[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 202 (Friday, December 21, 2018)]
[House]
[Pages H10567-H10569]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 NATIONAL FLOOD INSURANCE PROGRAM COMPETITION AND EXTENSION ACT OF 2018

  Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 7388) to extend the National Flood Insurance Program, and 
for other purposes.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 7388

       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 ``National Flood Insurance 
     Program Competition and Extension Act of 2018''.

     SEC. 2. REAUTHORIZATION OF NATIONAL FLOOD INSURANCE PROGRAM.

       (a) Financing.--Section 1309(a) of the National Flood 
     Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4016(a)) is amended by 
     striking ``December 7, 2018'' and inserting ``May 31, 2019''.
       (b) Program Expiration.--Section 1319 of the National Flood 
     Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4026) is amended by striking 
     ``December 7, 2018'' and inserting ``May 31, 2019''.
       (c) Retroactive Effective Date.--If this Act is enacted 
     after December 21, 2018, the amendments made by subsections 
     (a) and (b) shall take effect as if enacted on December 21, 
     2018.

     SEC. 3. ELIMINATION OF NON-COMPETE REQUIREMENT.

       Section 1345 of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 
     (42 U.S.C. 4081) is amended by adding at the end the 
     following new subsection:
       ``(f) Authority to Provide Other Flood Coverage.--
       ``(1) In general.--The Administrator may not, as a 
     condition of participating in the Write Your Own Program (as 
     such term is defined in section 100202(a) of the Biggert-
     Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012 (42 U.S.C. 
     4004(a))) or in otherwise participating in the utilization by 
     the Administrator of the facilities and services of insurance 
     companies, insurers, insurance agents and brokers, and 
     insurance adjustment organizations pursuant to the authority 
     in this section, nor as a condition of eligibility to engage 
     in any other activities under the National Flood Insurance 
     Program under this title, restrict any such company, insurer, 
     agent, broker, or organization from offering and selling 
     private flood insurance (as such term is defined in section 
     102(b) of the Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973 (42 
     U.S.C. 4012a(b)).
       ``(2) Financial assistance; subsidy arrangement.--After the 
     date of the enactment of this subsection--
       ``(A) the Administrator may not include in any agreement 
     entered into with any insurer for participation in the Write 
     Your Own Program any provision establishing a condition 
     prohibited by paragraph (1), including the provisions of 
     Article XIII of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, 
     Federal Insurance Administration, Financial Assistance/
     Subsidy Arrangement, as adopted pursuant to section 62.23(a) 
     of title 44 of the Code of Federal Regulations; and
       ``(B) any such provision in any such agreement entered into 
     before such date of enactment shall not have any force or 
     effect, and the Administrator may not take any action to 
     enforce such provision.''.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. Hensarling) and the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Maxine 
Waters) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Texas.


                             General Leave

  Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks 
and include extraneous material on this bill.

[[Page H10568]]

