I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 9809 

To amend the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 to expand opportunities 

for families living in areas of high flood risk to access Federal assistance 

for voluntary relocation, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 25, 2024 

Mr. CASTEN (for himself and Mr. BLUMENAUER) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period 

to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 

concerned 

A BILL 

To amend the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 to 

expand opportunities for families living in areas of high 

flood risk to access Federal assistance for voluntary relocation, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Protecting Families 

5 and the Solvency of the National Flood Insurance Pro6 gram Act of 2024’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. VOLUNTARY BUYOUTS IN LIEU OF FLOOD CLAIMS. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1312 of the National 

3 Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4019) is amended 

4 by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(d) EXPEDITED VOLUNTARY BUYOUTS.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator may 

7 offer a voluntary buyout option to a policyholder for 

8 an insured property if the following requirements 

9 have been met: 

10 ‘‘(A) DETERMINATION.—The Adminis11 trator has determined, based on the pre-flood 

12 value of the insured property, the damage claim 

13 history of the insured property, and projected 

14 future claims for the insured property, that 

15 purchasing the insured property would result in 

16 long-term benefits to the National Flood Insur17 ance Fund. 

18 ‘‘(B) PROPERTY ELIGIBILITY.—The in19 sured property— 

20 ‘‘(i) has been identified as a repetitive 

21 loss or severe repetitive loss property, as 

22 such terms are defined in section 1366(h); 

23 ‘‘(ii) has been designated, by the par24 ticipating community in which such in25 sured property is located, as substantially 

26 damaged structure; or 


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1 ‘‘(iii) would be filing a claim for the 

2 maximum level of coverage, if not pur3 chased by the Administrator. 

4 ‘‘(C) COMMUNITY ELIGIBILITY.—The par5 ticipating community in which such insured 

6 property is located has agreed to— 

7 ‘‘(i) take title to the insured property; 

8 and 

9 ‘‘(ii) prioritize mitigation to such in10 sured property or to the area in which 

11 such insured property is located through 

12 actions or plans determined appropriate by 

13 the Administrator, including— 

14 ‘‘(I) a repetitive loss area anal15 ysis plan conducted for and consistent 

16 with criteria for the community rating 

17 system authorized under section 

18 1315(b) (42 U.S.C. 4022(b)); 

19 ‘‘(II) a locally adopted plan com20 pleted in compliance with require21 ments of section 1361(e) (42 U.S.C. 

22 4102(e)); 

23 ‘‘(III) a locally adopted flood risk 

24 mitigation plan consistent with the reVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:41 Oct 08, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H9809.IH H9809

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1 quirements of section 1366(b) (42 

2 U.S.C. 4104c(b)); 

3 ‘‘(IV) an ongoing local or State 

4 program for property buyouts to ad5 dress flooding problems that conforms 

6 with such requirement as the Admin7 istrator may establish; or 

8 ‘‘(V) such other action or plan as 

9 the Administrator may require. 

10 ‘‘(2) SHFA STATUS.—If each of the require11 ments described in paragraph (1) is satisfied, the 

12 Administrator may offer a voluntary buyout option 

13 to a policy holder for an insured property even if 

14 such insured property is not located in a special 

15 flood hazard area. 

16 ‘‘(3) AMOUNT OF BUYOUT OFFER.—The 

17 amount of a buyout offer made by the Administrator 

18 under this subsection for an insured property may 

19 exceed the amount of the claim made by the policy 

20 holder with respect to such insured property. 

21 ‘‘(4) USE OF FUND AMOUNTS.—The Adminis22 trator may use amounts in the National Flood In23 surance Fund to provide payment for any buyout of24 fered by the Administrator and accepted by a policyVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:41 Oct 08, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H9809.IH H9809

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1 holder that meets the requirements of this sub2 section. 

3 ‘‘(5) NO DELAY OR REDUCTION.—The Adminis4 trator shall ensure that any buyout offer made to a 

5 policyholder under this subsection does not delay or 

6 reduce the amount of any payment for the claim 

7 made by such policyholder. 

8 ‘‘(6) SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS.—When decid9 ing whether to offer a buyout of an insured property 

10 under this subsection, the Administrator may con11 sider— 

12 ‘‘(A) the current reserves and financial sta13 tus of the National Flood Insurance Fund; 

14 ‘‘(B) the expected number of buyout re15 quests; and 

16 ‘‘(C) opportunities to supplement available 

17 National Flood Insurance Fund amounts with 

18 other disaster or mitigation assistance available 

19 from Federal and non-Federal sources. 

