IB 

Union Calendar No. 330 

112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5652 

[Report No. 112–470] 

To provide for reconciliation pursuant to section 201 of the concurrent 

resolution on the budget for fiscal year 2013. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 9, 2012 

Mr. RYAN of Wisconsin from the Committee on the Budget, reported the following bill; which was committed to the Committee of the Whole House 

on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed 

A BILL 

To provide for reconciliation pursuant to section 201 of 

the concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal year 2013. 

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 ‘‘Sequester Replacement 

5 Reconciliation Act of 2012’’. 

6 SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

7 The table of contents is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title. 


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Sec. 2. Table of contents. 

TITLE I—AGRICULTURE 

Sec. 101. Short title. 

Sec. 102. ARRA sunset at June 30, 2012. 

Sec. 103. Categorical eligibility limited to cash assistance. 

Sec. 104. Standard utility allowances based on the receipt of energy assistance 

payments. 

Sec. 105. Employment and training; workfare. 

Sec. 106. End State bonus program for the supplemental nutrition assistance 

program. 

Sec. 107. Funding of employment and training programs. 

Sec. 108. Turn off indexing for nutrition education and obesity prevention. 

Sec. 109. Extension of Authorization of Food and Nutrition Act of 2008. 

Sec. 110. Effective dates and application of amendments. 

TITLE II—COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND COMMERCE 

Subtitle A—Repeal of Certain ACA Funding Provisions 

Sec. 201. Repealing mandatory funding to states to establish American Health 

Benefit Exchanges. 

Sec. 202. Repealing Prevention and Public Health Fund. 

Sec. 203. Rescinding unobligated balances for CO-OP program. 

Subtitle B—Medicaid 

Sec. 211. Revision of provider tax indirect guarantee threshold. 

Sec. 212. Rebasing of State DSH allotments for fiscal year 2022. 

Sec. 213. Repeal of Medicaid and CHIP maintenance of effort requirements 

under PPACA. 

Sec. 214. Medicaid payments to territories. 

Sec. 215. Repealing bonus payments for enrollment under Medicaid and CHIP. 

Subtitle C—Liability Reform 

Sec. 221. Findings and purpose. 

Sec. 222. Encouraging speedy resolution of claims. 

Sec. 223. Compensating patient injury. 

Sec. 224. Maximizing patient recovery. 

Sec. 225. Additional HEALTH benefits. 

Sec. 226. Punitive damages. 

Sec. 227. Authorization of payment of future damages to claimants in 

HEALTH care lawsuits. 

Sec. 228. Definitions. 

Sec. 229. Effect on other laws. 

Sec. 230. State flexibility and protection of States’ rights. 

Sec. 231. Applicability; effective date. 

TITLE III—FINANCIAL SERVICES 

Sec. 301. Table of contents. 

Subtitle A—Orderly Liquidation Fund 

Sec. 311. Repeal of liquidation authority. 


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Subtitle B—Home Affordable Modification Program 

Sec. 321. Short title. 

Sec. 322. Congressional findings. 

Sec. 323. Termination of authority. 

Sec. 324. Sense of Congress. 

Subtitle C—Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection 

Sec. 331. Bringing the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection into the regular appropriations process. 

Subtitle D—Flood Insurance Reform 

Sec. 341. Short title. 

Sec. 342. Extensions. 

Sec. 343. Mandatory purchase. 

Sec. 344. Reforms of coverage terms. 

Sec. 345. Reforms of premium rates. 

Sec. 346. Technical Mapping Advisory Council. 

Sec. 347. FEMA incorporation of new mapping protocols. 

Sec. 348. Treatment of levees. 

Sec. 349. Privatization initiatives. 

Sec. 350. FEMA annual report on insurance program. 

Sec. 351. Mitigation assistance. 

Sec. 352. Notification to homeowners regarding mandatory purchase requirement applicability and rate phase-ins. 

Sec. 353. Notification to members of congress of flood map revisions and updates. 

Sec. 354. Notification and appeal of map changes; notification to communities 

of establishment of flood elevations. 

Sec. 355. Notification to tenants of availability of contents insurance. 

Sec. 356. Notification to policy holders regarding direct management of policy 

by FEMA. 

Sec. 357. Notice of availability of flood insurance and escrow in RESPA good 

faith estimate. 

Sec. 358. Reimbursement for costs incurred by homeowners and communities 

obtaining letters of map amendment or revision. 

Sec. 359. Enhanced communication with certain communities during map updating process. 

Sec. 360. Notification to residents newly included in flood hazard areas. 

Sec. 361. Treatment of swimming pool enclosures outside of hurricane season. 

Sec. 362. Information regarding multiple perils claims. 

Sec. 363. FEMA authority to reject transfer of policies. 

Sec. 364. Appeals. 

Sec. 365. Reserve fund. 

Sec. 366. CDBG eligibility for flood insurance outreach activities and community building code administration grants. 

Sec. 367. Technical corrections. 

Sec. 368. Requiring competition for national flood insurance program policies. 

Sec. 369. Studies of voluntary community-based flood insurance options. 

Sec. 370. Report on inclusion of building codes in floodplain management criteria. 

Sec. 371. Study on graduated risk. 

Sec. 372. Report on flood-in-progress determination. 

Sec. 373. Study on repaying flood insurance debt. 


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Sec. 374. No cause of action. 

Sec. 375. Authority for the corps of engineers to provide specialized or technical 

services. 

Subtitle E—Repeal of the Office of Financial Research 

Sec. 381. Repeal of the Office of Financial Research. 

TITLE IV—COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY 

Sec. 401. Short title. 

Sec. 402. Encouraging speedy resolution of claims. 

Sec. 403. Compensating patient injury. 

Sec. 404. Maximizing patient recovery. 

Sec. 405. Punitive damages. 

Sec. 406. Authorization of payment of future damages to claimants in health 

care lawsuits. 

Sec. 407. Definitions. 

Sec. 408. Effect on other laws. 

Sec. 409. State flexibility and protection of States’ rights. 

Sec. 410. Applicability; effective date. 

TITLE V—COMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT AND GOVERNMENT 

REFORM 

Sec. 501. Retirement contributions. 

Sec. 502. Annuity supplement. 

Sec. 503. Contributions to Thrift Savings Fund of payments for accrued or accumulated leave. 

TITLE VI—COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS 

Subtitle A—Recapture of Overpayments Resulting From Certain Federallysubsidized Health Insurance 

Sec. 601. Recapture of overpayments resulting from certain federally-subsidized 

health insurance. 

Subtitle B—Social Security Number Required to Claim the Refundable 

Portion of the Child Tax Credit 

Sec. 611. Social security number required to claim the refundable portion of the 

child tax credit. 

Subtitle C—Human Resources Provisions 

Sec. 621. Repeal of the program of block grants to States for social services. 

1 TITLE I—AGRICULTURE 

2 SEC. 101. SHORT TITLE. 

3 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Agricultural Reconcili4 ation Act of 2012’’. 


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1 SEC. 102. ARRA SUNSET AT JUNE 30, 2012. 

2 Section 101(a)(2) of division A of the American Re3 covery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111– 

4 5; 123 Stat. 120) is amended by striking ‘‘October 31, 

5 2013’’ and inserting ‘‘June 30, 2012’’. 

6 SEC. 103. CATEGORICAL ELIGIBILITY LIMITED TO CASH AS7 SISTANCE. 

8 Section 5 of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 

9 U.S.C. 2014) is amended— 

10 (1) in the 2d sentence of subsection (a) by 

11 striking ‘‘households in which each member receives 

12 benefits’’ and inserting ‘‘households in which each 

13 member receives cash assistance’’, and 

14 (2) in subsection (j) by striking ‘‘or who re15 ceives benefits under a State program’’ and inserting 

16 ‘‘or who receives cash assistance under a State pro17 gram’’. 

