NFIP Extended A Week to Prevent Lapse
LOUISIANA REALTORS • November 30, 2018
Louisiana Senators Bill Cassidy and John Kennedy continue to be key players in negotiations and we thank them for taking the lead on this key issue!
Flood Insurance Program extended at least another week
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The Advocate By: Bryn Stole
Congress pushed back its deadline to deal with the National Flood Insurance Program by at least a week, passing yet another short-term extension of the program late Thursday.
A deadline to avoid a lapse in the federal program, which underwrites most flood insurance coverage in the country and covers a half-million Louisiana homes, had been looming at midnight on Friday. The short-term deal is the eighth temporary extension for the program since it first came up for periodic renewal more than a year ago.
Louisiana Sens. Bill Cassidy and John Kennedy had pushed for a six-month extension of the program, putting off a deadline until the spring and giving new incoming leadership in the House of Representatives time to get to work on a comprehensive overhaul of the program.
Both the House and Senate passed a week-long extension on Thursday evening. The Senate also passed the six-month deal, meaning the House could come back Friday or next week and pass the longer extension as well.
No long-term deal over the beleaguered flood insurance program — which is mired in billions of debt from payouts for past hurricanes — is expected in the coming weeks. But lawmakers will need to strike an agreement on just how long to extend it.
Lawmakers have remained deadlocked for more than a year over long-term reforms to the program. <<Read the Full Article>>

Louisiana REALTORS® CEO Norman Morris issued the following statement after SpaceX announced plans to invest $100 billion in a new launch facility in Vermilion Parish. The project is expected to create 3,000 direct jobs and more than 8,100 indirect jobs across Acadiana. “SpaceX’s investment is an extraordinary economic win for Louisiana. We congratulate Governor Jeff Landry, Louisiana Economic Development Secretary Susan Bourgeois, Vermilion Parish leaders, and everyone who helped bring this historic project home. The housing and infrastructure improvements needed to support more than 11,000 new job opportunities should generate a huge economic boost to the Acadiana and Gulf Coast region. According to the National Association of REALTORS®, each typical Louisiana home sale generates approximately $88,600 in economic activity. Even if only half of the new SpaceX related jobs lead to a home purchase, the impact would generate nearly half a billion dollars across our state's economy. That improves our tax base and school systems, and ripples through our economy touching builders, bankers, hardware stores, appliance dealers, contractors and so many more. “Housing is not downstream of economic development; it is an essential infrastructure. Louisiana REALTORS® and our partners stand ready to help turn these new jobs into homes, stronger communities and lasting roots in Louisiana. Economic development creates jobs, but housing turns those jobs into homes. Let’s make Louisiana home again, together.” Economic-impact estimates are illustrative calculations by Louisiana REALTORS® using employment projections from Louisiana Economic Development and the National Association of REALTORS®’ estimated economic impact per typical Louisiana home sale. They are not forecasts or recurring annual-impact figures. Enjoy the video below from the Louisiana Department of Economic Development .





