‘I’ would like to thank congressional leaders for moving these key provisions forward,” Symington continued. “The NFIP is a vital community program, and any lapse could have left millions of Americans at risk, disrupted housing markets, and slowed recovery efforts of past flooding events. Next year, we ask Congress to continue to consider a multi-year NFIP reauthorization that would modernize the program, as well as policies to protect and strengthen crop insurance agents and the Federal Crop Insurance Program.”