18 SEC. 104. STANDARD UTILITY ALLOWANCES BASED ON THE 

19 RECEIPT OF ENERGY ASSISTANCE PAY20 MENTS. 

21 (a) STANDARD UTILITY ALLOWANCE.—Section 5 of 

22 the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2014) is 

23 amended— 

24 (1) in subsection (e)(6)(C) by striking clause 

25 (iv), and 


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1 (2) in subsection (k) by striking paragraph (4) 

2 and inserting the following: 

3 ‘‘(4) THIRD PARTY ENERGY ASSISTANCE PAY4 MENTS.—For purposes of subsection (d)(1), a pay5 ment made under a State law (other than a law re6 ferred to in paragraph (2)(G)) to provide energy as7 sistance to a household shall be considered money 

8 payable directly to the household.’’. 

9 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 

10 2605(f)(2) of the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance 

11 Act of 1981 (42 U.S.C. 8624(f)(2)) is amended— 

12 (1) by striking ‘‘and for purposes of deter13 mining any excess shelter expense deduction under 

14 section 5(e) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 

15 (7 U.S.C. 2014(e))’’, and 

16 (2) in subparagraph (A) by inserting before the 

17 semicolon the following: ‘‘, except that such pay18 ments or allowances shall not be deemed to be ex19 pended for purposes of determining any excess shel20 ter expense deduction under section 5(e)(6) of the 

21 Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 

22 2014(e)(6))’’. 

23 SEC. 105. EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING; WORKFARE. 

24 (a) ADMINISTRATIVE COST-SHARING FOR EMPLOY25 MENT AND TRAINING PROGRAMS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 16 of the Food and 

2 Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2025) is amend3 ed— 

4 (A) in subsection (a) by inserting ‘‘(other 

5 than a program carried out under section 

6 6(d)(4) or section 20)’’ after ‘‘supplemental nu7 trition assistance program’’ the 1st place it ap8 pears, and 

9 (B) in subsection (h)— 

10 (i) by striking paragraphs (2) and (3), 

11 and 

12 (ii) by redesignating paragraphs (4) 

13 and (5) as paragraphs (2) and (3), respec14 tively. 

15 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

16 (A) Section 17(b)(1)(B)(iv)(III)(hh) of the 

17 Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 

18 2026(b)(1)(B)(iv)(III)(hh)) is amended by 

19 striking ‘‘(g), (h)(2), or (h)(3)’’ and inserting 

20 ‘‘or (g)’’. 

21 (B) Section 22(d)(1)(B)(ii) of the Food 

22 and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 

23 2031(d)(1)(B)(ii)) is amended is amended by 

24 striking ‘‘, (g), (h)(2), and (h)(3)’’ and insert25 ing ‘‘and (g)’’. 


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1 (b) ADMINISTRATIVE COST-SHARING AND REIM2 BURSEMENTS FOR WORKFARE.—Section 20 of the Food 

3 and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2029) is amended 

4 by striking subsection (g). 

5 SEC. 106. END STATE BONUS PROGRAM FOR THE SUPPLE6 MENTAL NUTRITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM. 

7 Section 16 of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 

8 (7 U.S.C. 2025) is amended by striking subsection (d). 

9 SEC. 107. FUNDING OF EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING PRO10 GRAMS. 

11 For purposes of fiscal year 2013, the reference to 

12 $90,000,000 in section 16(h)(1)(A) of the Food and Nu13 trition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2025(h)(1)(A)) shall be 

14 deemed to be a reference to $79,000,000. 

15 SEC. 108. TURN OFF INDEXING FOR NUTRITION EDU16 CATION AND OBESITY PREVENTION. 

17 Section 28(d) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 

18 (7 U.S.C. 2037(d)) is amended by striking ‘‘years—’’ and 

19 all that follows through the period at the end, and insert20 ing ‘‘years, $375,000,000.’’. 

21 SEC. 109. EXTENSION OF AUTHORIZATION OF FOOD AND 

22 NUTRITION ACT OF 2008. 

23 Section 18(a)(1) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 

24 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2027(a)(1)) is amended by striking 

25 ‘‘2012’’ and inserting ‘‘2013’’. 


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1 SEC. 110. EFFECTIVE DATES AND APPLICATION OF AMEND2 MENTS. 

3 (a) GENERAL EFFECTIVE DATE.—Except as pro4 vided in subsection (b), this title and the amendments 

5 made by this title shall take effect on October 1, 2012, 

6 and shall apply only with respect to certification periods 

7 that begin on or after such date. 

8 (b) SPECIAL EFFECTIVE DATE.—Section 107 and 

9 the amendments made by sections 102, 103, 104, and 109 

10 shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act 

11 and shall apply only with respect to certification periods 

12 that begin on or after such date. 

13 TITLE II—COMMITTEE ON 

14 ENERGY AND COMMERCE 

15 Subtitle A—Repeal of Certain ACA 

16 Funding Provisions 

17 SEC. 201. REPEALING MANDATORY FUNDING TO STATES TO 

18 ESTABLISH AMERICAN HEALTH BENEFIT EX19 CHANGES. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1311(a) of the Patient 

21 Protection and Affordable Care Act (42 U.S.C. 18031(a)) 

22 is repealed. 

23 (b) RESCISSION OF UNOBLIGATED FUNDS.—Of the 

24 funds made available under such section 1311(a), the un25 obligated balance is rescinded. 


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1 SEC. 202. REPEALING PREVENTION AND PUBLIC HEALTH 

2 FUND. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 4002 of the Patient Pro4 tection and Affordable Care Act (42 U.S.C. 300u–11) is 

5 repealed. 

6 (b) RESCISSION OF UNOBLIGATED FUNDS.—Of the 

7 funds made available by such section 4002, the unobli8 gated balance is rescinded. 

9 SEC. 203. RESCINDING UNOBLIGATED BALANCES FOR CO10 OP PROGRAM. 

11 Of the funds made available under section 1322(g) 

12 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (42 

13 U.S.C. 18042(g)), the unobligated balance is rescinded. 

14 Subtitle B—Medicaid 

15 SEC. 211. REVISION OF PROVIDER TAX INDIRECT GUAR16 ANTEE THRESHOLD. 

17 Section 1903(w)(4)(C)(ii) of the Social Security Act 

18 (42 U.S.C. 1396b(w)(4)(C)(ii)) is amended by inserting 

19 ‘‘and for portions of fiscal years beginning on or after Oc20 tober 1, 2012,’’ after ‘‘October 1, 2011,’’. 

21 SEC. 212. REBASING OF STATE DSH ALLOTMENTS FOR FIS22 CAL YEAR 2022. 

23 Section 1923(f) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

24 1396r-4(f)) is amended— 

25 (1) by redesignating paragraph (9) as para26 graph (10); 


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1 (2) in paragraph (3)(A) by striking ‘‘para2 graphs (6), (7), and (8)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraphs 

3 (6), (7), (8), and (9)’’; and 

4 (3) by inserting after paragraph (8) the fol5 lowing new paragraph: 

6 ‘‘(9) REBASING OF STATE DSH ALLOTMENTS

7 FOR FISCAL YEAR 2022.—With respect to fiscal 

8 2022, for purposes of applying paragraph (3)(A) to 

9 determine the DSH allotment for a State, the 

10 amount of the DSH allotment for the State under 

11 paragraph (3) for fiscal year 2021 shall be treated 

12 as if it were such amount as reduced under para13 graph (7).’’. 

