110 HR 3355 EH: Homeowners’ Defense Act of
U.S. House of Representatives
0
text/xml
EN
Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.
1.Short title; table of
contents
(a)This Act may be cited as the Homeowners’ Defense Act of
2007
.
(b)The table of contents for this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Findings and purposes.
Title I—National Catastrophe Risk Consortium
Sec. 101. Establishment; status; principal office;
membership.
Sec. 102. Functions.
Sec. 103. Powers.
Sec. 104. Nonprofit entity; conflicts of interest;
audits.
Sec. 105. Management.
Sec. 106. Staff; experts and consultants.
Sec. 107. Federal liability.
Sec. 108. Authorization of appropriations.
Title II—National Homeowners’ Insurance Stabilization
Program
Sec. 201. Establishment.
Sec. 202. Liquidity loans and catastrophic loans for qualified
reinsurance programs.
Sec. 203. Reports and audits.
Sec. 204. Funding.
Title III—Reinsurance coverage for qualified reinsurance
programs
Sec. 301. Program authority.
Sec. 302. Contract principles.
Sec. 303. Terms of reinsurance contracts.
Sec. 304. Maximum Federal liability.
Sec. 305. Federal Natural Catastrophe Reinsurance
Fund.
Sec. 306. Regulations.
Title IV—General Provisions
Sec. 401. Qualified reinsurance programs.
Sec. 402. Study and conditional coverage of commercial
residential lines of insurance.
Sec. 403. Definitions.
Sec. 404. Regulations.
2.
(a)The
Congress finds that—
(1)the United States has a history of
catastrophic natural disasters, including hurricanes, tornadoes, flood, fire,
earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions;
(2)although
catastrophic natural disasters occur infrequently, they will continue to occur
and are predictable;
(3)such disasters
generate large economic losses and a major component of those losses comes from
damage and destruction to homes;
(4)for the majority
of Americans, their investment in their home represents their single biggest
asset and the protection of that investment is paramount to economic and social
stability;
(5)historically, when
a natural disaster eclipses the ability of the private industry and a State to
manage the loss, the Federal Government has stepped in to provide the funding
and services needed for recovery;
(6)the cost of such
Federal bail-outs
are borne by all taxpayers equally, as there
is no provision to repay the money and resources provided, which thereby
unfairly burdens citizens who live in lower risk communities;
(7)as
the risk of catastrophic losses grows, so do the risks that any premiums
collected by private insurers for extending coverage will be insufficient to
cover future catastrophes, and private insurers, in an effort to protect their
shareholders and policyholders (in the case of mutually-owned companies), have
thus significantly raised premiums and curtailed insurance coverage in States
exposed to major catastrophes;
(8)such effects on
the insurance industry have been harmful to economic activity in States exposed
to major catastrophes and have placed significant burdens on residents of such
States;
(9)Hurricanes
Katrina, Rita, and Wilma struck the United States in 2005, causing over
$200,000,000,000 in total economic losses, and insured losses to homeowners in
excess of $50,000,000,000;
(10)since 2004, the
Congress has appropriated more than $58,000,000,000 in disaster relief to the
States affected by natural catastrophes;
(11)the Federal
Government has provided and will continue to provide resources to pay for
losses from future catastrophes;
(12)when Federal
assistance is provided to the States, accountability for Federal funds
disbursed is paramount;
(13)the Government
Accountability Office or other appropriate agencies must have the means in
place to confirm that Federal funds for catastrophe relief have reached the
appropriate victims and have contributed to the recovery effort as efficiently
as possible so that taxpayer funds are not wasted and citizens are enabled to
rebuild and resume productive activities as quickly as possible;
(14)States that are
recipients of Federal funds must be responsible to account for and provide an
efficient means for distribution of funds to homeowners to enable the rapid
rebuilding of local economies after a catastrophic event without unduly
burdening taxpayers who live in areas seldom affected by natural
disasters;
(15)State insurance
and reinsurance programs can provide a mechanism for States to exercise that
responsibility if they appropriately underwrite and price risk, and if they pay
claims quickly and within established contractual terms; and
(16)State catastrophe reinsurance programs, if
appropriately structured and regulated, assume catastrophic risk borne by
private insurers without incurring many of the additional costs imposed on
private insurers, and thus enable all insurers within the State to underwrite
and price coverage at rates designed to encourage property owners to acquire
levels of insurance appropriate to their individual risks.
(b)The purposes of this Act are to establish a
program to provide Federal support for State-sponsored insurance programs to
help homeowners prepare for and recover from the damages caused by natural
catastrophes, to encourage mitigation and prevention for such catastrophes, to
promote the use of private market capital as a means to insure against such
catastrophes, to expedite the payment of claims and better assist in the
financial recovery from such catastrophes.
