House delays vote on flood insurance reform

House leadership postponed Tuesday afternoon a vote on a popular flood insurance reform bill expected to pass. 

The bill, called the Flood Insurance Market Parity and Modernization Act, will likely receive a recorded vote Wednesday instead of a voice vote this evening, according to an aide one of the bill’s authors. Lawmakers are trickling into Washington tonight for the work week and the bill’s sponsors were told that leadership wanted to wait for as many representatives as possible to vote for the bill. 

“Leadership’s floor staff just pushed it to tomorrow for a recorded vote,” said Joni Shockey, press secretary for Rep. Dennis Ross (R-Fla.), who sponsored the bill. “We still have strong support behind it. Nothing has changed, they just simply decided to move it to tomorrow.”

Spokesmen for House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy declined to comment. McCarthy controls the House floor schedule.

The Flood Insurance Market Parity and Modernization Act, introduced by Ross and Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-Fla.) clarifies that privately issued flood insurance policies meet a federal requirement for homes in flood-prone areas. It was passed unanimously out of the House Financial Services Committee in March.