14 SEC. 213. REPEAL OF MEDICAID AND CHIP MAINTENANCE 

15 OF EFFORT REQUIREMENTS UNDER PPACA. 

16 (a) REPEAL OF PPACA MEDICAID MOE.—Section 

17 1902 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396a) is 

18 amended by striking subsection (gg). 

19 (b) REPEAL OF PPACA CHIP MOE.—Section 

20 2105(d)(3) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

21 1397ee(d)(3)) is amended— 

22 (1) by striking subparagraph (A); 

23 (2) by redesignating subparagraphs (B) and 

24 (C) as subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively; and 


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1 (3) in the paragraph heading, by striking 

2 ‘‘CONTINUATION OF ELIGIBILITY STANDARDS FOR

3 CHILDREN UNTIL OCTOBER 1, 2019’’ and inserting 

4 ‘‘CONTINUITY OF COVERAGE’’. 

5 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

6 (1) Section 1902(a) of the Social Security Act 

7 (42 U.S.C. 1396a(a)) is amended by striking para8 graph (74). 

9 (2) Effective January 1, 2014, paragraph (14) 

10 of section 1902(e) (as added by section 2002(a) of 

11 Public Law 111–148) is amended by striking the 

12 third sentence of subparagraph (A). 

13 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Except as provided in sub14 section (c)(2), the amendments made by this section shall 

15 take effect on the date of the enactment of this section. 

16 SEC. 214. MEDICAID PAYMENTS TO TERRITORIES. 

17 (a) LIMIT ON PAYMENTS.—Section 1108(g) of the 

18 Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1308(g)) is amended— 

19 (1) in paragraph (2)— 

20 (A) by striking ‘‘paragraphs (3) and (5)’’; 

21 and 

22 (B) by inserting ‘‘paragraph (3)’’ after 

23 ‘‘and subject to’’; 


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1 (2) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘(3), and’’ 

2 and all that follows through ‘‘of this subsection’’ and 

3 inserting ‘‘and (3) of this subsection’’; and 

4 (3) by striking paragraph (5). 

5 (b) FMAP.—The first sentence of section 1905(b) of 

6 the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396d(b)) is amended 

7 by striking ‘‘shall be 55 percent’’ and inserting ‘‘shall be 

8 50 percent’’. 

9 SEC. 215. REPEALING BONUS PAYMENTS FOR ENROLL10 MENT UNDER MEDICAID AND CHIP. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Paragraphs (3) and (4) of section 

12 2105(a) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1397ee(a)) 

13 are repealed. 

14 (b) RESCISSION OF UNOBLIGATED FUNDS.—Of the 

15 funds made available by section 2105(a)(3) of the Social 

16 Security Act, the unobligated balance is rescinded. 

17 (c) CONFORMING CHANGES.— 

18 (1) AVAILABILITY OF EXCESS FUNDS FOR PER19 FORMANCE BONUSES.—Section 2104(n)(2) of the 

20 Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1397dd(n)(2)) is 

21 amended by striking subparagraph (D). 

22 (2) OUTREACH OR COVERAGE BENCHMARKS.— 

23 Section 2111(b)(3) of the Social Security Act (42 

24 U.S.C. 1397kk(b)(3)) is amended— 

25 (A) in subparagraph (A)— 


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1 (i) in clause (i), by inserting ‘‘or’’ 

2 after the semicolon at the end; and 

3 (ii) by striking clause (ii); and 

4 (B) by striking subparagraph (C). 

5 Subtitle C—Liability Reform 

6 SEC. 221. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.— 

8 (1) EFFECT ON HEALTH CARE ACCESS AND

9 COSTS.—Congress finds that our current civil justice 

10 system is adversely affecting patient access to health 

11 care services, better patient care, and cost-efficient 

12 health care, in that the health care liability system 

13 is a costly and ineffective mechanism for resolving 

14 claims of health care liability and compensating in15 jured patients, and is a deterrent to the sharing of 

16 information among health care professionals which 

17 impedes efforts to improve patient safety and quality 

18 of care. 

19 (2) EFFECT ON INTERSTATE COMMERCE.— 

20 Congress finds that the health care and insurance 

21 industries are industries affecting interstate com22 merce and the health care liability litigation systems 

23 existing throughout the United States are activities 

24 that affect interstate commerce by contributing to 

25 the high costs of health care and premiums for 


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1 health care liability insurance purchased by health 

2 care system providers. 

3 (3) EFFECT ON FEDERAL SPENDING.—Con4 gress finds that the health care liability litigation 

5 systems existing throughout the United States have 

6 a significant effect on the amount, distribution, and 

7 use of Federal funds because of— 

8 (A) the large number of individuals who 

9 receive health care benefits under programs op10 erated or financed by the Federal Government; 

11 (B) the large number of individuals who 

12 benefit because of the exclusion from Federal 

13 taxes of the amounts spent to provide them 

14 with health insurance benefits; and 

15 (C) the large number of health care pro16 viders who provide items or services for which 

17 the Federal Government makes payments. 

18 (b) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this subtitle to 

19 implement reasonable, comprehensive, and effective health 

20 care liability reforms designed to— 

21 (1) improve the availability of health care serv22 ices in cases in which health care liability actions 

23 have been shown to be a factor in the decreased 

24 availability of services; 


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1 (2) reduce the incidence of ‘‘defensive medi2 cine’’ and lower the cost of health care liability in3 surance, all of which contribute to the escalation of 

4 health care costs; 

5 (3) ensure that persons with meritorious health 

6 care injury claims receive fair and adequate com7 pensation, including reasonable noneconomic dam8 ages; 

9 (4) improve the fairness and cost-effectiveness 

10 of our current health care liability system to resolve 

11 disputes over, and provide compensation for, health 

12 care liability by reducing uncertainty in the amount 

13 of compensation provided to injured individuals; and 

14 (5) provide an increased sharing of information 

15 in the health care system which will reduce unin16 tended injury and improve patient care. 

17 SEC. 222. ENCOURAGING SPEEDY RESOLUTION OF CLAIMS. 

18 The time for the commencement of a health care law19 suit shall be 3 years after the date of manifestation of 

20 injury or 1 year after the claimant discovers, or through 

21 the use of reasonable diligence should have discovered, the 

22 injury, whichever occurs first. In no event shall the time 

23 for commencement of a health care lawsuit exceed 3 years 

24 after the date of manifestation of injury unless tolled for 

25 any of the following— 


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1 (1) upon proof of fraud; 

2 (2) intentional concealment; or 

3 (3) the presence of a foreign body, which has no 

4 therapeutic or diagnostic purpose or effect, in the 

5 person of the injured person. 

6 Actions by a minor shall be commenced within 3 years 

7 from the date of the alleged manifestation of injury except 

8 that actions by a minor under the full age of 6 years shall 

9 be commenced within 3 years of manifestation of injury 

10 or prior to the minor’s 8th birthday, whichever provides 

11 a longer period. Such time limitation shall be tolled for 

12 minors for any period during which a parent or guardian 

13 and a health care provider or health care organization 

14 have committed fraud or collusion in the failure to bring 

15 an action on behalf of the injured minor. 

16 SEC. 223. COMPENSATING PATIENT INJURY. 

17 (a) UNLIMITED AMOUNT OF DAMAGES FOR ACTUAL

18 ECONOMIC LOSSES IN HEALTH CARE LAWSUITS.—In any 

19 health care lawsuit, nothing in this subtitle shall limit a 

20 claimant’s recovery of the full amount of the available eco21 nomic damages, notwithstanding the limitation in sub22 section (b). 

