[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 97 (Wednesday, June 7, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3337-S3338]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. CASSIDY (for himself, Mrs. Gillibrand, and Mrs. Capito):
  S. 1313. A bill to reauthorize the National Flood Insurance Program, 
and for other purposes; to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban 
Affairs.
  Mrs. GILLIBRAND. Mr. President, I thank the senior Senator from 
Louisiana for working with me on the flood insurance bill that we are 
introducing today. This issue is so important to both of our States 
because both of our States have experienced enormous levels of flooding 
every year due to extreme weather.
  In New York, after Superstorm Sandy hit our State, millions of homes 
and businesses were damaged by flooding that occurred. My colleague 
from Louisiana could go on and on and will tell you about flood damage 
his own constituents have had to endure, so it should be clear to 
everyone here that it is not a partisan issue.
  Flooding can happen anywhere, in any State, from the Northeast to the 
gulf coast and everywhere else. Protecting our communities from the 
devastation that comes from flooding should be one of our highest 
priorities in this Chamber.
  Unfortunately, the National Flood Insurance Program has not been 
doing its job very well. Too many families who have had their 
properties damaged in a flood or even destroyed in a flood have paid 
their flood insurance premiums year after year only to find out there 
was some loophole that prevented them from getting the coverage they 
need. We cannot turn our backs and allow this to keep happening.
  The bipartisan bill I have written with the Senator from Louisiana 
would ensure that flood insurance is more affordable for homeowners. It 
would make sure the Flood Insurance Program is no longer riddled with 
loopholes that leave our homeowners stranded and fighting with 
insurance companies on their own, all while trying to recover and 
rebuild from the flood damage. It would finally give homeowners the 
peace of mind that flood insurance rates will actually be affordable so 
that low- and moderate-income homeowners are not priced out of their 
homes because of extreme rate increases.
  Our bill would also fund more projects to protect homes and 
communities from flood risk in the first place. Our bill would more 
than double the amount of funding a homeowner can receive for raising 
the elevation of their home, which is a proven way to protect against 
floods in certain areas, and it would provide more funding for FEMA's 
flood mitigation program. Those funds are used by States and local 
communities to plan and carry out projects that help manage flood risk 
to homes and other structures.
  After Superstorm Sandy hit New York, too many families in my State 
experienced what amounted to a disaster after that disaster. They 
encountered engineering fraud. They had to deal with excessive delays 
and widespread underpayment of claims. This was shameful and totally 
unacceptable, especially for a program specifically designed to help 
people in their greatest time of need. So I am particularly pleased 
that this bill would fix some of the fundamental flaws in the National 
Flood Insurance Program's claims and appeals process that harmed so 
many of my constituents.
  Our bill would prohibit engineering reports from being altered by 
anyone other than the person who inspected the home. That was one of 
the main causes of fraud for many homeowners in my State. It would 
require FEMA to have more direct oversight over the litigation costs 
and engineering costs that are billed to the government. It would 
repeal the onerous earth movement exemption, which too often has been 
used to deny flood claims to families who desperately need the payments 
after a flood.
  Our bill also would ensure that engineers and insurance companies are 
not shielded from legal liability when they do commit fraud, which, 
unfortunately, was much more common than anyone would even think.
  The Flood Insurance Program expires on September 30 of this year, and 
it is absolutely vital that we reauthorize it with strong reforms that 
protect homeowners. We need to do everything we can to ensure that the 
Flood Insurance Program is affordable, sustainable, transparent, and 
accountable. This is our chance to do that now.

[[Page S3338]]

  This is a good bipartisan bill, and I urge all of my colleagues on 
both sides of the aisle to join us in making these important reforms to 
the National Flood Insurance Program.
  I yield the floor now to my colleague from Louisiana.
  Mr. CASSIDY. Mr. President, I thank my colleague from New York for 
yielding, as well as for the tremendous work she and our staffs have 
done together on the Flood Insurance Affordability and Sustainability 
Act of 2017.