<enum>I</enum><header>National
Catastrophe Risk Consortium</header>
<section id="HFC5CC916F6C140D596222EE95D519BB3"><enum>101.</enum><header>Establishment;
status; principal office; membership</header>
<subsection id="H48B88D2BDDDB495FB807D6814215BCAB"><enum>(a)</enum><header>Establishment</header><text>There
is established an entity to be known as the <quote>National Catastrophe Risk
Consortium</quote> (in this title referred to as the
<quote>Consortium</quote>).</text>
</subsection><subsection id="H32EF269EDDBF4DC1BC00F94B692500FA"><enum>(b)</enum><header>Status</header><text>The
Consortium is not a department, agency, or instrumentality of the United States
Government.</text>
</subsection><subsection id="HD1BD0155EBF14143B871CFB6BB47001F"><enum>(c)</enum><header>Principal
office</header><text>The principal office and place of business of the
Consortium shall be such location within the United States determined by the
Board of Directors to be the most advantageous for carrying out the purpose and
functions of the Consortium.</text>
</subsection><subsection id="H6BFE91EC87974A5D8530F984B560AB26"><enum>(d)</enum><header>Membership</header><text display-inline="yes-display-inline">Any State that has established a
reinsurance fund or has authorized the operation of a State residual insurance
market entity, or State-sponsored provider of natural catastrophe insurance,
shall be eligible to participate in the Consortium.</text>
</subsection></section><section id="HCCD739EF73D14E24BAE200C24C1B8F23"><enum>102.</enum><header>Functions</header><text display-inline="no-display-inline">The Consortium shall—</text>
<paragraph id="H7C6FA857DA48464099D8E9CC806D7689"><enum>(1)</enum><text display-inline="yes-display-inline">work with all States, particularly those
participating in the Consortium, to gather and maintain an inventory of
catastrophe risk obligations held by State reinsurance funds, State residual
insurance market entities, and State-sponsored providers of natural catastrophe
insurance;</text>
</paragraph><paragraph id="H06F01A41F4474E0D837B7107476ED9E0"><enum>(2)</enum><text>at the discretion
of the affected members and on a conduit basis, issue securities and other
financial instruments linked to the catastrophe risks insured or reinsured
through members of the Consortium in the capital markets;</text>
</paragraph><paragraph id="H5AAB646030724EE1AA0300F5DED6C3E0"><enum>(3)</enum><text>coordinate
reinsurance contracts between participating, qualified reinsurance funds and
private parties;</text>
</paragraph><paragraph id="HA7777F7F484A4DF0BEB210CD009D703B"><enum>(4)</enum><text>act as a
centralized repository of State risk information that can be accessed by
private-market participants seeking to participate in the transactions
described in paragraphs (2) and (3) of this section;</text>
</paragraph><paragraph id="H90AFD158A51C4877994CE8BA581B70AF"><enum>(5)</enum><text>use a catastrophe
risk database to perform research and analysis that encourages standardization
of the risk-linked securities market;</text>
</paragraph><paragraph id="H20D0372F2DDA46D6946DF116B94773D1"><enum>(6)</enum><text>perform any other
functions, other than assuming risk or incurring debt, that are deemed
necessary to aid in the transfer of catastrophe risk from participating States
to private parties; and</text>
</paragraph><paragraph id="H3E6B25D454DB456FB1FA62F600CA918B"><enum>(7)</enum><text display-inline="yes-display-inline">submit annual reports to Congress
describing the activities of the Consortium for the preceding year, and the
first such annual report shall include an assessment of the costs to States and
regions associated with catastrophe risk and an analysis of the costs and
benefits, for States not participating in the Consortium, of such
nonparticipation.</text>
</paragraph></section><section id="H752D37A5A3454EAD881F30BBF33E7B44"><enum>103.</enum><header>Powers</header><text display-inline="no-display-inline">The Consortium—</text>
<paragraph id="HDF6C8AEA8D994623BF4DD813A1C6D793"><enum>(1)</enum><text>may make and
perform such contracts and other agreements with any individual or other
private or public entity however designated and wherever situated, as may be
necessary for carrying out the functions of the Consortium; and</text>
</paragraph><paragraph id="H063D5026F5524551833822D72E26E481"><enum>(2)</enum><text>shall have such
other powers, other than the power to assume risk or incur debt, as may be
necessary and incident to carrying out this Act.</text>
</paragraph></section><section id="HA34E8F62BCA94E6193E900E470BC99E"><enum>104.</enum><header>Nonprofit
entity; conflicts of interest; audits</header>
<subsection id="HD39A20F0051F4154A112FE45FEF68E49"><enum>(a)</enum><header>Nonprofit
entity</header><text>The Consortium shall be a nonprofit entity and no part of
the net earnings of the Consortium shall inure to the benefit of any member,
founder, contributor, or individual.</text>
</subsection><subsection id="HED91020C24474CC982ABBF3CB6D4348E"><enum>(b)</enum><header>Conflicts of
interest</header><text>No director, officer, or employee of the Consortium
shall in any manner, directly or indirectly, participate in the deliberation
upon or the determination of any question affecting his or her personal
interests or the interests of any Consortium, partnership, or organization in
which he or she is directly or indirectly interested.</text>
</subsection><subsection id="H6305D7DD3F784943A4F66E62A3AB0057"><enum>(c)</enum><header>Audits</header>
<paragraph id="H72A44F3A8A1742B687BD6B2BD2DF9E5"><enum>(1)</enum><header>Annual
audit</header><text>The financial statements of the Consortium shall be audited
annually in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards by
independent certified public accountants.</text>
</paragraph><paragraph id="H7774CBF9DB564000A1B9BA3300ECA2CC"><enum>(2)</enum><header>Reports</header><text>The
report of each annual audit pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be included in the
annual report submitted in accordance with section 102(7).</text>
</paragraph></subsection></section><section id="H7A480C24BF9541F2BDC17DFC1751DEBA"><enum>105.</enum><header>Management</header>
<subsection id="H69FE6B1D94E44325A4A76CE5996891DF"><enum>(a)</enum><header>Board of
directors; membership; designation of chairperson</header>
<paragraph id="H96C09094C6C14CB59C6EA5BF25333C74"><enum>(1)</enum><header>Board of
directors</header><text>The management of the Consortium shall be vested in a
board of directors (referred to in this title as the <quote>Board</quote>)
composed of not less than 3 members.</text>
</paragraph><paragraph id="HC321E5DB3C4A43C2A58D26F216C3486E"><enum>(2)</enum><header>Chairperson</header><text>The
Secretary of Treasury, or the designee of the Secretary, shall serve as the
chairperson of the Board.</text>
</paragraph><paragraph id="H65D280E4E139411BB02783F6C664336C"><enum>(3)</enum><header>Membership</header><text>The