23 (b) ADDITIONAL NONECONOMIC DAMAGES.—In any 

24 health care lawsuit, the amount of noneconomic damages, 

25 if available, may be as much as $250,000, regardless of 


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1 the number of parties against whom the action is brought 

2 or the number of separate claims or actions brought with 

3 respect to the same injury. 

4 (c) NO DISCOUNT OF AWARD FOR NONECONOMIC

5 DAMAGES.—For purposes of applying the limitation in 

6 subsection (b), future noneconomic damages shall not be 

7 discounted to present value. The jury shall not be in8 formed about the maximum award for noneconomic dam9 ages. An award for noneconomic damages in excess of 

10 $250,000 shall be reduced either before the entry of judg11 ment, or by amendment of the judgment after entry of 

12 judgment, and such reduction shall be made before ac13 counting for any other reduction in damages required by 

14 law. If separate awards are rendered for past and future 

15 noneconomic damages and the combined awards exceed 

16 $250,000, the future noneconomic damages shall be re17 duced first. 

18 (d) FAIR SHARE RULE.—In any health care lawsuit, 

19 each party shall be liable for that party’s several share 

20 of any damages only and not for the share of any other 

21 person. Each party shall be liable only for the amount of 

22 damages allocated to such party in direct proportion to 

23 such party’s percentage of responsibility. Whenever a 

24 judgment of liability is rendered as to any party, a sepa25 rate judgment shall be rendered against each such party 


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1 for the amount allocated to such party. For purposes of 

2 this section, the trier of fact shall determine the propor3 tion of responsibility of each party for the claimant’s 

4 harm. 

5 SEC. 224. MAXIMIZING PATIENT RECOVERY. 

6 (a) COURT SUPERVISION OF SHARE OF DAMAGES

7 ACTUALLY PAID TO CLAIMANTS.—In any health care law8 suit, the court shall supervise the arrangements for pay9 ment of damages to protect against conflicts of interest 

10 that may have the effect of reducing the amount of dam11 ages awarded that are actually paid to claimants. In par12 ticular, in any health care lawsuit in which the attorney 

13 for a party claims a financial stake in the outcome by vir14 tue of a contingent fee, the court shall have the power 

15 to restrict the payment of a claimant’s damage recovery 

16 to such attorney, and to redirect such damages to the 

17 claimant based upon the interests of justice and principles 

18 of equity. In no event shall the total of all contingent fees 

19 for representing all claimants in a health care lawsuit ex20 ceed the following limits: 

21 (1) Forty percent of the first $50,000 recovered 

22 by the claimant(s). 

23 (2) Thirty-three and one-third percent of the 

24 next $50,000 recovered by the claimant(s). 


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1 (3) Twenty-five percent of the next $500,000 

2 recovered by the claimant(s). 

3 (4) Fifteen percent of any amount by which the 

4 recovery by the claimant(s) is in excess of $600,000. 

5 (b) APPLICABILITY.—The limitations in this section 

6 shall apply whether the recovery is by judgment, settle7 ment, mediation, arbitration, or any other form of alter8 native dispute resolution. In a health care lawsuit involv9 ing a minor or incompetent person, a court retains the 

10 authority to authorize or approve a fee that is less than 

11 the maximum permitted under this section. The require12 ment for court supervision in the first two sentences of 

13 subsection (a) applies only in civil actions. 

14 SEC. 225. ADDITIONAL HEALTH BENEFITS. 

15 In any health care lawsuit involving injury or wrong16 ful death, any party may introduce evidence of collateral 

17 source benefits. If a party elects to introduce such evi18 dence, any opposing party may introduce evidence of any 

19 amount paid or contributed or reasonably likely to be paid 

20 or contributed in the future by or on behalf of the oppos21 ing party to secure the right to such collateral source bene22 fits. No provider of collateral source benefits shall recover 

23 any amount against the claimant or receive any lien or 

24 credit against the claimant’s recovery or be equitably or 

25 legally subrogated to the right of the claimant in a health 


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1 care lawsuit involving injury or wrongful death. This sec2 tion shall apply to any health care lawsuit that is settled 

3 as well as a health care lawsuit that is resolved by a fact 

4 finder. This section shall not apply to section 1862(b) (42 

5 U.S.C. 1395y(b)) or section 1902(a)(25) (42 U.S.C. 

6 1396a(a)(25)) of the Social Security Act. 

7 SEC. 226. PUNITIVE DAMAGES. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Punitive damages may, if other9 wise permitted by applicable State or Federal law, be 

10 awarded against any person in a health care lawsuit only 

11 if it is proven by clear and convincing evidence that such 

12 person acted with malicious intent to injure the claimant, 

13 or that such person deliberately failed to avoid unneces14 sary injury that such person knew the claimant was sub15 stantially certain to suffer. In any health care lawsuit 

16 where no judgment for compensatory damages is rendered 

17 against such person, no punitive damages may be awarded 

18 with respect to the claim in such lawsuit. No demand for 

19 punitive damages shall be included in a health care lawsuit 

20 as initially filed. A court may allow a claimant to file an 

21 amended pleading for punitive damages only upon a mo22 tion by the claimant and after a finding by the court, upon 

23 review of supporting and opposing affidavits or after a 

24 hearing, after weighing the evidence, that the claimant has 

25 established by a substantial probability that the claimant 


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1 will prevail on the claim for punitive damages. At the re2 quest of any party in a health care lawsuit, the trier of 

3 fact shall consider in a separate proceeding— 

4 (1) whether punitive damages are to be award5 ed and the amount of such award; and 

6 (2) the amount of punitive damages following a 

7 determination of punitive liability. 

8 If a separate proceeding is requested, evidence relevant 

9 only to the claim for punitive damages, as determined by 

10 applicable State law, shall be inadmissible in any pro11 ceeding to determine whether compensatory damages are 

12 to be awarded. 

13 (b) DETERMINING AMOUNT OF PUNITIVE DAM14 AGES.— 

15 (1) FACTORS CONSIDERED.—In determining 

16 the amount of punitive damages, if awarded, in a 

17 health care lawsuit, the trier of fact shall consider 

18 only the following— 

19 (A) the severity of the harm caused by the 

20 conduct of such party; 

21 (B) the duration of the conduct or any 

22 concealment of it by such party; 

23 (C) the profitability of the conduct to such 

24 party; 


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1 (D) the number of products sold or med2 ical procedures rendered for compensation, as 

3 the case may be, by such party, of the kind 

4 causing the harm complained of by the claim5 ant; 

6 (E) any criminal penalties imposed on such 

7 party, as a result of the conduct complained of 

8 by the claimant; and 

9 (F) the amount of any civil fines assessed 

10 against such party as a result of the conduct 

11 complained of by the claimant. 

12 (2) MAXIMUM AWARD.—The amount of punitive 

13 damages, if awarded, in a health care lawsuit may 

14 be as much as $250,000 or as much as two times 

15 the amount of economic damages awarded, which16 ever is greater. The jury shall not be informed of 

17 this limitation. 

18 (c) NO PUNITIVE DAMAGES FOR PRODUCTS THAT

19 COMPLY WITH FDA STANDARDS.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.— 

21 (A) No punitive damages may be awarded 

22 against the manufacturer or distributor of a 

23 medical product, or a supplier of any compo24 nent or raw material of such medical product, 


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1 based on a claim that such product caused the 

2 claimant’s harm where— 

3 (i)(I) such medical product was sub4 ject to premarket approval, clearance, or li5 censure by the Food and Drug Administra6 tion with respect to the safety of the for7 mulation or performance of the aspect of 

8 such medical product which caused the 

9 claimant’s harm or the adequacy of the 

10 packaging or labeling of such medical 

11 product; and 

12 (II) such medical product was so ap13 proved, cleared, or licensed; or 

14 (ii) such medical product is generally 

15 recognized among qualified experts as safe 

16 and effective pursuant to conditions estab17 lished by the Food and Drug Administra18 tion and applicable Food and Drug Admin19 istration regulations, including without 

20 limitation those related to packaging and 

21 labeling, unless the Food and Drug Admin22 istration has determined that such medical 

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1 cable Food and Drug Administration stat2 utes and regulations. 

