Bipartisan Support Grows for Rep. Royce’s Repeatedly Flooded Communities Preparation Act

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- On Wednesday, the House Financial Services Committee passed five bills to reform and reauthorize the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) including legislation sponsored by Representative Ed Royce (R-Calif.), H.R. 1558, the Repeatedly Flooded Communities Preparation Act. Highlights of his remarks from Wednesday's markup are copied below:

"It has been said that 'insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.' Yet when it comes to the National Flood Insurance Program that is exactly what has happened.

"The Financial Services Committee has heard testimony at multiple hearings about the outsized financial impact of repeatedly flooded properties on NFIP. These properties comprise just one percent of those insured, but represent nearly one-third of all flood claims.

"This insanity must come to an end. The Repeatedly Flooded Communities Preparation Act addresses this fiscal crisis through a community-driven mitigation approach. The bill does not dictate particular responses to local flood problems but requires those communities with significant numbers of repeatedly flooded properties to develop and implement plans for lowering flood risk in these problem areas and to be held accountable for a failure to act.

"I should also mention, this is a bipartisan bill - cosponsored by Rep. Earl Blumenauer from Oregon. It is supported by taxpayer and environmental groups, as well as The Pew Charitable Trusts and the National Association of Realtors."

Background

Rep. Royce introduced the Repeatedly Flooded Communities Preparation Act on March 16, 2017. The original press release can be found HERE https://royce.house.gov/components/redirect/r.aspx?ID=468849-70273537. The bill passed the House Financial Services Committee by a voice vote.

Read this original document at: https://royce.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=398350