members of the Board shall include—</text>
<subparagraph id="H7786C1843C7147C1BCD1E2850833DECB"><enum>(A)</enum><text>the Secretary of
Homeland Security and the Secretary of Commerce, or the designees of such
Secretaries, respectively, but only during such times as there are fewer than
two States participating in the Consortium; and</text>
</subparagraph><subparagraph id="H56CACC4EB71043C7ADE3B2CA7317C5B4"><enum>(B)</enum><text>a member from each
State participating in the Consortium, who shall be appointed by such
State.</text>
</subparagraph></paragraph></subsection><subsection id="HF99CC5A1F72A4D588667D7A7BEA1E2D"><enum>(b)</enum><header>Bylaws</header><text>The
Board may prescribe, amend, and repeal such bylaws as may be necessary for
carrying out the functions of the Consortium.</text>
</subsection><subsection id="H30216C5894C14600999B593400A96C00"><enum>(c)</enum><header>Compensation,
actual, necessary, and transportation expenses</header>
<paragraph id="H5ACCA2848B2D4D7B98BAF5FE292028A3"><enum>(1)</enum><header>Non-Federal
employees</header><text>A member of the Board who is not otherwise employed by
the Federal Government shall be entitled to receive the daily equivalent of the
annual rate of basic pay payable for level IV of the Executive Schedule under
<external-xref legal-doc="usc" parsable-cite="usc/5/5315">section 5315</external-xref> of title 5, United States Code, as in effect from time to time,
for each day (including travel time) during which such member is engaged in the
actual performance of duties of the Consortium.</text>
</paragraph><paragraph id="H9245EE679FA1447D97B7DCD808CC0065"><enum>(2)</enum><header>Federal
employees</header><text>A member of the Board who is an officer or employee of
the Federal Government shall serve without additional pay (or benefits in the
nature of compensation) for service as a member of the Consortium.</text>
</paragraph><paragraph id="H4327D2D3091044DE00FAB31F6769D228"><enum>(3)</enum><header>Travel
expenses</header><text>Members of the Consortium shall be entitled to receive
travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, equivalent to those
set forth in subchapter I of <external-xref legal-doc="usc-chapter" parsable-cite="usc-chapter/5/57">chapter 57</external-xref> of title 5, United States Code.</text>
</paragraph></subsection><subsection id="H1C5817D901894036AA6459CB3E64E983"><enum>(d)</enum><header>Quorum</header><text>A
majority of the Board shall constitute a quorum.</text>
</subsection><subsection id="H5BD91946A7A44716838928B3B426624"><enum>(e)</enum><header>Executive
director</header><text>The Board shall appoint an executive director of the
Consortium on such terms as the Board may determine.</text>
</subsection></section><section id="H9B8AF18F15FE49A084C5D11C75BBD785"><enum>106.</enum><header>Staff; experts
and consultants</header>
<subsection id="H9ABBA3CC029F457B9855F7B6CB54CDFC"><enum>(a)</enum><header>Staff</header>
<paragraph id="H76C2BC35CEDF42EE8772196C79572047"><enum>(1)</enum><header>Appointment</header><text>The
Board of the Consortium may appoint and terminate such other staff as are
necessary to enable the Consortium to perform its duties.</text>
</paragraph><paragraph id="H9BA266711D624E3BB8FD3C07F0BC2731"><enum>(2)</enum><header>Compensation</header><text>The
Board of the Consortium may fix the compensation of the executive director and
other staff.</text>
</paragraph></subsection><subsection id="H24BCAEB84EFC4088B38C64791EAE86BA"><enum>(b)</enum><header>Experts and
consultants</header><text>The Board shall procure the services of experts and
consultants as the Board considers appropriate.</text>
</subsection></section><section id="H4CFC6322F53647B2825D369169809DA0"><enum>107.</enum><header>Federal
liability</header><text display-inline="no-display-inline">The Federal
Government and the Consortium shall not bear any liabilities arising from the
actions of the Consortium. Participating States shall retain all catastrophe
risk until the completion of a transaction described in paragraphs (2) and (3)
of section 102.</text>
</section><section id="HD83799744F8544788526AF09A6ED3DF4"><enum>108.</enum><header>Authorization
of appropriations</header><text display-inline="no-display-inline">There are
authorized to be appropriated to carry out this title $20,000,000 for each of
fiscal years 2008 through 2013.</text>
</section><enum>II</enum><header>National
Homeowners’ Insurance Stabilization Program</header>
<section id="H113292535ECE4500AC3E6D3CE2131CA9"><enum>201.</enum><header>Establishment</header><text display-inline="no-display-inline">The Secretary of the Treasury shall carry
out a program under this title to make liquidity loans and catastrophic loans
under section 202 to qualified reinsurance programs to ensure the solvency of
such programs, to improve the availability and affordability of homeowners’
insurance, to incent risk transfer to the private capital and reinsurance
markets, and to spread the risk of catastrophic financial loss resulting from
natural disasters and catastrophic events.</text>
</section><section id="HD6012B939E904286B741997FDD43695"><enum>202.</enum><header>Liquidity loans
and catastrophic loans for qualified reinsurance programs</header>
<subsection id="H01C2BE6DC4194C8CB34DC093FCB3D899"><enum>(a)</enum><header>Contracts</header><text>The
Secretary may enter into a contract with a qualified reinsurance program to
carry out the purposes of this Act as the Secretary may deem appropriate. The
contract shall include, at a minimum, the conditions for loan eligibility set
forth in this section.</text>
</subsection><subsection id="HB582E1D80ACE478A9415243CF03BB0A3"><enum>(b)</enum><header>Conditions for
loan eligibility</header><text>A loan under this section may be made only to a
qualified reinsurance program and only if—</text>
<paragraph display-inline="no-display-inline" id="HC57ECF803BD44DB7AE47A6A6F300A2EB"><enum>(1)</enum><text display-inline="yes-display-inline">before the loan is made—</text>
<subparagraph id="H3A8D9166D3FA471BABE7820065003D00"><enum>(A)</enum><text>the qualified
reinsurance program submits to the Secretary a report setting forth, in such
form and including such information as the Secretary shall require, how the
program plans to repay the loan;</text>
</subparagraph><subparagraph id="H57687C9F37AD4E88BA26CF006E00EE8C"><enum>(B)</enum><text>based upon the
report of the program, the Secretary determines that the program can meet its
repayment obligation under the loan and certifies that the program can meet
such obligation; and</text>
</subparagraph><subparagraph id="H39E6D2A26A47461DA4F6C578516DFF43"><enum>(C)</enum><text display-inline="yes-display-inline">the State or regional reinsurance program
enters into an agreement with the Secretary, as the Secretary shall require,
that the State will not use Federal funds of any kind or from any Federal
source (including any disaster or other financial assistance, loan proceeds,
