[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Page 16474]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




              HOMEOWNER FLOOD INSURANCE AFFORDABILITY ACT

  Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I am pleased to be a cosponsor of the 
Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act. This bipartisan, bicameral 
legislation seeks to protect homeowners across the country from severe 
flood insurance rate hikes until Congress is provided assurances from 
the agency related to flood mapping methodologies and affordability.
  The long-term solvency of the National Flood Insurance Program is 
critical to protecting taxpayer investments, communicating perceived 
flood risk to homeowners, and encouraging communities to invest in 
mitigation measures. The rates imposed by the legislation we adopted 
last summer are working against those worthy goals.
  A constituent from Ocean Springs, MS, contacted my office to give her 
perspective on the legislation. She wrote: ``Built in 1986, [my house] 
survived all hurricanes including Katrina. I used my retirement savings 
to buy the house. Before closing, flood insurance was grandfathered at 
$245.00 per year. After closing, the rate skyrocketed to $18,450. You 
can understand my shock.'' If you do the math, her new rates are more 
than 75 times the rate when she purchased her home.
  I heard from Thomas Schafer, the Mayor of Diamondhead, MS. This city 
in Hancock County was ``ground zero'' for Hurricane Katrina in 2005. 
Mayor Schafer called this legislation a ``devastating loss to [his] 
community,'' pointing specifically to ``plummeting property values with 
increased cost of flood insurance.''
  These are communities that suffered the greatest natural disaster in 
our Nation's history in 2005, the effects of the Deepwater Horizon oil 
spill in 2010, and now this.
  The bill I join my colleagues in introducing today aims to restrain 
the rate increases to homeowners that are very troublesome.
  Under this bill, the Federal Emergency Management Agency must provide 
assurances to Congress that it is using sound mapping methods to make 
flood insurance rate determinations. A study by the National Academies 
of Science produced in March of this year has called into question some 
of the engineering practices FEMA uses to determine rates. Before we 
let these rates devalue private property and perhaps even devastate 
local economies, we need to be absolutely sure our practices and 
procedures are as sound as possible.
  Second, FEMA must complete the affordability study mandated by the 
same legislation that is driving insurance rates up. If rates become so 
high that homeowners cannot participate in the program, or entire 
communities opt out of the program, all participants in the program 
will suffer from a smaller risk pool. It is important that we 
understand the implications of these rates before we allow them to ruin 
people's lives and communities.
  I am pleased with the work accomplished by the bipartisan group of 
Senators who introduced this bill. The bill reflects the priorities of 
Senators from both parties and several regions. I believe it gives the 
Senate a strong starting point to address this important issue.

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