3 (B) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Subpara4 graph (A) may not be construed as establishing 

5 the obligation of the Food and Drug Adminis6 tration to demonstrate affirmatively that a 

7 manufacturer, distributor, or supplier referred 

8 to in such subparagraph meets any of the con9 ditions described in such subparagraph. 

10 (2) LIABILITY OF HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS.— 

11 A health care provider who prescribes, or who dis12 penses pursuant to a prescription, a medical product 

13 approved, licensed, or cleared by the Food and Drug 

14 Administration shall not be named as a party to a 

15 product liability lawsuit involving such product and 

16 shall not be liable to a claimant in a class action 

17 lawsuit against the manufacturer, distributor, or 

18 seller of such product. Nothing in this paragraph 

19 prevents a court from consolidating cases involving 

20 health care providers and cases involving products li21 ability claims against the manufacturer, distributor, 

22 or product seller of such medical product. 

23 (3) PACKAGING.—In a health care lawsuit for 

24 harm which is alleged to relate to the adequacy of 

25 the packaging or labeling of a drug which is required 


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1 to have tamper-resistant packaging under regula2 tions of the Secretary of Health and Human Serv3 ices (including labeling regulations related to such 

4 packaging), the manufacturer or product seller of 

5 the drug shall not be held liable for punitive dam6 ages unless such packaging or labeling is found by 

7 the trier of fact by clear and convincing evidence to 

8 be substantially out of compliance with such regula9 tions. 

10 (4) EXCEPTION.—Paragraph (1) shall not 

11 apply in any health care lawsuit in which— 

12 (A) a person, before or after premarket ap13 proval, clearance, or licensure of such medical 

14 product, knowingly misrepresented to or with15 held from the Food and Drug Administration 

16 information that is required to be submitted 

17 under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic 

18 Act (21 U.S.C. 301 et seq.) or section 351 of 

19 the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 262) 

20 that is material and is causally related to the 

21 harm which the claimant allegedly suffered; 

22 (B) a person made an illegal payment to 

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1 taining approval, clearance, or licensure of such 

2 medical product; or 

3 (C) the defendant caused the medical prod4 uct which caused the claimant’s harm to be 

5 misbranded or adulterated (as such terms are 

6 used in chapter V of the Federal Food, Drug, 

7 and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 351 et seq.)). 

8 SEC. 227. AUTHORIZATION OF PAYMENT OF FUTURE DAM9 AGES TO CLAIMANTS IN HEALTH CARE LAW10 SUITS. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—In any health care lawsuit, if an 

12 award of future damages, without reduction to present 

13 value, equaling or exceeding $50,000 is made against a 

14 party with sufficient insurance or other assets to fund a 

15 periodic payment of such a judgment, the court shall, at 

16 the request of any party, enter a judgment ordering that 

17 the future damages be paid by periodic payments, in ac18 cordance with the Uniform Periodic Payment of Judg19 ments Act promulgated by the National Conference of 

20 Commissioners on Uniform State Laws. 

21 (b) APPLICABILITY.—This section applies to all ac22 tions which have not been first set for trial or retrial be23 fore the effective date of this subtitle. 

24 SEC. 228. DEFINITIONS. 

25 In this subtitle: 


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1 (1) ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION SYS2 TEM; ADR.—The term ‘‘alternative dispute resolution 

3 system’’ or ‘‘ADR’’ means a system that provides 

4 for the resolution of health care lawsuits in a man5 ner other than through a civil action brought in a 

6 State or Federal court. 

7 (2) CLAIMANT.—The term ‘‘claimant’’ means 

8 any person who brings a health care lawsuit, includ9 ing a person who asserts or claims a right to legal 

10 or equitable contribution, indemnity, or subrogation, 

11 arising out of a health care liability claim or action, 

12 and any person on whose behalf such a claim is as13 serted or such an action is brought, whether de14 ceased, incompetent, or a minor. 

15 (3) COLLATERAL SOURCE BENEFITS.—The 

16 term ‘‘collateral source benefits’’ means any amount 

17 paid or reasonably likely to be paid in the future to 

18 or on behalf of the claimant, or any service, product, 

19 or other benefit provided or reasonably likely to be 

20 provided in the future to or on behalf of the claim21 ant, as a result of the injury or wrongful death, pur22 suant to— 

23 (A) any State or Federal health, sickness, 

24 income-disability, accident, or workers’ com25 pensation law; 


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1 (B) any health, sickness, income-disability, 

2 or accident insurance that provides health bene3 fits or income-disability coverage; 

4 (C) any contract or agreement of any 

5 group, organization, partnership, or corporation 

6 to provide, pay for, or reimburse the cost of 

7 medical, hospital, dental, or income-disability 

8 benefits; and 

9 (D) any other publicly or privately funded 

10 program. 

11 (4) COMPENSATORY DAMAGES.—The term 

12 ‘‘compensatory damages’’ means objectively 

13 verifiable monetary losses incurred as a result of the 

14 provision of, use of, or payment for (or failure to 

15 provide, use, or pay for) health care services or med16 ical products, such as past and future medical ex17 penses, loss of past and future earnings, cost of ob18 taining domestic services, loss of employment, and 

19 loss of business or employment opportunities, dam20 ages for physical and emotional pain, suffering, in21 convenience, physical impairment, mental anguish, 

22 disfigurement, loss of enjoyment of life, loss of soci23 ety and companionship, loss of consortium (other 

24 than loss of domestic service), hedonic damages, in25 jury to reputation, and all other nonpecuniary losses 


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1 of any kind or nature. The term ‘‘compensatory 

2 damages’’ includes economic damages and non3 economic damages, as such terms are defined in this 

4 section. 

5 (5) CONTINGENT FEE.—The term ‘‘contingent 

6 fee’’ includes all compensation to any person or per7 sons which is payable only if a recovery is effected 

8 on behalf of one or more claimants. 

9 (6) ECONOMIC DAMAGES.—The term ‘‘economic 

10 damages’’ means objectively verifiable monetary 

11 losses incurred as a result of the provision of, use 

12 of, or payment for (or failure to provide, use, or pay 

13 for) health care services or medical products, such as 

14 past and future medical expenses, loss of past and 

15 future earnings, cost of obtaining domestic services, 

16 loss of employment, and loss of business or employ17 ment opportunities. 

18 (7) HEALTH CARE LAWSUIT.—The term 

19 ‘‘health care lawsuit’’ means any health care liability 

20 claim concerning the provision of health care goods 

21 or services or any medical product affecting inter22 state commerce, or any health care liability action 

23 concerning the provision of health care goods or 

24 services or any medical product affecting interstate 

25 commerce, brought in a State or Federal court or 


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1 pursuant to an alternative dispute resolution system, 

2 against a health care provider, a health care organi3 zation, or the manufacturer, distributor, supplier, 

4 marketer, promoter, or seller of a medical product, 

5 regardless of the theory of liability on which the 

6 claim is based, or the number of claimants, plain7 tiffs, defendants, or other parties, or the number of 

8 claims or causes of action, in which the claimant al9 leges a health care liability claim. Such term does 

10 not include a claim or action which is based on 

11 criminal liability; which seeks civil fines or penalties 

12 paid to Federal, State, or local government; or which 

13 is grounded in antitrust. 