20 ‘‘(7) TRANSFER OF PROPERTY.—If a policy21 holder accepts a voluntary buyout offered by the Ad22 ministrator under this section for an insured prop23 erty, the Administrator shall take ownership of the 

24 property and not later than 90 days after taking 

25 ownership of such property, transfer ownership of 


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1 such property to a unit of local government for man2 agement in compliance with the requirements under 

3 section 404(b)(2) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster 

4 Relief and Emergency Assistance Act. 

5 ‘‘(8) RULEMAKING.—The Administrator may 

6 issues such rules as the Administrator determines 

7 necessary to carry out this subsection.’’. 

8 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

9 this section shall take effect 1 year after the date of the 

10 enactment of this section. 

11 SEC. 3. COMMUNITY ACTION TO ADDRESS REPETITIVELY 

12 FLOODED AREAS. 

13 Section 1361 of the National Flood Insurance Act of 

14 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4102) is amended by adding at the end 

15 the following new subsection: 

16 ‘‘(e) COMMUNITY ACTION FOR REPEATEDLY FLOOD17 ED AREAS.— 

18 ‘‘(1) REQUIREMENTS FOR COVERED COMMU19 NITIES.—The Administrator shall, by rule, require 

20 each covered community to— 

21 ‘‘(A) determine the areas within the cov22 ered community in which properties described 

23 in the definition of covered community are lo24 cated in order to identify areas that are repeat25 edly damaged by floods; 


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1 ‘‘(B) assess, with assistance from the Ad2 ministrator, future conditions which may rep3 resent continuing risks to the repeatedly dam4 aged areas identified pursuant to subparagraph 

5 (A); 

6 ‘‘(C) develop a community-specific plan for 

7 mitigating continuing flood risks to the repeat8 edly damaged areas identified pursuant to sub9 paragraph (A); 

10 ‘‘(D) submit the plan described in subpara11 graph (C) and any plan updates to the Admin12 istrator at appropriate intervals; 

13 ‘‘(E) implement the plan described in sub14 paragraph (C); and 

15 ‘‘(F) subject to section 552a of title 5, 

16 United States Code, make the plan described in 

17 subparagraph (C), any updates to the plan, and 

18 reports on progress in reducing flood risk avail19 able to the public. 

20 ‘‘(2) COORDINATION WITH EXISTING PLANNING

21 EFFORTS.—As determined by the Administrator, a 

22 covered community may address the planning re23 quirements of this subsection in coordination with 

24 other planning efforts, including— 


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1 ‘‘(A) a plan developed under section 1366 

2 of this title (42 U.S.C. 4104c); 

3 ‘‘(B) a plan developed under section 322 of 

4 the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 

5 Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5165); or 

6 ‘‘(C) a plan completed for, conducted for, 

7 and consistent with criteria for the community 

8 rating system authorized under section 1315(b) 

9 of this title (42 U.S.C. 4022(b)). 

10 ‘‘(3) AUTHORIZATION AND ASSISTANCE.— 

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator 

12 may issue appropriate policies and regulations 

13 to assist covered communities in identification 

14 of repeatedly flooded areas and in implementing 

15 practical plans for addressing the identified 

16 flooding problems. 

17 ‘‘(B) TYPES OF ASSISTANCE.—Assistance 

18 authorized under this section may include— 

19 ‘‘(i) sharing of information in accord20 ance with the requirements of section 552a 

21 of title 5, United States Code, and the sub22 chapter II of chapter 35 of title 44, United 

23 States Code; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) consideration of possible sources 

2 of financial assistance to communities, in3 cluding— 

4 ‘‘(I) potential lowering of non5 Federal cost shares for mitigation of 

6 properties; and 

7 ‘‘(II) potential priority for appli8 cable grant mitigation funding man9 aged by the Administrator; 

10 ‘‘(iii) additional technical assistance to 

11 communities the Administrator may deem 

12 most at-risk for repeated flooding events; 

13 ‘‘(iv) reasonable considerations and 

14 targeted assistance for communities de15 fined as underserved or high-risk under 

16 section 203(a) of the Robert T. Stafford 

17 Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance 

18 Act (42 U.S.C. 5133(a)); and 

19 ‘‘(v) special assistance aimed at imple20 menting Executive Order 13985 (January 

21 20, 2021) on Advancing Racial Equity and 

22 Support for Underserved Communities 

23 Through the Federal Government, as de24 fined by the Administrator. 


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1 ‘‘(C) SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS.—In de2 termining an appropriate level of assistance for 

3 a covered community, as provided in subpara4 graph (B), the Administrator shall consider the 

5 extent to which the community is working to 

6 remedy problems associated with repeated 

7 flooding and the resources available to the cov8 ered community, including— 

9 ‘‘(i) any Federal or State funding re10 ceived by the covered community; 

11 ‘‘(ii) the portion of the covered com12 munity that is located within areas having 

13 special flood hazards; and 

14 ‘‘(iii) any other factor that makes it 

15 difficult for the covered community to con16 duct mitigation activities for flood-prone 

17 structures. 

