The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) is set to lapse at midnight tonight (Sept. 30) unless Congress acts to renew the program’s authority, either by attaching an extension to a stopgap funding bill or passing a standalone measure.
To communicate the urgency of keeping NFIP running, NAR issued a targeted Call for Action Monday, asking Federal Political Coordinators to reach out to their members of Congress and highlight the importance of NFIP to homeowners.
The FPC program is a unique and integral piece of NAR’s advocacy toolbox. Every member of Congress has an assigned FPC. The FPCs are NAR members who have developed a longstanding relationship with their representative or senator through advocacy work. FPCs communicate closely with their Congress members and congressional staff, sharing the association’s policy priorities and original research—and offering political insights from REALTORS® across the country.
In the pilot episode of NAR’s Advocacy Scoop podcast, NAR Chief Advocacy Officer Shannon McGahn called the FPC program “one of the envies of all of advocacy.”
Evidence of the success of the FPC program isn’t hard to find. During the consideration of a key piece of legislation in 2022, FPCs launched a targeted call for action and prevented several of NAR’s most feared taxes and limits on real estate investment from being included in the bill.
This week’s message from FPCs to members of Congress is clear: A lapse of NFIP would leave millions of Americans vulnerable during peak hurricane season and disrupt the purchase of flood insurance in more than 20,000 communities nationwide.
During a lapse, Americans would be unable to purchase new NFIP policies, and current policyholders—including property owners and renters—would be unable to renew their coverage.
“According to NAR research, the NFIP supports roughly half a million home sales annually, generating 1 million jobs and contributing $70 billion to the U.S. economy,” says McGahn. “With this FPC Call for Action, we’re taking a targeted approach to ensure that each member of Congress knows the importance NFIP plays in the economy. And they are hearing this from their FPCs—constituents they know and trust who live and work in their districts and represent nearly one-fifth of the entire economy.”
In addition to the call for action to FPCs, NAR sent a letter to congressional leadershippdf urging them to find a path forward, whether that be in the continuing resolution or as a standalone extension.
NAR also issued guidance to its members on how a shutdown is likely to affect real estate.