and any other assistance or subsidy) to repay the loan;</text>
</subparagraph></paragraph><paragraph id="H6F5D2EE07F0F4FA099DE95AFF4A656B8"><enum>(2)</enum><text display-inline="yes-display-inline">the program cannot access capital in the
private market at a commercially reasonable rate, including through catastrophe
bonds and other securities sold through the facility created in title I of this
Act, as determined by the Secretary, and a loan may be made to such a qualified
reinsurance program only to the extent that such program cannot access capital
in the private market at a commercially reasonable rate;</text>
</paragraph><paragraph id="H1F728363F94B4465A1D01D24066D9600"><enum>(3)</enum><text>the Secretary
determines that an event has resulted in insured losses in a State with a
qualified reinsurance program;</text>
</paragraph><paragraph id="H0786C4B75BB943DAA000F4459DE82785"><enum>(4)</enum><text>the loan complies
with the requirements under subsection (d) or (e), as applicable; and</text>
</paragraph><paragraph id="H998BB644834743AF8D4D6D1C6CBA7DA7"><enum>(5)</enum><text>the State
demonstrates to the Secretary that it has the ability to repay the
loans.</text>
</paragraph></subsection><subsection id="H8BEEBBED21204F05A03D507EF484EB5F"><enum>(c)</enum><header>Mandatory
assistance for qualified reinsurance programs</header><text>The Secretary shall
upon the request of a qualified reinsurance program and subject to subsection
(b), make a loan under subsection (d) or (e) for such program in the amount
requested by such program (subject to the limitations under subsections (d)(2)
and (e)(2), respectively).</text>
</subsection><subsection id="HBB94DEA649EC4D03B6DE088061B1DA8C"><enum>(d)</enum><header>Liquidity
loans</header><text>A loan under this subsection for a qualified reinsurance
program shall be subject to the following requirements:</text>
<paragraph id="H30CE7911722442E8A8D7594B40AF8DA1"><enum>(1)</enum><header>Preconditions</header><text>The
Secretary shall have determined that the qualified reinsurance program—</text>
<subparagraph id="H219284A2D4594F4894913214D8C4B2DD"><enum>(A)</enum><text>has a capital
liquidity shortage, in accordance with regulations that the Secretary shall
establish; and</text>
</subparagraph><subparagraph id="H86BC56EBA5854B0AA5CFAC741CE5A259"><enum>(B)</enum><text display-inline="yes-display-inline">cannot access capital in the private
markets at a commercially reasonable rate.</text>
</subparagraph></paragraph><paragraph id="HE21E10552E5C4BBD8598C125100FFD7"><enum>(2)</enum><header>Amount</header><text>The
principal amount of the loan may not exceed the ceiling coverage level for the
qualified reinsurance program.</text>
</paragraph><paragraph id="H1F8081076F2C45B2B0C5B0CCAC39D443"><enum>(3)</enum><header>Rate of
interest</header><text>The loan shall bear interest at an annual rate 3
percentage points higher than marketable obligations of the Treasury having the
same term to maturity as the loan and issued during the most recently completed
month, as determined by the Secretary, or such higher rate as may be necessary
to ensure that the amounts of interest paid under such loans exceed the sum of
the costs (as such term is defined in section 502 of the Federal Credit Reform
Act of 1990 (<external-xref legal-doc="usc" parsable-cite="usc/2/661a">2 U.S.C. 661a</external-xref>)) of such loans, the administrative costs involved
in carrying out a program under this title for such loans, and any incidental
effects on governmental receipts and outlays.</text>
</paragraph><paragraph id="H56671E56434C4508BED5D2480056467B"><enum>(4)</enum><header>Term</header><text>The
loan shall have a term to maturity of not less than 5 years and not more than
10 years.</text>
</paragraph></subsection><subsection id="HF7C54BFC987346B2BB282DE2ED3CC"><enum>(e)</enum><header>Catastrophic
loans</header><text>A loan under this subsection for a qualified reinsurance
program shall be subject to the following requirements:</text>
<paragraph id="H6D9F96E1C4514DD1A9ED11C5CC5BD21"><enum>(1)</enum><header>Preconditions</header><text>The
Secretary shall have determined that an event has resulted in insured losses in
a State with a qualified reinsurance program and that such insured losses in
such State are in excess of 150 percent of the aggregate amount of direct
written premium for property and casualty insurance, for risks located in that
State, over the calendar year preceding such event, in accordance with
regulations that the Secretary shall establish.</text>
</paragraph><paragraph id="H77EECA70DBAF4581873DB87E00BCB88E"><enum>(2)</enum><header>Amount</header><text>The
principal amount of the loan made pursuant to an event referred to in paragraph
(1) may not exceed the amount by which the insured losses sustained as a result
of such event exceed the ceiling coverage level for the qualified reinsurance
program.</text>
</paragraph><paragraph id="H667C0BA1A3CE4B6B94A9B889C1540984"><enum>(3)</enum><header>Rate of
interest</header><text>The loan shall bear interest at an annual rate 0.20
percentage points higher than marketable obligations of the Treasury having a
term to maturity of not less than 10 years and issued during the most recently
completed month, as determined by the Secretary, or such higher rate as may be
necessary to ensure that the amounts of interest paid under such loans exceed
the sum of the costs (as such term is defined in section 502 of the Federal
Credit Reform Act of 1990 (<external-xref legal-doc="usc" parsable-cite="usc/2/661a">2 U.S.C. 661a</external-xref>)) of such loans, the administrative
costs involved in carrying out a program under this title for such loans, and
any incidental effects on governmental receipts and outlays.</text>
</paragraph><paragraph id="H7378CA1ED9D0444D92E6C94F6DAC44B"><enum>(4)</enum><header>Term</header><text>The
loan shall have a term to maturity of not less than 10 years.</text>
</paragraph></subsection><subsection id="HA833607385AD437D9867972D00BA5910"><enum>(f)</enum><header>Use of
funds</header><text display-inline="yes-display-inline">Amounts from a loan
under this section shall only be used to provide reinsurance or retrocessional
coverage to underlying primary insurers or reinsurers for losses arising from
all personal residential lines of insurance, as defined in the Uniform Property
& Casualty Product Coding Matrix published and maintained by the National
Association of Insurance Commissioners. Such amounts shall not be used for any
other purpose.</text>
</subsection></section><section id="HDB18F5FA11ED4F3B8FC22912CAA314C5"><enum>203.</enum><header>Reports and
audits</header><text display-inline="no-display-inline">The Secretary shall
submit a report to the President and the Congress annually that identifies and
describes any loans made under this title during such year and any repayments
during such year of loans made under this title, and describes actions taken to