14 (8) HEALTH CARE LIABILITY ACTION.—The 

15 term ‘‘health care liability action’’ means a civil ac16 tion brought in a State or Federal court or pursuant 

17 to an alternative dispute resolution system, against 

18 a health care provider, a health care organization, or 

19 the manufacturer, distributor, supplier, marketer, 

20 promoter, or seller of a medical product, regardless 

21 of the theory of liability on which the claim is based, 

22 or the number of plaintiffs, defendants, or other par23 ties, or the number of causes of action, in which the 

24 claimant alleges a health care liability claim. 


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1 (9) HEALTH CARE LIABILITY CLAIM.—The 

2 term ‘‘health care liability claim’’ means a demand 

3 by any person, whether or not pursuant to ADR, 

4 against a health care provider, health care organiza5 tion, or the manufacturer, distributor, supplier, mar6 keter, promoter, or seller of a medical product, in7 cluding, but not limited to, third-party claims, cross8 claims, counter-claims, or contribution claims, which 

9 are based upon the provision of, use of, or payment 

10 for (or the failure to provide, use, or pay for) health 

11 care services or medical products, regardless of the 

12 theory of liability on which the claim is based, or the 

13 number of plaintiffs, defendants, or other parties, or 

14 the number of causes of action. 

15 (10) HEALTH CARE ORGANIZATION.—The term 

16 ‘‘health care organization’’ means any person or en17 tity which is obligated to provide or pay for health 

18 benefits under any health plan, including any person 

19 or entity acting under a contract or arrangement 

20 with a health care organization to provide or admin21 ister any health benefit. 

22 (11) HEALTH CARE PROVIDER.—The term 

23 ‘‘health care provider’’ means any person or entity 

24 required by State or Federal laws or regulations to 

25 be licensed, registered, or certified to provide health 


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1 care services, and being either so licensed, reg2 istered, or certified, or exempted from such require3 ment by other statute or regulation. 

4 (12) HEALTH CARE GOODS OR SERVICES.—The 

5 term ‘‘health care goods or services’’ means any 

6 goods or services provided by a health care organiza7 tion, provider, or by any individual working under 

8 the supervision of a health care provider, that relates 

9 to the diagnosis, prevention, or treatment of any 

10 human disease or impairment, or the assessment or 

11 care of the health of human beings. 

12 (13) MALICIOUS INTENT TO INJURE.—The 

13 term ‘‘malicious intent to injure’’ means inten14 tionally causing or attempting to cause physical in15 jury other than providing health care goods or serv16 ices. 

17 (14) MEDICAL PRODUCT.—The term ‘‘medical 

18 product’’ means a drug, device, or biological product 

19 intended for humans, and the terms ‘‘drug’’, ‘‘de20 vice’’, and ‘‘biological product’’ have the meanings 

21 given such terms in sections 201(g)(1) and 201(h) 

22 of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (21 

23 U.S.C. 321(g)(1) and (h)) and section 351(a) of the 

24 Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 262(a)), reVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:19 May 10, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00033 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5652.RH H5652

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1 spectively, including any component or raw material 

2 used therein, but excluding health care services. 

3 (15) NONECONOMIC DAMAGES.—The term 

4 ‘‘noneconomic damages’’ means damages for phys5 ical and emotional pain, suffering, inconvenience, 

6 physical impairment, mental anguish, disfigurement, 

7 loss of enjoyment of life, loss of society and compan8 ionship, loss of consortium (other than loss of do9 mestic service), hedonic damages, injury to reputa10 tion, and all other nonpecuniary losses of any kind 

11 or nature. 

12 (16) PUNITIVE DAMAGES.—The term ‘‘punitive 

13 damages’’ means damages awarded, for the purpose 

14 of punishment or deterrence, and not solely for com15 pensatory purposes, against a health care provider, 

16 health care organization, or a manufacturer, dis17 tributor, or supplier of a medical product. Punitive 

18 damages are neither economic nor noneconomic 

19 damages. 

20 (17) RECOVERY.—The term ‘‘recovery’’ means 

21 the net sum recovered after deducting any disburse22 ments or costs incurred in connection with prosecu23 tion or settlement of the claim, including all costs 

24 paid or advanced by any person. Costs of health care 

25 incurred by the plaintiff and the attorneys’ office 


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1 overhead costs or charges for legal services are not 

2 deductible disbursements or costs for such purpose. 

3 (18) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 

4 the several States, the District of Columbia, the 

5 Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, 

6 Guam, American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Is7 lands, the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, and 

8 any other territory or possession of the United 

9 States, or any political subdivision thereof. 

10 SEC. 229. EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS. 

11 (a) VACCINE INJURY.— 

12 (1) To the extent that title XXI of the Public 

13 Health Service Act establishes a Federal rule of law 

14 applicable to a civil action brought for a vaccine-re15 lated injury or death— 

16 (A) this subtitle does not affect the appli17 cation of the rule of law to such an action; and 

18 (B) any rule of law prescribed by this sub19 title in conflict with a rule of law of such title 

20 XXI shall not apply to such action. 

21 (2) If there is an aspect of a civil action 

22 brought for a vaccine-related injury or death to 

23 which a Federal rule of law under title XXI of the 

24 Public Health Service Act does not apply, then this 

25 subtitle or otherwise applicable law (as determined 


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1 under this subtitle) will apply to such aspect of such 

2 action. 

3 (b) OTHER FEDERAL LAW.—Except as provided in 

4 this section, nothing in this subtitle shall be deemed to 

5 affect any defense available to a defendant in a health care 

6 lawsuit or action under any other provision of Federal law. 

7 SEC. 230. STATE FLEXIBILITY AND PROTECTION OF 

8 STATES’ RIGHTS. 

9 (a) HEALTH CARE LAWSUITS.—The provisions gov10 erning health care lawsuits set forth in this subtitle pre11 empt, subject to subsections (b) and (c), State law to the 

12 extent that State law prevents the application of any pro13 visions of law established by or under this subtitle. The 

14 provisions governing health care lawsuits set forth in this 

15 subtitle supersede chapter 171 of title 28, United States 

16 Code, to the extent that such chapter— 

17 (1) provides for a greater amount of damages 

18 or contingent fees, a longer period in which a health 

19 care lawsuit may be commenced, or a reduced appli20 cability or scope of periodic payment of future dam21 ages, than provided in this subtitle; or 

22 (2) prohibits the introduction of evidence re23 garding collateral source benefits, or mandates or 

24 permits subrogation or a lien on collateral source 

25 benefits. 


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1 (b) PROTECTION OF STATES’ RIGHTS AND OTHER

2 LAWS.—(1) Any issue that is not governed by any provi3 sion of law established by or under this subtitle (including 

4 State standards of negligence) shall be governed by other5 wise applicable State or Federal law. 

6 (2) This subtitle shall not preempt or supersede any 

7 State or Federal law that imposes greater procedural or 

8 substantive protections for health care providers and 

9 health care organizations from liability, loss, or damages 

10 than those provided by this subtitle or create a cause of 

11 action. 

12 (c) STATE FLEXIBILITY.—No provision of this sub13 title shall be construed to preempt— 

14 (1) any State law (whether effective before, on, 

15 or after the date of the enactment of this subtitle) 

16 that specifies a particular monetary amount of com17 pensatory or punitive damages (or the total amount 

18 of damages) that may be awarded in a health care 

19 lawsuit, regardless of whether such monetary 

20 amount is greater or lesser than is provided for 

21 under this subtitle, notwithstanding section 223(a); 

22 or 

23 (2) any defense available to a party in a health 

24 care lawsuit under any other provision of State or 

25 Federal law. 


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1 SEC. 231. APPLICABILITY; EFFECTIVE DATE. 

