[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 170 (Monday, November 18, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6596-S6597]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                    National Flood Insurance Program

  Mr. CASSIDY. Madam President, we just had an election 2 weeks ago. I 
am not here to lord it over anyone, to gloat or anything else, but it 
is an important observation that Americans let their voices be heard 
overwhelmingly to go in another direction, and they voted for 
Republicans, but they also voted against the status quo.
  Americans in Louisiana feel that their government is not serving them 
the way it should. They are struggling to afford trips to the grocery 
store, their energy bills, and to afford flood insurance.
  For over 50 years, Americans have relied on the National Flood 
Insurance Program, or the NFIP, to be a safety net in case of disaster. 
NFIP covers 4.7 million homes across the country, including families 
like those in LaPlace, LA, pictured here.
  For those who are watching on television, there are a bunch of homes, 
and they are surrounded by water. You can tell where the street is 
because the water is in the street. Fortunately, there is a little bit 
of green around most homes, but you can tell that that community is 
flooded.
  For many, flood insurance is the only option to have protection 
against something like this, but the program is not serving Americans 
the way it should. Skyrocketing insurance premiums caused by FEMA's new 
risk assessment program, Risk Rating 2.0, has left many people in 
Louisiana and many families around the Nation with no way to protect 
their home. Risk Rating 2.0 makes flood insurance unaffordable and puts 
the entire program at financial risk.
  Now, despite Congress never approving Risk Rating 2.0, it unfairly 
jacks up rates, driving people to drop their coverage. Let me repeat 
that. Despite Congress never approving Risk Rating 2.0, this program by 
NFIP is jacking up rates, forcing people to drop their coverage.
  I hear the story from folks in Louisiana constantly, and that is what 
motivated me and my team to release a detailed report breaking down the 
current state of NFIP, how it reached this point, and what Congress can 
do to make flood insurance affordable again. What we found confirmed 
what people in Louisiana and Americans across the country already know: 
The National Flood Insurance Program is broken.
  Now, by the way, this is 19 pages. It is not 600 pages of legalese. 
It is not something that you read to cure your insomnia. It is 19 pages 
that a Senator, that a staff person, that someone watching can download 
and read, and, with 19 pages, you can understand the complex program 
and understand why it is failing the people it is intended to serve. We 
did this with the goal that we would help get a program that is 
affordable, accountable, and sustainable as opposed to the program that 
FEMA has created, one that is unaffordable and going bankrupt as it 
forces Americans to drop unaffordable coverage.
  After storms like Hurricane Helene--which, by the way, showed us that 
flooding is not just a coastal issue; it is also occurring inland in 
river systems--we should listen to the American people when they say 
they are not OK with the status quo.
  So let's take a look at some of the things in the report. And I warn 
you, it is not good news.
  First, we found that the average flood insurance cost in every State 
rose following Risk Rating 2.0. That was true for 80 percent of people 
in Louisiana, who saw a spike in their insurance premiums in the first 
year.
  Second, NFIP premiums in Louisiana increased by 234 percent, 
resulting in 52,000 people in Louisiana dropping their policies last 
year alone. That is 52,000 Louisiana homeowners dropping their policies 
because it was no longer affordable in just 1 year. I represent 
Louisiana, but it is not just Louisiana in which this is an issue; 
nearly half a million Americans nationwide have dropped their coverage.

  Third, FEMA itself now predicts that up to 1 million policyholders 
nationwide could lose flood insurance coverage in the next decade. They 
admit that their pricing is going to devastate the ability of Americans 
to afford this program. That said, FEMA still refuses to be transparent 
in terms of how they are calculating premiums, and this lack of 
transparency with Risk Rating 2.0 leaves policyholders in the dark.
  This is the reason that we pushed to delay the program's 
implementation when it was first announced. President Trump did delay 
it. In 2019, my office worked with the Trump administration to delay 
Risk Rating 2.0 because of this lack of transparency in how FEMA was 
calculating rates, but when the Biden administration took over, they 
allowed Risk Rating 2.0 to move forward even though concerns were never 
addressed. The end result: Homeowners have high premiums, no 
explanation, and--I repeat once more--52,000 people in Louisiana 
dropping coverage, 500,000 people nationwide.
  A fourth key finding was, as we investigated NFIP and the lawsuits 
against Risk Rating 2.0 continued, it became clear that FEMA never had 
the authority to implement Risk Rating 2.0 without congressional 
approval. Again--I repeated it earlier; I will repeat it again--FEMA 
never had the authority to implement Risk Rating 2.0 without 
congressional approval. They never consulted Congress, and we never 
passed it. They went around Congress, and their explanation, I think, 
is flimsy. It is like when you catch your child doing something they 
know they shouldn't be doing. Risk Rating 2.0 did not even adhere to 
the proper procedure for rulemaking in the executive branch. Risk 
Rating 2.0 runs counter to what Congress intended, and FEMA had no 
right to do what they did.
  So these are the four key findings of the report:
  One, premiums rose in every State; two, they rose astronomically in 
places like Louisiana; three, up to 1 million policyholders will drop 
their coverage because they can no longer afford it; and fourth, FEMA 
sidestepped Congress to implement this without authority.
  These findings reflect why the American people overwhelmingly voted 
for change. The status quo is unacceptable.
  The NFIP is in desperate need of reform, and it has needed this 
reform for years. Now Republicans have an opportunity to finally listen 
to the American people on this issue.
  Now, being too afraid to touch certain political issues may serve 
politicians well, but it sets the American people back. Enough is 
enough. NFIP affects every State.
  On this chart, you will see States in dark yellow. They have been hit 
by flooding the most. California, as the Presiding Officer can see 
right there, through the gulf coast, up the Atlantic, including a State 
like Pennsylvania which is just tippy-tip on the Atlantic, and an 
inland State like Missouri--all these have had more than $1 billion in 
NFIP claims since 1978. The 44 States other than these have had over 
$50 million in total NFIP claims. This is a national issue.

[[Page S6597]]

  So the message to my colleagues who represent States that rely upon 
the NFIP is, let's find a way forward. We know what the next steps must 
be. Congress must pass a comprehensive NFIP reform package that 
protects families from excessive premium hikes, strengthens mitigation 
efforts--mitigation: decreasing your risk of flooding--and simplifies 
the claims process by cutting redtape.
  FEMA must--absolutely must--reevaluate its pricing methodology and 
focus on affordability, just as Congress originally intended. FEMA must 
roll back Risk Rating 2.0, and we must ensure that FEMA does not go 
rogue, doing things without congressional approval. We also must demand 
that Congress listen to the feedback from State and local stakeholders.
  I have a plan to make flood insurance affordable again for all 
Americans. I am encouraging my colleagues to join. Let's end the status 
quo.
  With that, I yield the floor.