[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 12]
[House]
[Pages 16431-16432]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




        NATIONAL FLOOD INSURANCE PROGRAM REEXTENSION ACT OF 2010

  Ms. WATERS. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (S. 3814) to extend the National Flood Insurance Program until 
September 30, 2011.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                S. 3814

       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 Reextension Act of 2010''.

     SEC. 2. EXTENSION OF NATIONAL FLOOD INSURANCE PROGRAM.

       (a) Program Extension.--Section 1319 of the National Flood 
     Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4026) is amended by striking 
     ``September 30, 2010'' and inserting ``September 30, 2011''.
       (b) Financing.--Section 1309(a) of the National Flood 
     Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4016(a)) is amended by 
     striking ``September 30, 2010'' and inserting ``September 30, 
     2011''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Waters) and the gentlewoman from West Virginia (Mrs. 
Capito) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from California.


                             General Leave

  Ms. WATERS. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their 
remarks on this legislation and to insert extraneous material thereon.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from California?
  There was no objection.
  Ms. WATERS. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Madam Speaker, I rise today to speak in support of S. 3814, the 
National Flood Insurance Program Reextension Act of 2010, which would 
extend the National Flood Insurance Program through September 30, 2011.
  The flood insurance program provides valuable protection for 
approximately 5.5 million homeowners. Unfortunately, the lack of a 
long-term authorization has placed this program at risk. The program 
has lapsed three times now since the beginning of this year, for 2 days 
in March, for 18 days in April, and again from June 1 to July 1. These 
lapses meant that FEMA was not able to write new policies, renew 
expiring policies, or increase coverage limits.

                              {time}  1650

  This also means that each day, 1,400 home buyers who wanted to 
purchase homes located in flood plains are unable to close on those 
homes. Given the current crisis in the housing market, this instability 
in the flood insurance program is hampering that market's recovery and 
must be addressed.
  This is why last June I introduced and President Obama signed into 
law H.R. 5569, the National Flood Insurance Program Extension Act of 
2010. That legislation extended the program through the end of this 
month. However, the expiration of this law is now upon us, so I am 
pleased that the House and Senate are taking preemptive action to 
extend the Flood Insurance Program for an additional year so that we 
don't experience a repeat of the lapses that plagued the first half of 
2010.
  Given the importance of the flood insurance program to America's 
homeowners and communities, I hope that the Senate can act quickly to 
pass my comprehensive flood insurance bill, H.R. 5114, the Flood 
Insurance Reform Priorities Act of 2010. This bill passed the House 
July 15 of this year on a strong bipartisan vote of 329-90.
  My bill would restore stability to the flood insurance program by 
reauthorizing the program for 5 years and would address the impact of 
new flood maps by delaying the mandatory purchase requirement for 5 
years, then phasing in actuarial rates for another 5 years.
  My reform bill also makes other improvements to the program by 
phasing in actuarial rates for pre-FIRM properties, raising maximum 
coverage limits, providing notice to renters about contents insurance, 
and establishing a flood insurance advocate similar to the taxpayer 
advocate at the Internal Revenue Service.
  I hope that the Senate can pass this much needed legislation as soon 
as possible.
  In the meantime, I urge my colleagues to stand with me in support of 
S. 3814 so that the flood insurance program can continue to serve our 
homeowners and communities without interruption.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mrs. CAPITO. I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of S. 3814, which extends the 
National Flood Insurance Program through September 30, 2011. I feel 
like we're deja vu all over again. We've done this several times, I 
think, in the last several months and years. That timeframe will give 
us ample opportunity to craft a bill that fundamentally reforms the 
program, which needs fundamental reform.
  It's unfortunate this Congress has, to date, been unable to enact 
comprehensive reform of the flood insurance program. Currently, as we 
know, the flood insurance program is carrying a debt of $18 billion. 
The program remains underfunded and unable to meet its potential 
obligations. And its financial shortfall continues to place taxpayers 
at risk for the cost of property losses caused by flooding.
  On July 15, 2010, the House approved H.R. 5114, the Flood Insurance 
Reform Priorities Act, which included many constructive reforms. 
However, many of us on this side of the aisle felt that the measure did 
not go far enough to put the NFIP on a path towards sound financial 
footing. In fact, despite the reforms included in H.R. 5114, which 
included several Republican amendments, the CBO projected that if H.R. 
5114 were enacted, the National Flood Insurance Program would still 
need to borrow additional funds from the U.S. Treasury to cover losses 
and would exhaust its current borrowing authority by the year 2013.
  Today, to avoid another lapse in a program that serves 5.5 million 
residential and business property owners, we are considering S. 3814, 
the National Flood Insurance Program Reextension Act of 2010, which 
passed the Senate by voice vote on Tuesday, September 21, 2010.
  S. 3814 provides for a straightforward 1-year extension of the NFIP, 
which otherwise would expire on September 30. According to the 
Congressional Budget Office, enactment of this bill would have no net 
impact on the Federal budget.
  Madam Speaker, we must move forward with fundamental and fiscally 
responsible reforms of the Flood Insurance Program. S. 3814 extends the 
NFIP, as I've said, through September 30, 2011, allowing borrowers in 
flood-prone areas like mine to close on their mortgage loans and 
providing Congress the time it needs to enact real reforms. I urge my 
colleagues to support this legislation.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. PASCRELL. Madam Speaker, I rise to address the issue of flooding 
raised by the