ensure accountability of loan funds. The Secretary shall provide for regular
audits to be conducted for each loan made under this title and shall make the
results of such audits publicly available.</text>
</section><section id="H69599AD953314F3ABEABC392903EFA7"><enum>204.</enum><header>Funding</header>
<subsection id="HEEC3760C657C4DBFBF67EE7F00AC00ED"><enum>(a)</enum><header>Program
fee</header>
<paragraph id="H8D663918AC77476698B4E406FD36F972"><enum>(1)</enum><header>In
general</header><text>The Secretary may establish and collect, from qualified
reinsurance programs that are precertified pursuant to section 401(d), a
reasonable fee, as may be necessary to offset the expenses of the Secretary in
connection with carrying out the responsibilities of the Secretary under this
title, including—</text>
<subparagraph id="H3A22A3734EE04FFCA7FE2799FDBAA526"><enum>(A)</enum><text>costs of
developing, implementing, and carrying out the program under this title;
and</text>
</subparagraph><subparagraph id="HD052FB070D6B40C2BC3D51AC6E1842C"><enum>(B)</enum><text>costs of providing
for precertification pursuant to section 401(d) of State and regional
reinsurance programs as qualified reinsurance programs.</text>
</subparagraph></paragraph><paragraph id="HD61501C7545C4B428009C4DD89EE0000"><enum>(2)</enum><header>Adjustment</header><text>The
Secretary may, from time to time, adjust the fee under paragraph (1) as
appropriate based on expenses of the Secretary referred to in such
paragraph.</text>
</paragraph><paragraph id="H2C24A0D4C60446A595D7F5E824E7DC19"><enum>(3)</enum><header>Use</header><text>Any
fees collected pursuant to this subsection shall be credited as offsetting
collections of the Department of the Treasury and shall be available to the
Secretary only for expenses referred to in paragraph (1).</text>
</paragraph></subsection><subsection id="H8ED8862A934E440FAAFF82494614FF28"><enum>(b)</enum><header>Costs of loans;
administrative costs</header><text>To the extent that amounts of negative
credit subsidy are received by the Secretary in any fiscal year pursuant to
loans made under this title, such amounts shall be available for costs (as such
term is defined in section 502 of the Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990 (2
U.S.C. 661a)) of such loans and for costs of carrying out the program under
this title for such loans.</text>
</subsection><subsection id="HE556461F19C34335B691013DDFBD0050"><enum>(c)</enum><header>Full taxpayer
repayment</header><text display-inline="yes-display-inline">The Secretary shall
require the full repayment of all loans made under this title. If the Secretary
determines at any time that such full repayment will not be made, or is likely
not to be made, the Secretary shall promptly submit a report to the Congress
explaining why such full repayment will not be made or is likely not to be
made. The Secretary may not accept any repayment of any loan made under this
title that does not comply with the agreement for such loan entered into in
accordance with section 202(b)(1)(C).</text>
</subsection></section><enum>III</enum><header>Reinsurance
coverage for qualified reinsurance programs</header>
<section id="H006E988AFD5749B29B2BD1D316CAF04"><enum>301.</enum><header>Program
authority</header><text display-inline="no-display-inline">Subject to section
304(c), the Secretary of the Treasury, shall make available for purchase, only
by qualified reinsurance programs (as such term is defined in section 401),
contracts for reinsurance coverage under this title.</text>
</section><section id="H6C237E884CFC46FE0052F909036DB670"><enum>302.</enum><header>Contract
principles</header><text display-inline="no-display-inline">Contracts for
reinsurance coverage made available under this title—</text>
<paragraph id="H3A33FCC1F80941088B58BC26CF61D9F3"><enum>(1)</enum><text>shall not displace
or compete with the private insurance or reinsurance markets or the capital
market;</text>
</paragraph><paragraph id="H3CBA1A7719B74E4F806D70D200B85694"><enum>(2)</enum><text>shall minimize the
administrative costs of the Federal Government; and</text>
</paragraph><paragraph id="H28E7D393B4E941C3B32EDF6E3877CA46"><enum>(3)</enum><text>shall provide
coverage based solely on insured losses covered by the qualified reinsurance
program purchasing the contract.</text>
</paragraph></section><section display-inline="no-display-inline" id="HF5AA508046BD4A16B2BE82C4BF536F28" section-type="subsequent-section"><enum>303.</enum><header>Terms of reinsurance
contracts</header>
<subsection commented="no" id="H18D5D320C66E442100EBA100B9B1A2C5"><enum>(a)</enum><header>Minimum
attachment point</header><text>Notwithstanding any other provision of this
title, a contract for reinsurance coverage under this title for a qualified
reinsurance program may not be made available or sold unless the contract
requires that the qualified reinsurance program sustain an amount of retained
losses from events in an amount, as determined by the Secretary, that is equal
to the amount of losses projected to be incurred from a single event of such
magnitude that it has a 0.5 percent chance of being equaled or exceeded in any
year.</text>
</subsection><subsection commented="no" id="H6B184E93BCE14604AF324F54FA00EACB"><enum>(b)</enum><header>Ninety percent
coverage of insured losses in excess of retained losses</header><text>Each
contract for reinsurance coverage under this title shall provide that the
amount paid out under the contract shall, subject to section 304, be equal to
90 percent of the amount of insured losses of the qualified reinsurance program
in excess of the amount of retained losses that the contract requires, pursuant
to subsection (a), to be incurred by such program.</text>
</subsection><subsection id="H0943D1B2CD0A4113A44E1EA50406F6F"><enum>(c)</enum><header>Maturity</header><text display-inline="yes-display-inline">The term of each contract for reinsurance
coverage under this title shall not exceed 1 year or such other term as the
Secretary may determine.</text>
</subsection><subsection id="H0DF96CB2F6AD4929882508DEFBB847DC"><enum>(d)</enum><header>Payment
condition</header><text display-inline="yes-display-inline">Each contract for
reinsurance coverage under this title shall authorize claims payments to the
qualified reinsurance program purchasing the coverage only for insured losses
provided under the contract.</text>
</subsection><subsection id="H8D4EB124CD3C472FA150E0CAC2892641"><enum>(e)</enum><header>Multiple
events</header><text>The contract shall cover any insured losses from one or
more events that may occur during the term of the contract and shall provide
that if multiple events occur, the retained losses requirement under subsection
(a) shall apply on a calendar year basis, in the aggregate and not separately
to each individual event.</text>
</subsection><subsection commented="no" id="H37E3E04B759D486C0065A6B9EF70DB3F"><enum>(f)</enum><header>Timing of
