Top House Republicans are holding firm against an effort by one of their home-state GOP senators to hold a stand-alone vote on reopening the National Flood Insurance Program amid the government shutdown.
The program is especially important in hurricane-prone states such as Louisiana, and the shutdown means it cannot underwrite new policies — complicating life for thousands of would-be homebuyers across the country.
Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) wants Senate GOP leaders to hold a vote on a stand-alone bill that would reopen the NFIP. But Speaker Mike Johnson and Majority Leader Steve Scalise — both Louisianans — are not willing to put such a measure up for a House vote at this point, according to three people granted anonymity to describe private strategy.
Johnson has not weighed in on the stand-alone vote publicly as he’s blamed Democrats for holding the program hostage. Scalise, meanwhile, noted in a brief interview Thursday that House Republicans moved to renew the NFIP when they passed a stopgap spending bill last month.“If there’s another way to get the government open, I’m all for it,” Scalise said. “But right now, it seems like the Democrats are hell-bent on keeping it shut down, which hurts other programs. I mean, it’s canceled closings on houses all across the country.”
Johnson’s leadership circle similarly argues that the House-passed stopgap already addressed the flood insurance program, putting the onus on Senate Democrats to reinstate it. While new policies cannot be written, the program can pay out claims to existing policyholders during the shutdown.
Jordain Carney contributed to this report.