[[Page 16432]]

National Flood Insurance Program Reextension Act of 2010 before us 
today. Although it is critical that we pass this legislation to ensure 
that flood insurance remains available to those in flood prone areas, 
this reextension is not the ultimate solution. Congress has followed a 
dangerously inconsistent stopgap approach of short-term fixes to the 
National Flood Insurance Program, or NFIP, for almost 2 years now.
  We need a permanent solution for the sake of my constituents and all 
Americans in flood-prone regions. Too frequently, the NFIP has been 
allowed to lapse. The House recently passed a bill which would address 
this issue by providing long-term authorization for the NFIP. This type 
of solution is necessary to provide certainty in real estate markets 
and the greater economy, as thousands of potential real estate 
transactions were stalled every day during the 53 days this year which 
the program lapsed.
  These issues further damage our economy, as homeowners in the flood-
prone areas of more than 20,000 communities across the U.S. could not 
obtain mortgages without the critical flood insurance made available 
through NFIP. In these regions, homeowners face a one in four chance 
that their property will suffer flood damage over the life of a 30-year 
mortgage.
  My constituents and I are all too familiar with the issue of 
flooding. The Passaic River basin in my district is a historically 
flood-prone region, and the rapid growth of population and industry in 
that region has made the threat of loss of property and life a serious 
problem. Since 1900, at least 26 lives have been lost in floods and the 
total losses over that period are over $4.5 billion.
  Just this March, the residents of the Eighth Congressional District 
of New Jersey along the Passaic basin suffered some of the most 
extensive flooding in the region to have occurred in the last quarter 
century. Approximately 2,500 residents in the district were forced from 
their homes and the estimated damage to the public sector alone is over 
$10 million dollars. These events resulted in a Federal Disaster 
Declaration issued by President Obama. All across this country, access 
to flood insurance is an absolute necessity just as it is in the 
Passaic River basin.
  If Congress does not act now, the flood insurance program will expire 
once again on September 30, at the peak of hurricane season. Madam 
Speaker, distinguished colleagues, I ask you today to join me in 
passing this bill. However, we must dedicate ourselves to finding a 
permanent solution for those Americans adversely affected by flooding. 
The people of my district need a long-term extension of the flood 
insurance program--and they need to know that the flood insurance 
program will always be there for them. While we are working to mitigate 
the damage caused by floods, this program remains essential for those 
tragic times when nature takes over. With homes in my district and in 
every flood-prone part of the country in harm's way, it is simply too 
dangerous to risk disaster because we failed once again to extend the 
National Flood Insurance Program.
  Ms. WATERS. I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Waters) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, S. 3814.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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