2 This subtitle shall apply to any health care lawsuit 

3 brought in a Federal or State court, or subject to an alter4 native dispute resolution system, that is initiated on or 

5 after the date of the enactment of this subtitle, except that 

6 any health care lawsuit arising from an injury occurring 

7 prior to the date of the enactment of this subtitle shall 

8 be governed by the applicable statute of limitations provi9 sions in effect at the time the injury occurred. 

10 TITLE III—FINANCIAL SERVICES 

11 SEC. 301. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

12 The table of contents for this title is as follows: 

TITLE III—FINANCIAL SERVICES 

Sec. 301. Table of contents. 

Subtitle A—Orderly Liquidation Fund 

Sec. 311. Repeal of liquidation authority. 

Subtitle B—Home Affordable Modification Program 

Sec. 321. Short title. 

Sec. 322. Congressional findings. 

Sec. 323. Termination of authority. 

Sec. 324. Sense of Congress. 

Subtitle C—Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection 

Sec. 331. Bringing the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection into the regular appropriations process. 

Subtitle D—Flood Insurance Reform 

Sec. 341. Short title. 

Sec. 342. Extensions. 

Sec. 343. Mandatory purchase. 

Sec. 344. Reforms of coverage terms. 

Sec. 345. Reforms of premium rates. 

Sec. 346. Technical Mapping Advisory Council. 

Sec. 347. FEMA incorporation of new mapping protocols. 

Sec. 348. Treatment of levees. 

Sec. 349. Privatization initiatives. 

Sec. 350. FEMA annual report on insurance program. 


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Sec. 351. Mitigation assistance. 

Sec. 352. Notification to homeowners regarding mandatory purchase requirement applicability and rate phase-ins. 

Sec. 353. Notification to members of congress of flood map revisions and updates. 

Sec. 354. Notification and appeal of map changes; notification to communities 

of establishment of flood elevations. 

Sec. 355. Notification to tenants of availability of contents insurance. 

Sec. 356. Notification to policy holders regarding direct management of policy 

by FEMA. 

Sec. 357. Notice of availability of flood insurance and escrow in RESPA good 

faith estimate. 

Sec. 358. Reimbursement for costs incurred by homeowners and communities 

obtaining letters of map amendment or revision. 

Sec. 359. Enhanced communication with certain communities during map updating process. 

Sec. 360. Notification to residents newly included in flood hazard areas. 

Sec. 361. Treatment of swimming pool enclosures outside of hurricane season. 

Sec. 362. Information regarding multiple perils claims. 

Sec. 363. FEMA authority to reject transfer of policies. 

Sec. 364. Appeals. 

Sec. 365. Reserve fund. 

Sec. 366. CDBG eligibility for flood insurance outreach activities and community building code administration grants. 

Sec. 367. Technical corrections. 

Sec. 368. Requiring competition for national flood insurance program policies. 

Sec. 369. Studies of voluntary community-based flood insurance options. 

Sec. 370. Report on inclusion of building codes in floodplain management criteria. 

Sec. 371. Study on graduated risk. 

Sec. 372. Report on flood-in-progress determination. 

Sec. 373. Study on repaying flood insurance debt. 

Sec. 374. No cause of action. 

Sec. 375. Authority for the corps of engineers to provide specialized or technical 

services. 

Subtitle E—Repeal of the Office of Financial Research 

Sec. 381. Repeal of the Office of Financial Research. 

1 Subtitle A—Orderly Liquidation 

2 Fund 

3 SEC. 311. REPEAL OF LIQUIDATION AUTHORITY. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title II of the Dodd-Frank Wall 

5 Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act is hereby re6 pealed and any Federal law amended by such title shall, 

7 on and after the date of enactment of this Act, be effective 


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1 as if title II of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and 

2 Consumer Protection Act had not been enacted. 

3 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

4 (1) DODD-FRANK WALL STREET REFORM AND

5 CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT.—The Dodd-Frank 

6 Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act is 

7 amended— 

8 (A) in the table of contents for such Act, 

9 by striking all items relating to title II; 

10 (B) in section 165(d)(6), by striking ‘‘, a 

11 receiver appointed under title II,’’; 

12 (C) in section 716(g), by striking ‘‘or a 

13 covered financial company under title II’’; 

14 (D) in section 1105(e)(5), by striking 

15 ‘‘amount of any securities issued under that 

16 chapter 31 for such purpose shall be treated in 

17 the same manner as securities issued under sec18 tion 208(n)(5)(E)’’ and inserting ‘‘issuances of 

19 such securities under that chapter 31 for such 

20 purpose shall by treated as public debt trans21 actions of the United States, and the proceeds 

22 from the sale of any obligations acquired by the 

23 Secretary under this paragraph shall be depos24 ited into the Treasury of the United States as 

25 miscellaneous receipts’’; and 


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1 (E) in section 1106(c)(2), by amending 

2 subparagraph (A) to read as follows: 

3 ‘‘(A) require the company to file a petition 

4 for bankruptcy under section 301 of title 11, 

5 United States Code; or’’. 

6 (2) FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE ACT.—Sec7 tion 10(b)(3) of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act 

8 (12 U.S.C. 1820(b)(3)) is amended by striking ‘‘, or 

9 of such nonbank financial company supervised by 

10 the Board of Governors or bank holding company 

11 described in section 165(a) of the Financial Stability 

12 Act of 2010, for the purpose of implementing its au13 thority to provide for orderly liquidation of any such 

14 company under title II of that Act’’. 

15 (3) FEDERAL RESERVE ACT.—Section 13(3) of 

16 the Federal Reserve Act is amended— 

17 (A) in subparagraph (B)— 

18 (i) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘, resolu19 tion under title II of the Dodd-Frank Wall 

20 Street Reform and Consumer Protection 

21 Act, or’’ and inserting ‘‘or is subject to 

22 resolution under’’; and 

23 (ii) in clause (iii), by striking ‘‘, reso24 lution under title II of the Dodd-Frank 

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1 tion Act, or’’ and inserting ‘‘or resolution 

2 under’’; and 

3 (B) by striking subparagraph (E). 

4 Subtitle B—Home Affordable 

5 Modification Program 

6 SEC. 321. SHORT TITLE. 

7 This subtitle may be cited as the ‘‘HAMP Termi8 nation Act of 2012’’. 

9 SEC. 322. CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS. 

10 The Congress finds the following: 

11 (1) According to the Department of the Treas12 ury— 

13 (A) the Home Affordable Modification Pro14 gram (HAMP) is designed to ‘‘help as many as 

15 3 to 4 million financially struggling homeowners 

16 avoid foreclosure by modifying loans to a level 

17 that is affordable for borrowers now and sus18 tainable over the long term’’; and 

19 (B) as of February 2012, only 782,609 ac20 tive permanent mortgage modifications were 

21 made under HAMP. 

22 (2) Many homeowners whose HAMP modifica23 tions were canceled suffered because they made fu24 tile payments and some of those homeowners were 

25 even forced into foreclosure. 


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1 (3) The Special Inspector General for TARP 

2 reported that HAMP ‘‘benefits only a small portion 

3 of distressed homeowners, offers others little more 

4 than false hope, and in certain cases causes more 

5 harm than good’’. 

6 (4) Approximately $30 billion was obligated by 

7 the Department of the Treasury to HAMP, however, 

8 approximately only $2.54 billion has been disbursed. 