claims</header><text display-inline="yes-display-inline">Claims under a
contract for reinsurance coverage under this title shall include only insurance
claims that are reported to the qualified reinsurance program within the 3-year
period beginning upon the event or events for which payment under the contract
is provided.</text>
</subsection><subsection id="H49F1C5A60CA54EA0AE39AF0566A0FBC6"><enum>(g)</enum><header>Actuarial
pricing</header><text>The price of coverage under a reinsurance contract under
this title shall be an amount, established by the Secretary at a level that
annually produces expected premiums that shall be sufficient to pay the
reasonably anticipated cost of all claims, loss adjustment expenses, all
administrative costs of reinsurance coverage offered under this title, and any
such outwards reinsurance, as described in section 305(c)(3), as the Secretary
considers prudent taking into consideration the demand for reinsurance coverage
under this title and the limits specified in section 304.</text>
</subsection><subsection id="H839AAE33CF2F4CE78732A9049C01E205"><enum>(h)</enum><header>Information</header><text display-inline="yes-display-inline">Each contract for reinsurance coverage
under this title shall contain a condition providing that the Secretary may
require the qualified reinsurance program that is covered under the contract to
submit to the Secretary all information on the qualified reinsurance program
relevant to the duties of the Secretary under this title.</text>
</subsection><subsection id="H5D422C8780CC408DA5DBC600BD06F263"><enum>(i)</enum><header>Others</header><text>Contracts
for reinsurance coverage under this title shall contain such other terms as the
Secretary considers necessary to carry out this title and to ensure the
long-term financial integrity of the program under this title.</text>
</subsection></section><section display-inline="no-display-inline" id="HE6617F63AA3B458BA28E372E00E80416" section-type="subsequent-section"><enum>304.</enum><header>Maximum Federal
liability</header>
<subsection id="H79A97E9761264C1ABCCBD3FD158FAA4"><enum>(a)</enum><header>In
general</header><text display-inline="yes-display-inline">Subject to subsection
(b) and notwithstanding any other provision of law, the aggregate potential
liability for payment of claims under all contracts for reinsurance coverage
under this title sold in any single year by the Secretary shall not exceed
$200,000,000,000 or such lesser amount as is determined by the Secretary based
on review of the market for reinsurance coverage under this title.</text>
</subsection><subsection id="H0AD7E0DE911F4FB9901CD1BD730076A1"><enum>(b)</enum><header>Limitation</header><text display-inline="yes-display-inline">The authority of the Secretary to enter
into contracts for reinsurance coverage under this title shall be effective for
any fiscal year only to such extent or in such amounts as are or have been
provided in appropriation Acts for such fiscal year for the aggregate potential
liability for payment of claims under all contracts for reinsurance coverage
under this title.</text>
</subsection></section><section id="H61FE49A9112B4995924234093FC21E1E"><enum>305.</enum><header>Federal Natural
Catastrophe Reinsurance Fund</header>
<subsection id="H6155598D215E40DCB823A463102F29EB"><enum>(a)</enum><header>Establishment</header><text>There
is established within the Treasury of the United States a fund to be known as
the Federal Natural Catastrophe Reinsurance Fund (in this section referred to
as the <quote>Fund</quote>).</text>
</subsection><subsection id="H22135BA63A1D43DF9900830078AD8452"><enum>(b)</enum><header>Credits</header><text>The
Fund shall be credited with—</text>
<paragraph id="H1833486255EC429481187BDD725544FB"><enum>(1)</enum><text>amounts received
annually from the sale of contracts for reinsurance coverage under this
title;</text>
</paragraph><paragraph id="HF2E98A3C725841BB902CADEBEBD41767"><enum>(2)</enum><text>any amounts
appropriated under section 304; and</text>
</paragraph><paragraph id="HFF2ECD4622454D8D9B0058018DBAA448"><enum>(3)</enum><text>any amounts earned
on investments of the Fund pursuant to subsection (d).</text>
</paragraph></subsection><subsection id="HF0DCCD181D6B472AB412E46BB54E795C"><enum>(c)</enum><header>Uses</header><text>Amounts
in the Fund shall be available to the Secretary only for the following
purposes:</text>
<paragraph id="HA9917C844AB442FF8761535BC346BFB0"><enum>(1)</enum><header>Contract
payments</header><text>For payments to purchasers covered under contracts for
reinsurance coverage for eligible losses under such contracts.</text>
</paragraph><paragraph id="HD9E89DE73D7045EEBCBE80AAC143F238"><enum>(2)</enum><header>Administrative
expenses</header><text>To pay for the administrative expenses incurred by the
Secretary in carrying out the reinsurance program under this title.</text>
</paragraph><paragraph id="H9A1B9DE06D614B9A802175B53BEF2F25"><enum>(3)</enum><header>Outwards
reinsurance</header><text display-inline="yes-display-inline">To obtain
retrocessional or other reinsurance coverage of any kind to cover risk
reinsured under contracts for reinsurance coverage made available under this
title.</text>
</paragraph></subsection><subsection id="HB71A16EDE2614B5FB7F8743EFE019253"><enum>(d)</enum><header>Investment</header><text>If
the Secretary determines that the amounts in the Fund are in excess of current
needs, the Secretary may invest such amounts as the Secretary considers
advisable in obligations issued or guaranteed by the United States.</text>
</subsection></section><section display-inline="no-display-inline" id="HC27FFD01C5C449899680E6518B25C2D7" section-type="subsequent-section"><enum>306.</enum><header>Regulations</header><text display-inline="no-display-inline">The Secretary shall issue any regulations
necessary to carry out the program for reinsurance coverage under this
title.</text>
</section><enum>IV</enum><header>General
Provisions</header>
<section id="HAC11EF7B162547EFA2CB19FAD675A181" section-type="subsequent-section"><enum>401.</enum><header>Qualified
reinsurance programs</header>
<subsection id="H2B83FC2F22374F7988BA2512747EBC5F"><enum>(a)</enum><header>In
general</header><text display-inline="yes-display-inline">For purposes of this
Act only, a program shall be considered to be a qualified reinsurance program
if the program—</text>
<paragraph id="HE6D00514FBE54795A622189DB020066C"><enum>(1)</enum><text>is authorized by
State law for the purposes described in this section;</text>
</paragraph><paragraph id="H8437AAC890C0471F81FA19DA5F4809C0"><enum>(2)</enum><text>is an entity in
which the authorizing State maintains a material, financial interest;</text>
</paragraph><paragraph id="HFD42F19641F04E76A44BBAC8B9B1898E"><enum>(3)</enum><text>provides
reinsurance or retrocessional coverage to underlying primary insurers or
reinsurers for losses arising from all personal residential lines of insurance,