18 ‘‘(4) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 

19 3 years after the date of enactment of this sub20 section, and not less frequently than once every 2 

21 years thereafter, the Administrator shall submit to 

22 the Congress a report regarding the progress made 

23 by covered communities with respect to imple24 menting plans developed under paragraph (2)(C) 


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1 and, to the extent possible, the trends in numbers of 

2 repetitive loss and severe repetitive loss properties. 

3 ‘‘(5) COVERED COMMUNITY DEFINED.—In this 

4 subsection, the term ‘covered community’ means a 

5 community— 

6 ‘‘(A) that is participating in the national 

7 flood insurance program and in compliance with 

8 all requirements of this Act; and 

9 ‘‘(B) within which are located— 

10 ‘‘(i) not less than 50 repetitive loss 

11 structures; or 

12 ‘‘(ii) not fewer than 5 severe repetitive 

13 loss structures for which mitigation activi14 ties meeting the standards for approval 

15 under section 1366(c)(2)(A) have not been 

16 conducted; and 

17 ‘‘(C) which has been identified by the Ad18 ministrator as a priority for assessment and 

19 mitigation in accordance with the rules required 

20 under this subsection.’’. 

21 SEC. 4. FLOOD MITIGATION ASSISTANCE. 

22 (a) AUTHORITY.—Section 1366(a)(2) of the National 

23 Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4104c(a)(2)) is 

24 amended— 


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1 (1) by inserting ‘‘repetitive loss structures,’’ 

2 after ‘‘damage to’’; and 

3 (2) by inserting before ‘‘; and’’ the following: ‘‘, 

4 and other structures within an area that has been 

5 identified by the State or community as a repetitive 

6 loss area or has been determined by the Adminis7 trator to pose a significant risk of recurrent flood8 ing’’. 

9 (b) ELIGIBLE MITIGATION ACTIVITIES.—Subsection 

10 (c) of section 1366 of the National Flood Insurance Act 

11 of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4104c) is amended— 

12 (1) in paragraph (2)— 

13 (A) in the paragraph heading, by inserting 

14 ‘‘FAIRNESS,’’ after ‘‘COST EFFECTIVENESS’’; 

15 (B) in subparagraph (A)— 

16 (i) in clause (i)— 

17 (I) by inserting ‘‘, equitable,’’ 

18 after ‘‘feasible’’; and 

19 (II) by inserting ‘‘over the long 

20 term’’ after ‘‘cost-effective’’; and 

21 (ii) in clause (ii), by inserting ‘‘repet22 itive loss or’’ before ‘‘severe’’; and 

23 (C) in subparagraph (B) by inserting ‘‘, in24 cluding benefits that provide needed assistance 


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1 to vulnerable populations’’ before the period at 

2 the end; 

3 (2) in paragraph (3)— 

4 (A) in subparagraph (C)— 

5 (i) by striking ‘‘for public use,’’; and 

6 (ii) by inserting ‘‘, considering current 

7 and future risks’’ before the semicolon at 

8 the end; 

9 (B) in subparagraph (H) by inserting 

10 ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon at the end; 

11 (C) in subparagraph (I) by striking ‘‘; 

12 and’’ and inserting a period; and 

13 (D) by striking subparagraph (J); and 

14 (3) in paragraph (4), by adding after the pe15 riod, the following: ‘‘In any case in which elevation 

16 or rebuilding is required or authorized by the Ad17 ministrator or by State or local regulation or ordi18 nance, the appropriate level of elevation shall incor19 porate appropriate freeboard or other resilience fac20 tors based on an assessment using the best scientific 

21 information to determine risk levels over the ex22 pected lifetime of the structure.’’. 

23 (c) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.—Subsection (d) of 

24 section 1366 of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 

25 (42 U.S.C. 4104c(d)) is amended— 


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1 (1) in paragraph (2)— 

2 (A) by striking ‘‘In the case of mitigation 

3 activities to repetitive loss structures,’’ and in4 serting: 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In the case of mitiga6 tion activities to repetitive loss structures,’’; and 

7 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(B) SPECIAL RULE.—In the case of miti9 gation activities to repetitive loss structures 

10 that lie within an area identified under a local 

11 plan adopted pursuant to section 1361(e), in an 

12 amount up to 100 percent of all eligible costs.’’. 

