Sens. Rubio, Menendez, Cassidy, Colleagues Reintroduce Bill to Reform National Flood Insurance Program

WASHINGTON, Nov. 3 -- Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida, issued the following news release:

U.S. Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and their colleagues reintroduced legislation to extend the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) for five years, while instituting a series of sweeping reforms to bolster our nation's resiliency and reduce flood risk to our communities. The legislation, the National Flood Insurance Program Reauthorization (NFIP Re) Act of 2021, also takes important steps to address the waste and mismanagement too often plaguing the current system. Congressman Frank Pallone (D-NJ) introduced companion legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives.

"Flood insurance is a necessity in Florida, and getting the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) on track to fiscal sustainability is critical to ensuring millions of policyholders maintain coverage," Rubio said. "In light of the Biden Administration's decision to proceed with the chaotic rollout of Risk Rating 2.0, Congress must take real action now to reform the program. This legislation would provide a five-year reauthorization and create stability for millions of policyholders across the state and nationwide."

Specifically, the NFIP Re Act of 2021 would:

* Provide certainty for policyholders by reauthorizing the NFIP for five years;

* Protect policyholders from Risk Rating 2.0 rate shocks and other disruptions by capping annual premium increases at 9 percent;

* Put NFIP on track to fiscal sustainability by freezing interest payments on NFIP debt and reinvesting savings toward mitigation;

* Create affordability for low- and middle-income policyholders through a comprehensive, means-tested voucher program;

* Increase investment in cost-effective mitigation efforts;

* Improve funding for more accurate mapping, in order to generate better data for flood risk; and

* Reform the appeals process to level the playing field for policyholders during appeal or litigation processes.

Click here for a full list of quotes from cosponsors: https://www.menendez.senate.gov/newsroom/press/menendez-cassidy-introduce-bicameral-bipartisan-bill-to-reform-national-flood-insurance-program

A section-by-section of the legislation can be found here (https://www.rubio.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/d352d392-7c18-49e9-bf1b-4656e4c91067/94AD9F0DF16A635D2C812EF7B8E8539E.nfip-section-by-section.pdf), and a copy of the bill text can be found here: https://www.rubio.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/89ac8cd0-bd9c-48e4-b096-e8deee190d55/493E27356613F5BAA70AF837E924AD2B.nfip-bill-text.pdf