as defined in the Uniform Property & Casualty Product Coding Matrix
published and maintained by the National Association of Insurance
Commissioners;</text>
</paragraph><paragraph id="H995341E2D170428A989BD62D142B00D"><enum>(4)</enum><text>has a governing
body, a majority of whose members are public officials;</text>
</paragraph><paragraph id="H458577F5F0444B0A9210B9BA4DB40011"><enum>(5)</enum><text>provides
reinsurance or retrocessional coverage to underlying primary insurers or
reinsurers for losses in excess of such amount that the Secretary has
determined represents a catastrophic event in that particular State;</text>
</paragraph><paragraph id="H5422001C13854EE282009E1EAA6F649C"><enum>(6)</enum><text>is authorized by a
State that has in effect such laws, regulations, or other requirements, as the
Secretary shall by regulation provide, that—</text>
<subparagraph id="H86FE46E96262465295BED8B7F58A92D"><enum>(A)</enum><text>ensure, to the
extent that reinsurance coverage made available under the qualified reinsurance
program results in any cost savings in providing insurance coverage for risks
in such State, such cost savings are reflected in premium rates charged to
consumers for such coverage;</text>
</subparagraph><subparagraph id="H2C194777A91F4C9AB0AA2062AC796C62"><enum>(B)</enum><text>require that an
appropriate public body within the State shall have adopted adequate mitigation
measures (with effective enforcement provisions) which the Secretary finds are
consistent with the criteria for construction described in the International
Code Council building codes;</text>
</subparagraph><subparagraph id="HAECE55FD40644004A22EB9F0050F750"><enum>(C)</enum><text>require State
authorized insurance entities within that State to establish an insurance rate
structure that takes into account measures to mitigate insurance losses;</text>
</subparagraph><subparagraph id="H7FA0D8E4D1FF43B9A65B0954EA49454E"><enum>(D)</enum><text display-inline="yes-display-inline">require State authorized insurance and
reinsurance entities within that State to establish rates at a level that
annually produces expected premiums that shall be sufficient to pay the
reasonably anticipated cost of all claims, loss adjustment expenses, and all
administrative costs of the insurance or reinsurance coverage offered by such
entities, and any such outwards reinsurance as the program administrator deems
prudent; and</text>
</subparagraph><subparagraph id="H56F9A85E3CCF465800944B6DD07FD157"><enum>(E)</enum><text display-inline="yes-display-inline">discourage price gouging in any disaster
area located within the State;</text>
</subparagraph></paragraph><paragraph display-inline="no-display-inline" id="H096CF8EB95CC422FBCEF60188CC45CEF"><enum>(7)</enum><text>to the extent
possible, seeks to encourage appropriate State and local government units to
develop comprehensive land use and zoning plans that include natural hazard
mitigation;</text>
</paragraph><paragraph display-inline="no-display-inline" id="H8EDC49D1D0AC468D989F23361752F1BA"><enum>(8)</enum><text>to the extent
possible, seeks to avoid cross-subsidization between any separate property and
casualty lines covered under the State authorized insurance or reinsurance
entity;</text>
</paragraph><paragraph display-inline="no-display-inline" id="H12CC0856F99F415BA34750E4D570B4A8"><enum>(9)</enum><text display-inline="yes-display-inline">complies with the risk-based capital
requirements under subsection (b);</text>
</paragraph><paragraph id="H5BBEBC44CBBA4758B2B7F7693579129"><enum>(10)</enum><text display-inline="yes-display-inline">complies with such additional
organizational, underwriting, and financial requirements as the Secretary
shall, by regulation, provide to carry out the purposes of this Act; and</text>
</paragraph><paragraph display-inline="no-display-inline" id="H7EDB7E9DE2FF4B809EC6E6A70307E0F1"><enum>(11)</enum><text>has been
certified by the Secretary, for such year, in accordance with an annual
certification process established by the Secretary for such purpose, as being
in compliance with the requirements under paragraphs (1) through (10).</text>
</paragraph></subsection><subsection id="HC042C0448B0743EFBEBCA2F5D1D7FDD5"><enum>(b)</enum><header>Risk-based
capital requirements</header>
<paragraph id="HF82A1456D29842239E63440000769B72"><enum>(1)</enum><header>In
general</header><text display-inline="yes-display-inline">Except for programs
deemed to be qualified reinsurance programs pursuant to subsection (c), each
qualified reinsurance program shall maintain risk-based capital in accordance
with requirements established by the Secretary, in consultation with the
National Association of Insurance Commissioners and consistent with the
Risk-Based Capital Model Act of the National Association of Insurance
Commissioners, and take into consideration asset risk, credit risk,
underwriting risk, and such other relevant risk as determined by the
Secretary.</text>
</paragraph><paragraph id="H777EB32D622A4E92A18245B44916732F"><enum>(2)</enum><header>Treatment of
access to liquidity loans</header>
<subparagraph id="H5BDBB54CA3A1491A9BFA1C2DD50790DE"><enum>(A)</enum><header>In
general</header><text display-inline="yes-display-inline">To the extent that a
qualified reinsurance program is deficient in complying with any aspect of the
risk-based capital requirements established pursuant to this subsection, the
Secretary shall recognize and give credit for the ability of such qualified
reinsurance program to access capital through the liquidity loan program
established under section 202(d).</text>
</subparagraph><subparagraph id="H290C02BC4E6C46A0A6F0A0B9A9BF786D"><enum>(B)</enum><header>Annual
diminution</header><text>The extent of credit recognized and given for a
qualified reinsurance program pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall diminish
annually in a proportion equal to the earned premium for the program for the
prior calendar year.</text>
</subparagraph><subparagraph commented="no" id="HE084832227D74C09A5FECE3127EBC0E1"><enum>(C)</enum><header>Reset upon
occurrence of catastrophe</header><text display-inline="yes-display-inline">To
the extent that a qualified reinsurance program is obligated to pay losses as a
result of the occurrence of a catastrophe, the Secretary shall increase the
credit recognized and given for the program pursuant to subparagraph (A) by an
amount equal to the losses paid by the program as a result of the
catastrophe.</text>
</subparagraph><subparagraph id="H93F5C83A875B4F17BEB1C484DCB3B356"><enum>(D)</enum><header>Resumption after
catastrophe</header><text display-inline="yes-display-inline">After a reset
occurs pursuant to subparagraph (C) for a qualified reinsurance program, the
diminution described in subparagraph (B) shall resume and continue until the
program has accumulated capital sufficient to satisfy the risk-based capital
requirement determined by the Secretary to be appropriate given the ceiling
