[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3153 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 3153

To amend the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 to establish a pilot 
program to increase the allowable amounts of advance payments under the 
       National Flood Insurance Program, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            October 26, 2023

  Mr. Kennedy introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
    referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 to establish a pilot 
program to increase the allowable amounts of advance payments under the 
       National Flood Insurance Program, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Emergency Advance Payments 
Modernization Act''.

SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) advance payments made by the Federal Emergency 
        Management Agency (referred to in this section as ``FEMA'') 
        have proven to be beneficial to those impacted by disasters;
            (2) FEMA has provided millions of dollars in advance 
        payments to policyholders under the National Flood Insurance 
        Program who have started the claims process under that Program;
            (3) the payments described in paragraph (2) are critical in 
        helping policyholders as they begin to clean up and repair 
        homes that have been devastated by natural disasters;
            (4) while advance payments have proven to be beneficial to 
        those impacted by disasters, there are still significant 
        limitations to the process; and
            (5) there are technological advances that can enhance the 
        advance payments program, and FEMA should harness those 
        advances to improve the customer experience and streamline 
        FEMA's payments program with the overall goal of easing burdens 
        on those whose lives have been shattered by natural disasters.

SEC. 3. PILOT PROGRAM FOR REMOTE NATIONAL FLOOD INSURANCE PROGRAM 
              CLAIMS.

    Part C of chapter II of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 
(42 U.S.C. 4081 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 1349. ADVANCE PAYMENTS PILOT PROGRAM.

    ``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Covered data.--The term `covered data' means real-
        time, rapid monitoring data, including data obtained through 
        remote sensing technology.
            ``(2) Covered property.--The term `covered property' means 
        a property for which the Administrator has received covered 
        data indicating that flooding has occurred.
            ``(3) Eligible policyholder.--The term `eligible 
        policyholder' means a person holding coverage made available 
        under the national flood insurance program, where the property 
        that is the subject of that coverage is a covered property.
    ``(b) Pilot Program.--
            ``(1) Establishment.--Not later than 180 days after the 
        date of enactment of this section, the Administrator shall 
        establish a pilot program that uses covered data to--
                    ``(A) increase the speed with which claims payments 
                under the national flood insurance program are 
                delivered to eligible policyholders;
                    ``(B) increase the amount, and enhance the 
                delivery, of advance claims payments under the national 
                flood insurance program made to eligible policyholders; 
                and
                    ``(C) further explore how covered data can be used 
                to enhance customer service and efficiency with respect 
                to the claims process under the national flood 
                insurance program.
            ``(2) Termination.--The pilot program established under 
        paragraph (1) shall terminate on the date that is 1 year after 
        the date on which the Administrator establishes the pilot 
        program.
    ``(c) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date on which the 
pilot program established under subsection (b) terminates, the 
Administrator shall submit to Congress a report that describes any 
measurable changes that such pilot program has had on--
            ``(1) administrative costs with respect to the national 
        flood insurance program; or
            ``(2) the timeliness with which the Administrator pays 
        claims under the national flood insurance program.
    ``(d) Overpayment Forgiveness.--Notwithstanding any provision of 
section 1310, the Administrator may use amounts in the National Flood 
Insurance Fund to forgive any amounts overpaid to an eligible 
policyholder as a result of a pre-inspection advance payment provided 
under this section.''.
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