A provision in the $625.8 billion 2010 Department of Defense Appropriations Bill extended the flood program through Feb. 28. The flood-insurance program awaits a potentially contentious re-write, including a debate over whether it should extend into wind coverage. Rep. Gene Taylor, a Democratic congressman whose Mississippi home was wrecked by Hurricane Katrina in 2004, has again been urging the Obama administration to insist on wind-damage coverage in a future overhaul of the program. But the insurance industry has strongly opposed that idea, and the effort has also met resistance from the White House.
"We applaud the Senate for keeping the National Flood Insurance Program in place," said Ben McKay, senior vice president of federal affairs for the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America. "We look forward to working with the House and Senate in 2010 to advocate a long-term extension that ensures the program?s fiscal soundness and protects homeowners."