coverage level of that particular qualified reinsurance program.</text>
</subparagraph></paragraph><paragraph display-inline="no-display-inline" id="HE52D779569F24CD095A7215D00D48F80"><enum>(3)</enum><header>Report</header><text>For
each calendar year, each qualified reinsurance program shall prepare and submit
to the Secretary a report identifying its risk based capital, at such time
after the conclusion of such year, and containing such information and in such
form, as the Secretary shall require.</text>
</paragraph></subsection><subsection id="H38D5DDE1A9874E9AADF4C03EFCE1EB2"><enum>(c)</enum><header>Transitional
Mechanisms</header><text display-inline="yes-display-inline">For the five-year
period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, in the case of a
State that does not have a qualified reinsurance program for the State, a State
residual insurance market entity, or State-sponsored provider of natural
catastrophe insurance, for such State shall be considered to be a qualified
reinsurance program, but only if such State residual insurance market entity,
or State-sponsored provider of natural catastrophe insurance, was in existence
before such date of enactment.</text>
</subsection><subsection id="HCFE8CE7733BF4236BC5C4DFF7EAB9400"><enum>(d)</enum><header>Precertification</header><text>The
Secretary shall establish procedures and standards for State and regional
reinsurance programs and the State residual insurance market entities described
in section (b) to apply to the Secretary at any time for certification (and
recertification) as qualified reinsurance programs.</text>
</subsection><subsection id="H16DEDEB525CC4204873C803D1F22B694"><enum>(e)</enum><header>Reinsurance To
cover exposure</header><text>This section may not be construed to limit or
prevent any insurer from obtaining reinsurance coverage for insured losses
retained by insurers pursuant to this section, nor shall the obtaining of such
coverage affect the calculation of the amount of any loan under this
title.</text>
</subsection></section><section id="H9886C5F0BE7B4F4DA941F2EF333300B7"><enum>402.</enum><header>Study and
conditional coverage of commercial residential lines of insurance</header>
<subsection commented="no" id="H739C0B23C6094A18A7A6002F2296BCED"><enum>(a)</enum><header>Study</header><text display-inline="yes-display-inline">The Secretary shall study, on an expedited
basis, the need for and impact of expanding the programs established by this
Act to apply to insured losses of qualified reinsurance programs for losses
arising from all commercial insurance policies which provide coverage for
properties that are composed predominantly of residential rental units. The
Secretary shall consider the catastrophic insurance and reinsurance market for
commercial residential properties, and specifically the availability of
adequate private insurance coverage when an insured event occurs, the impact
any such capacity restrictions has on housing affordability for renters, and
the likelihood that such an expansion of the program would increase insurance
capacity for this market segment.</text>
</subsection><subsection commented="no" id="H0368B72CE7A04EC9871849A6A677FDD7"><enum>(b)</enum><header>Conditional
Coverage</header><text display-inline="yes-display-inline">To the extent that
the Secretary determines that there is such a need to expand such programs and
such expansion will be effective in increasing insurance capacity for the
commercial residential insurance market, the Secretary shall, in consultation
with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners—</text>
<paragraph commented="no" id="H6F69C30985494CF5B64EED825B166BFB"><enum>(1)</enum><text display-inline="yes-display-inline">apply the provisions of this Act, as
appropriate, to insured losses of a qualified reinsurance program for losses
arising from commercial insurance policies which provide coverage for
properties that are composed predominantly of residential rental units, as
described in paragraph (a); and</text>
</paragraph><paragraph commented="no" id="H0ED46A2CBE7448FEA51F7389785B50A0"><enum>(2)</enum><text>provide such
restrictions, limitations, or conditions with respect to the programs under
this Act that the Secretary deems appropriate, based on the study under
subsection (a).</text>
</paragraph></subsection></section><section id="HDE6F915BE8DC4C24AA24DD68D8A5C266"><enum>403.</enum><header>Definitions</header><text display-inline="no-display-inline">For purposes of this Act, the following
definitions shall apply:</text>
<paragraph id="HB253C126A7644A278BDA74659960D9FE"><enum>(1)</enum><header>Ceiling coverage
level</header><text>The term <quote>ceiling coverage level</quote> means, with
respect to a qualified reinsurance program, the maximum liability that could be
incurred at any time by the qualified reinsurance program.</text>
</paragraph><paragraph id="H533E9B856A544F62BA007F543F6DCD56"><enum>(2)</enum><header>Insured
loss</header><text>The term <quote>insured loss</quote> means any loss insured
by a qualified reinsurance program.</text>
</paragraph><paragraph id="HB984205E45374938AAFC02497B90C3A7"><enum>(3)</enum><header>Price
gouging</header><text display-inline="yes-display-inline">The term <quote>price
gouging</quote> means the providing of any consumer good or service by a
supplier related to repair or restoration of property damaged from a
catastrophe for a price that the supplier knows or has reason to know is
greater, by at least the percentage set forth in a State law or regulation
prohibiting such act (not withstanding any real cost increase due to any
attendant business risk and other reasonable expenses that result from the
major catastrophe involved), than the price charged by the supplier for such
consumer good or service immediately before the disaster.</text>
</paragraph><paragraph id="H927A1094DBC04A31BCBDC4018DC18F78"><enum>(4)</enum><header>Qualified
reinsurance program</header><text>The term <quote>qualified reinsurance
program</quote> means a State or regional program that meets the requirements
under section 401.</text>
</paragraph><paragraph id="HE22DC6AC3178443EB1AE21F8003E1CEE"><enum>(5)</enum><header>Secretary</header><text>The
term <quote>Secretary</quote> means the Secretary of the Treasury.</text>
</paragraph><paragraph id="HA36CE15392DD40FA8E5FC355E200B918"><enum>(6)</enum><header>State</header><text>The
term <quote>State</quote> includes the several States, the District of
Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Commonwealth of the
Northern Mariana Islands, the United States Virgin Islands, and American
Samoa.</text>
</paragraph></section><section id="H141311FFF18E4EF8B29D6800A3983E35"><enum>404.</enum><header>Regulations</header><text display-inline="no-display-inline">The Secretary shall issue such regulations
as may be necessary to carry out this Act.</text>
</section>
Passed the House of
Representatives November 8, 2007.
Lorraine C. Miller,
Clerk.