The Big "I" sent two letters to Congress this week advocating to extend the National Flood Insurance Program, set to expire on Sept. 30, and urging support for The Paycheck Protection Program Small Business Forgiveness Act.
This week the Big “I" sent two letters to Capitol Hill advocating for issues important to independent insurance agents.
First, the Big “I" joined others in the insurance industry and many other interested stakeholders in advocating for Congress to extend the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), which is currently scheduled to expire on Sept. 30. Specifically, the Big “I" is urging Congress to reauthorize the NFIP as part of legislation to fund the government beyond the expiration of the current package, which also falls on Sept. 30.
The letter, addressed to U.S. House of Representatives and Senate leadership, notes that, “allowing the program to lapse would be devastating to the policyholders across the nation who have already been impacted by COVID-19 and are facing an increasing number of severe flooding events. With a lapse in the program's authorization, policyholders would not be able to obtain coverage, or—importantly—buy or sell properties of all kinds."
The letter goes on to urge Congress to reauthorize the program before Sept. 30 to provide continuity and certainty to the millions of policyholders who rely on a functioning NFIP.
The Big “I" also joined a number of organizations in sending a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York) urging support for S. 4117, “The Paycheck Protection Program Small Business Forgiveness Act," sponsored by Sens. Kevin Cramer (R-North Dakota) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Arizona).
This important legislation would ensure our nation's small business owners who took Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans, including Big “I" members, can focus their time, energy, and resources on their business and communities, instead of allocating significant time and resources into completing complex PPP forgiveness forms.
Specifically, S. 4117 would forgive PPP loans of less than $150,000 upon the borrower's completion of a simple, one-page forgiveness document.
Wyatt Stewart is Big “I" assistant vice president of federal government affairs.