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Texas?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, the National Flood Insurance Program is a program that 
has a number of challenges, but it is also a vital program for 
Americans who live in flood-prone areas.
  The challenges in the program are well-known. Regrettably, it is 
going bankrupt. Regrettably, it incents people to live in areas that 
are repeatedly flooded. Regrettably, it is a program that protects a 
government monopoly; that is why the House, earlier this year, acted 
with a comprehensive reform bill. Unfortunately, our friends on the 
other side of the Capitol have yet to act.
  We do not wish to have the current program lapse; thus, we are on the 
floor at this very moment.
  This is a very simple bill. It would provide a temporary, short-term 
authorization through the end of May of 2019, regrettably, I believe 
now, the ninth extension since the House has acted.
  And it also ensures that we provide certainty, certainty to the 
market of what the policies of the National Flood Insurance Program 
are.
  I was there in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. And one of the 
great tragedies--there were many tragedies, but one of the great 
tragedies was how few people actually had flood insurance. So what we 
want is a system that, hopefully, will see more people have flood 
coverage written into their homeowners' insurance policy.
  So the NFIP wisely had moved in the direction of what they call 
allowing insurance companies to not have to have a non-compete. This is 
a current policy of the program, but too many insurance companies don't 
believe that policy will stay. So we will ensure that that policy stays 
through this bill, so that more people in a tragic situation will be 
covered by flood insurance.
  So, again, this ensures that current policy is at least extended 
through May of 2019. It adds certainty to current policy.
  I know in discussions with the ranking member--who has a lot of 
expertise in the subject of flood--we negotiated in good faith. We 
didn't quite get there on the comprehensive bill, but she agrees that 
we need this bill, right now, to ensure that current policy is 
extended, at least through May of 2019.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. MAXINE WATERS of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such 
time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, allow me to try and explain exactly what is happening 
with this proposal by my chairman, Mr. Hensarling. Mr. Hensarling came 
to me and indicated that he wanted to add language to the 
reauthorization, the short-term reauthorization of the flood insurance 
program.
  I explained to him that I had an agreement with Mr. Scalise, and our 
agreement was that this would be a short-term reauthorization that was 
clean; that it would be added to the continuing resolution; and that we 
would see to it that the flood insurance program would not lapse.
  So Mr. Hensarling went to Mr. Scalise and Mr. Scalise agreed to it 
and, because he agreed to it, Mr. Hensarling moved forward.
  Following that, staff members pointed out that if the language is 
added that Mr. Hensarling would like to add, it was going to create a 
problem. It was going to create a confrontation; that we would endanger 
the ability to have short-term reauthorization and, if we do that, 
homeowners are going to be disadvantaged because they would not have 
access to the insurance that they need to satisfy the mortgages that 
they were trying to get.
  So we have had a long discussion and a long debate about what the 
Senate is going to do and, of course, our understanding now is that the 
Senate will not support the language that is going to be put in that is 
headed by Mr. Hensarling; and this was going to endanger the ability 
for us to get the short-term reauthorization.
  So, given all of that, and understanding all of that, yes, I made an 
agreement with Mr. Hensarling that, if Mr. Scalise agreed, that I would 
agree, but I want--and I have said to Mr. Hensarling, as we had a long 
discussion on the floor with some of the leadership, et cetera, that 
one of the things we want is, we want this short-term reauthorization 
until May, until we can get to work on long-term reauthorization for 
the National Flood Insurance Program.
  Yes, Mr. Hensarling is correct that we do have the possibility now 
for private insurers who write insurance for the national flood 
insurance, to do both, to be able to write insurance. But we do know 
that even if they are able to do it now, we are not saying that we 
should do anything to codify that in existing law. They are saying you 
should not do anything to codify that in existing law, simply because 
it endangers the ability for the support for the National Flood 
Insurance Program to be reauthorized through the short-term.
  So it is complicated and it presents a dilemma for everybody. But in 
the final analysis, no matter what, the real question becomes: Is it 
important for a short-term reauthorization of the national flood 
insurance; or do we allow it to get caught up in these agreements so 
that we don't have it, and then the real estate market is going to go 
crazy; homeowners who are trying to purchase insurance, because they 
can't get a mortgage without it, all of this will be absolutely 
undermined. And that is the essence of what is going on.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, I would just point out again, all this 
bill does is extend for 6 months the current policies of the NFIP. Not 
one single policy of the NFIP is changed in this bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman 
from Louisiana (Mr. Scalise), the distinguished majority whip.
  Mr. SCALISE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman of the committee for 
yielding time to talk about this important program.
  I want to thank the gentlewoman from California for her consistent 
commitment to making sure that the National Flood Insurance Program is 
there for families who need it, families all around the country, not 
just families, by the way, Mr. Speaker, in coastal areas. This is a 
program that affects every community in our country. It is a program 
that affects millions of people throughout the country, hundreds of 
thousands in my home State of Louisiana, but people from all around. It 
is an important program.
  Mr. Speaker, I would love for this to be a private program, where 
there were great options all around for people to buy private flood 
insurance. Unfortunately, today there aren't; and so because there 
aren't those private options, the only game in town is NFIP. So it is 
incumbent upon us to make sure that this program works. And it has got 
to be a program that is fair for ratepayers and fair for taxpayers.
  Mr. Speaker, over the years, we have had many different long-term and 
short-term reauthorizations. It is well-documented. It has been one of 
the frustrations of trying to get consistency in the program, but, in 
the meantime, it is important that this program move forward.
  Too many people are counting on NFIP to be there for them that have a 
closing on a home this week; maybe somebody's buying a new house for 
Christmas and they have to have flood insurance. We need to make sure 
that that program is there for them.
  So it is important that we continue to keep this going, while 
negotiations will go on to see if we can get a long-term solution. The 
House came together and figured out a way to get a 5-year 
reauthorization, but the Senate wasn't able to put it together. I have 
no doubt in the future we are going to have those negotiations and find 
a way to get a long-term reauthorization for the program. I appreciate 
all the efforts that are being made.
  But, in the meantime, people know that you can't just have this 
program expire as those negotiations go on.
  So, with that said, Mr. Speaker, I want to thank all the parties 
involved who are negotiating in good faith to try to get this done.
  Again, I want to thank the gentlewoman from California for her 
continued efforts to make sure that people, millions of people all 
across this country have that program.

