Richmond, Scalise introduce flood insurance legislation

Washington, D.C. - Congressmen Cedric Richmond, Steve Scalise, and other Louisiana delegation members today introduced a bill postponing the enactment of the Biggert-Waters Act for three to five years.

“Since FEMA clearly is not ready to enact Biggert-Waters in a way that is fair and affordable for Southeast Louisiana families, I’m proud to help lead the charge to delay the implementation of this Act as we work to fix these flawed changes to ensure the affordability and solvency of the flood insurance program for current and future generations,” Scalise said. “Louisiana families deserve a clear and full understanding of the upcoming NFIP changes and FEMA's inability to provide this information has jeopardized the viability of the entire program.”

“A consistent, affordable flood insurance program is critical to the U.S. economy, especially for areas recovering from recent flooding,” said Rep. Richmond “The Flood Insurance Implementation Reform Act delays certain provisions of the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012 to make sure flood insurance rates don’t burden homeowners and home sales can move forward. The bill also makes sure FEMA is working with local communities to draft the most accurate flood maps possible – a fix that is sorely needed for many Louisiana communities. I am extremely proud to work with Representative Waters on such important legislation that will help so many homeowners across the country.”

Last month, Scalise and Richmond sent a letter to FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate asking that FEMA take into consideration non-federal flood protection systems when determining flood risk. In light of the letter, FEMA has indicated a willingness to do just that and incorporate non-federal flood protection systems into their analysis when issuing new flood maps. The full text of the letter sent by Scalise and Richmond in April can be found here.

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