13 (2) by redesignating paragraph (3) as para14 graph (4); and 

15 (3) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol16 lowing: 

17 ‘‘(3) PROPERTIES WITHIN UNDERSERVED COM18 MUNITIES.—In an amount up to 100 percent of all 

19 eligible costs for a property— 

20 ‘‘(A) located within a census tract with a 

21 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention So22 cial Vulnerability Index score of not less than 

23 0.5001; or 

24 ‘‘(B) that serves as a primary residence for 

25 a household with a household income of not 


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1 more than 100 percent of the applicable area 

2 median income.’’. 

3 SEC. 5. PREDISASTER MITIGATION. 

4 (a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 203(a) of the Robert T. 

5 Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 

6 (42 U.S.C. 5133) is amended to read as follows: 

7 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

8 ‘‘(1) UNDERSERVED COMMUNITY.—The term 

9 ‘underserved community’ means a population shar10 ing a particular characteristic, or a geographic com11 munity, that based on criteria established by the 

12 President, has been systematically denied a full op13 portunity to participate in aspects of economic, so14 cial, and civic life. 

15 ‘‘(2) HIGH-RISK COMMUNITY.—The term ‘high 

16 risk community’ means a community that has sig17 nificant risk to health, safety, or economic stability 

18 from natural disasters and also has limited resources 

19 to plan for and mitigate against such risks, as deter20 mined by the President based on— 

21 ‘‘(A) a consideration of past natural disas22 ters; 

23 ‘‘(B) an evaluation of claims against the 

24 National Flood Insurance Fund; 


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1 ‘‘(C) an evaluation of other Federal ex2 penditures for disaster response and recovery; 

3 or 

4 ‘‘(D) an analysis of data related to size of 

5 the community, social vulnerability, poverty lev6 els, unemployment, housing shortages, or other 

7 factors that affect the community’s capacity to 

8 prepare for and recover from natural disas9 ters.’’. 

10 (b) STATE RECOMMENDATIONS.—Subparagraph (B) 

11 of section 203(d)(2) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster 

12 Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C 5133) is 

13 amended to read as follows: 

14 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTIONS.—In providing assist15 ance to local governments under this section, 

16 the President may select a local government 

17 that has been identified as a underserved com18 munity or a high-risk community, or, if the 

19 President determines that extraordinary cir20 cumstances justify the selection and that mak21 ing the selection will further the purpose of this 

22 section, another community that has not been 

23 recommended by a Governor under this sub24 section.’’. 


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1 (c) CRITERIA FOR ASSISTANCE AWARDS.—Section 

2 203(g) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 

3 Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5133(g)) is amend4 ed— 

5 (1) in paragraph (1) by inserting ‘‘, including 

6 the likelihood that identified hazards will increase in 

7 severity, frequency, or impact in the future’’ before 

8 the semicolon at the end; 

9 (2) in paragraph (8) by inserting ‘‘, including 

10 securing improved protections for vulnerable popu11 lations’’ before the semicolon at the end; and 

12 (3) in paragraph (9) by inserting ‘‘and high13 risk communities’’ before the semicolon at the end. 

14 (d) FEDERAL SHARE.—Section 203(h)(2) of the 

15 Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assist16 ance Act (42 U.S.C. 5133(h)(2)) is amended to read as 

17 follows: 

18 ‘‘(2) UNDERSERVED AND HIGH-RISK COMMU19 NITIES.—Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the Presi20 dent may contribute up to 100 percent of the total 

21 cost of a mitigation activity carried out in an under22 served community or in a high-risk community.’’. 


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1 SEC. 6. HAZARD MITIGATION GRANT PROGRAM. 

2 Section 404(b) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Re3 lief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170c(b)) 

4 is amended— 

5 (1) in paragraph (1), by inserting after the pe6 riod at the end the following: ‘‘In providing such as7 sistance, the Administrator shall allow for partici8 pating property owners, as well as any affected ten9 ants, to be treated as displaced persons under the 

10 Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real property 

11 Acquisition Policies Act of 1970.’’; and 

12 (2) by adding at the end the following new 

13 paragraph: 

14 ‘‘(4) SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS.—In the case of 

15 an acquisition or relocation project undertaken in co16 operation with a community which meets the criteria 

17 set forth under subsection 1312(d) of the National 

18 Flood Insurance Act, the Administrator may recog19 nize for credit toward necessary local cost shares 

20 any properly documented expenditures related to 

21 such project which may have been made before the 

22 date of the grant award. Such expenditures may in23 clude costs related to structure inspections and ap24 praisals, title searches, outreach to potentially af25 fected property owners, real estate counseling and 


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1 other necessary assistance, and planning for reuse of 

2 the properties in compliance with this subsection.’’. 

Æ 


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