[[Page H10569]]

  I want to thank the chairman for his years of service. It has been a 
long time. We have worked together, both former chairmen of the RSC, 
and I know he is going to have brighter days ahead. I am sure he is 
glad that he will have a few more days to live out his current career, 
but I appreciate the gentleman from Texas' service over these years to 
our country in Congress.

                              {time}  1200

  Ms. MAXINE WATERS of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such 
time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I think that what Mr. Scalise said is the significant 
question about this issue, and that is: What do we do today to make 
sure that we have short-term reauthorization?
  If we have thoughts other than that, are we reexamining those 
thoughts in any way, or do we understand the danger that may be imposed 
upon our ability to get short-term reauthorization with any efforts 
that we are making to codify or place into law the ability for private 
insurers to participate in the program, along with the way that they 
participate for the National Flood Insurance Program?
  I think the significant question is what Mr. Scalise has said: Will 
we be able to support short-term reauthorization with whatever we do 
today? That becomes the question.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank the majority whip for his kind words and our 
ability to work together to put together a product that we are both 
proud of and that the House passed. Again, we regret that those on the 
other side of the Capitol have not seen the wisdom to put forth any 
plan.
  What we have before us is something that is quite simple. If you 
believe that you want to create at least 6 months of certainty for the 
market, for the real estate market, residential market, particularly in 
flood-prone areas, then you will pass this bill, because this is the 
one that creates certainty that every single current policy of the NFIP 
is extended for 6 months. That is what it does.
  It codifies one particular policy of the NFIP, and this creates more 
certainty. This is what people have come to the floor to say they want.
  Again, I lament the fact we are not doing a 5-year reauthorization. I 
lament the fact we are not dealing with many of the challenges that I 
mentioned earlier, but at least, today, we can create certainty for 6 
months as negotiations continue in the next Congress.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge every Member to support this bill, and I yield 
back the balance of my time.
  Ms. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, I oppose this last-ditch effort to attach 
harmful policy riders to the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) 
reauthorization. While H.R. 7388 reauthorizes the NFIP through May 31, 
2019, House Republicans have attached controversial policy reforms that 
have been rejected several times by the House and Senate to a bill that 
would keep the NFIP's doors open. This harmful policy change was 
recently implemented administratively by the Trump administration.
  This policy reverses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) 
``Write Your Own'' non-compete clause and would allow private insurance 
companies partnering with and servicing NFIP policies to sell their own 
competing private policies to unsuspecting consumers. We should not 
allow private insurers to cherry-pick the best risk policies for their 
own private businesses and force taxpayers to pick up the rest.
  The Senate has already unanimously passed a clean extension that does 
not include this toxic rider. The House should ensure that flood 
insurance remains available to millions of homeowners, businesses, and 
renters across the country that rely on it and pass a clean extension.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Hensarling) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 7388.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. MASSIE. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further 
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.

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