  There is a capriciousness of flooding which makes the National Flood 
Insurance Program so important. You can have a mountaintop village next 
to a dry gulch. If there is a sudden flash flood, folks who have lived 
there 100 years suddenly find their 100-year-old homes destroyed. The 
NFIP helps rebuild the lives of those who are so affected.
  The Flood Insurance Program is critical, not just to that mountaintop 
village but, by extension, our entire country. The economic impact of 
flooding extends far beyond real estate transactions to the fundamental 
vitality of communities and the workforce that operates our ports, 
develops and refines our domestic energy, and produces our seafood and 
agriculture for global consumption. It just makes sense.
  Most towns started on the coast and on riverways because that is how 
goods were transported, and the history of these waterside communities 
is what makes them, one, economically vital, but, two, also makes them 
susceptible to flooding. I will note that the Presiding Officer's State 
of Pennsylvania, I believe, has among the most incidents of flooding in 
our country--principally because there are so many riverine systems. 
There is a valley with a river. If the water rises quickly, that 
riverside community is flooded. Look at my State of Louisiana. It 
relies on an accessible and affordable flood insurance program, but 
that benefits the country.
  Louisiana is the No. 1 producer of offshore oil and gas, producing 
over 15 percent of our Nation's domestic energy supply. That is 15 
percent of our Nation's domestic energy supply. It is home to the 
second largest refining capacity in petrochemical industry. The Gulf of 
Mexico is home to 11 of the top 20 U.S. ports by cargo volume, and we 
have one of the largest seafood industries in the world. After 
Hurricane Katrina, when our port facilities were affected and the 
farmers in the Upper Missouri suddenly could not get their crop to 
international markets, it shows the importance of our ports for our 
entire economy.
  The National Flood Insurance Program allows folks in my State to 
participate in a working coast that gets that energy inland and gets 
those products in the international market, and this is what provides 
the value-added contribution to our domestic economy. Since the 
creation of the National Flood Insurance Program, people in Louisiana 
paid over $5 billion in flood insurance premiums, but, unfortunately, 
we have suffered some of the greatest losses after Hurricanes Katrina, 
Rita, Gustov, Isaac, and the flooding of the great Louisiana floods of 
last March and August.
  While the NFIP has a deficit of $24 billion--according to FEMA's 
premium and payout data--the NFIP would have had a surplus if we remove 
the 2005 loss year, including the losses incurred after Superstorm 
Sandy. I will also note that New Orleans flooded because federally 
built floodwalls designed to protect those businesses and families were 
constructed in a faulty way. This has been recognized, and their 
failure is what led to the expense. I am not here to say that NFIP 
doesn't need reforms--it needs reforms--but to underscore the fact that 
the program has worked for many years despite its failings. We need to 
reauthorize the NFIP and use the opportunity to improve the program, 
make it more affordable, transferring more risk to the private sector 
at a lower cost, increase investment mitigation, modernizing flood 
mapping to produce greater accuracy, and improve the transparency and 
accountability of all the participants that operate and administer the 
program.
  There are a number of constituencies interested in long-term 
reauthorization of NFIP. Senator Gillibrand and I know that the issue 
of flooding crosses party and geographical lines. We wanted to set the 
right bipartisan tone as Congress begins to debate the issue by 
introducing our bill, the Flood Insurance Affordability and 
Sustainability Act. We hope the legislation will contribute to the 
ongoing discussion and work the committees of jurisdiction are 
conducting as we move toward reauthorization of the NFIP and with the 
needed reforms that enhance affordability and sustainability of the 
program.
  Senator Gillibrand and her staff are passionate advocates for an 
affordable and sustainable flood insurance program. I am glad to work 
with her on this issue. We have listened to many stakeholders: bankers, 
realtors, homebuilders, flood plain managers, insurers, reinsurers, 
mapping experts, local government officials, financial experts and, 
most importantly, homeowners who work on our working coast and who have 
so much invested in making sure they can live and raise their families 
in a way which has protection from the capriciousness of flooding.
  I thank my colleague from New York, as well as Senator Capito, for 
her contribution to this legislation and process.
                                 ______