Bipartisan legislation was introduced November 2, 2021 in the United States Senate to reauthorize the National Flood Insurance Program. The National Flood Insurance Reauthorization and Reform Act was introduced by Senators Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Bob Menendez (D-NJ).
The bill contains several provisions that have been advocated for by FIRM, including:
- Five-year authorization of the NFIP
- Guardrails on Risk Rating 2.0 (e.g. premium increases capped at 9% per year)
- Means tested affordability to ensure flood insurance is affordable for low and middle income families
- Increased funding for mitigation
- Increased Cost of Compliance (ICC) Coverage to better reflect costs of rebuilding and implementing mitigation projects
- Study on participation rates to ensure that homes with federally backed mortgages participate in the NFIP as required
The legislation is cosponsored by Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), John Kennedy (R-LA), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Roger Wicker (R-MS), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), and Kristen Gillibrand (D-NY). A companion bill was introduced in the House by Representatives Charlie Crist (D-FL) and Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ).
You can view a section-by-section summary here.