Flood insurance program restored
In addition to working quickly in the new year to restore unemployment benefits, Congress also restored the federal flood hazard insurance program.
The lame-duck Congress had placed an estimated 400,000 American homeowners and buyers into potential jeopardy by leaving for the holidays without reauthorizing the $623-billion program for 2003.
On Monday, President Bush signed the one-year reauthorization bill, which had been passed a week earlier by the House and Senate. The reauthorization is retroactive to Dec. 31, 2002.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency, which manages the National Flood Insurance Program, said that insurance companies should proceed without delay in processing any claims held up because of the lapse in authorization and resume processing all flood insurance applications, renewals and requests for increased coverage received during the hiatus.
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