9 (5) Terminating HAMP would save American 

10 taxpayers approximately $2.84 billion, according to 

11 the Congressional Budget Office. 

12 SEC. 323. TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY. 

13 Section 120 of the Emergency Economic Stabilization 

14 Act of 2008 (12 U.S.C. 5230) is amended by adding at 

15 the end the following new subsection: 

16 ‘‘(c) TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY TO PROVIDE

17 NEW ASSISTANCE UNDER THE HOME AFFORDABLE

18 MODIFICATION PROGRAM.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided under 

20 paragraph (2), after the date of the enactment of 

21 this subsection the Secretary may not provide any 

22 assistance under the Home Affordable Modification 

23 Program under the Making Home Affordable initia24 tive of the Secretary, authorized under this Act, on 

25 behalf of any homeowner. 


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1 ‘‘(2) PROTECTION OF EXISTING OBLIGATIONS

2 ON BEHALF OF HOMEOWNERS ALREADY EXTENDED

3 AN OFFER TO PARTICIPATE IN THE PROGRAM.— 

4 Paragraph (1) shall not apply with respect to assist5 ance provided on behalf of a homeowner who, before 

6 the date of the enactment of this subsection, was ex7 tended an offer to participate in the Home Afford8 able Modification Program on a trial or permanent 

9 basis. 

10 ‘‘(3) DEFICIT REDUCTION.— 

11 ‘‘(A) USE OF UNOBLIGATED FUNDS.—Not12 withstanding any other provision of this title, 

13 the amounts described in subparagraph (B) 

14 shall not be available after the date of the en15 actment of this subsection for obligation or ex16 penditure under the Home Affordable Modifica17 tion Program of the Secretary, but should be 

18 covered into the General Fund of the Treasury 

19 and should be used only for reducing the budg20 et deficit of the Federal Government. 

21 ‘‘(B) IDENTIFICATION OF UNOBLIGATED

22 FUNDS.—The amounts described in this sub23 paragraph are any amounts made available 

24 under title I of the Emergency Economic Sta25 bilization Act of 2008 that— 


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1 ‘‘(i) have been allocated for use, but 

2 not yet obligated as of the date of the en3 actment of this subsection, under the 

4 Home Affordable Modification Program of 

5 the Secretary; and 

6 ‘‘(ii) are not necessary for providing 

7 assistance under such Program on behalf 

8 of homeowners who, pursuant to para9 graph (2), may be provided assistance 

10 after the date of the enactment of this sub11 section. 

12 ‘‘(4) STUDY OF USE OF PROGRAM BY MEMBERS

13 OF THE ARMED FORCES, VETERANS, AND GOLD

14 STAR RECIPIENTS.— 

15 ‘‘(A) STUDY.—The Secretary shall conduct 

16 a study to determine the extent of usage of the 

17 Home Affordable Modification Program by, and 

18 the impact of such Program on, covered home19 owners. 

20 ‘‘(B) REPORT.—Not later than the expira21 tion of the 90-day period beginning on the date 

22 of the enactment of this subsection, the Sec23 retary shall submit to the Congress a report 

24 setting forth the results of the study under sub25 paragraph (A) and identifying best practices, 


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1 derived from studying the Home Affordable 

2 Modification Program, that could be applied to 

3 existing mortgage assistance programs available 

4 to covered homeowners. 

5 ‘‘(C) COVERED HOMEOWNER.—For pur6 poses of this subsection, the term ‘covered 

7 homeowner’ means a homeowner who is— 

8 ‘‘(i) a member of the Armed Forces of 

9 the United States on active duty or the 

10 spouse or parent of such a member; 

11 ‘‘(ii) a veteran, as such term is de12 fined in section 101 of title 38, United 

13 States Code; or 

14 ‘‘(iii) eligible to receive a Gold Star 

15 lapel pin under section 1126 of title 10, 

16 United States Code, as a widow, parent, or 

17 next of kin of a member of the Armed 

18 Forces person who died in a manner de19 scribed in subsection (a) of such section. 

20 ‘‘(5) PUBLICATION OF MEMBER AVAILABILITY

21 FOR ASSISTANCE.—Not later than 5 days after the 

22 date of the enactment of this subsection, the Sec23 retary of the Treasury shall publish to its Website 

24 on the World Wide Web in a prominent location, 

25 large point font, and boldface type the following 


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1 statement: ‘The Home Affordable Modification Pro2 gram (HAMP) has been terminated. If you are hav3 ing trouble paying your mortgage and need help con4 tacting your lender or servicer for purposes of nego5 tiating or acquiring a loan modification, please con6 tact your Member of Congress to assist you in con7 tacting your lender or servicer for the purpose of ne8 gotiating or acquiring a loan modification.’. 

9 ‘‘(6) NOTIFICATION TO HAMP APPLICANTS RE10 QUIRED.—Not later than 30 days after the date of 

11 the enactment of this subsection, the Secretary of 

12 the Treasury shall inform each individual who ap13 plied for the Home Affordable Modification Program 

14 and will not be considered for a modification under 

15 such Program due to termination of such Program 

16 under this subsection— 

17 ‘‘(A) that such Program has been termi18 nated; 

19 ‘‘(B) that loan modifications under such 

20 Program are no longer available; 

21 ‘‘(C) of the name and contact information 

22 of such individual’s Member of Congress; and 

23 ‘‘(D) that the individual should contact his 

24 or her Member of Congress to assist the indi25 vidual in contacting the individual’s lender or 


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1 servicer for the purpose of negotiating or ac2 quiring a loan modification.’’. 

3 SEC. 324. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

4 The Congress encourages banks to work with home5 owners to provide loan modifications to those that are eli6 gible. The Congress also encourages banks to work and 

7 assist homeowners and prospective homeowners with fore8 closure prevention programs and information on loan 

9 modifications. 

10 Subtitle C—Bureau of Consumer 

11 Financial Protection 

12 SEC. 331. BRINGING THE BUREAU OF CONSUMER FINAN13 CIAL PROTECTION INTO THE REGULAR AP14 PROPRIATIONS PROCESS. 

15 Section 1017 of the Consumer Financial Protection 

16 Act of 2010 is amended— 

17 (1) in subsection (a)— 

18 (A) by amending the heading of such sub19 section to read as follows: ‘‘BUDGET, FINAN20 CIAL MANAGEMENT, AND AUDIT.—’’; 

21 (B) by striking paragraphs (1), (2), and 

22 (3); 

23 (C) by redesignating paragraphs (4) and 

24 (5) as paragraphs (1) and (2), respectively; and 


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1 (D) by striking subparagraphs (E) and (F) 

2 of paragraph (1), as so redesignated; 

3 (2) by striking subsections (b), (c), and (d); 

4 (3) by redesignating subsection (e) as sub5 section (b); and 

6 (4) in subsection (b), as so redesignated— 

7 (A) by striking paragraphs (1), (2), and 

8 (3) and inserting the following: 

9 ‘‘(1) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

10 There is authorized to be appropriated 

11 $200,000,000 to carry out this title for each of fiscal 

12 years 2012 and 2013.’’; and 

13 (B) by redesignating paragraph (4) as 

14 paragraph (2). 

15 Subtitle D—Flood Insurance 

16 Reform 

17 SEC. 341. SHORT TITLE. 

18 This subtitle may be cited as the ‘‘Flood Insurance 

19 Reform Act of 2012’’. 

20 SEC. 342. EXTENSIONS. 

21 (a) EXTENSION OF PROGRAM.—Section 1319 of the 

22 National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4026) 

23 is amended by striking ‘‘the earlier of the date of the en24 actment into law of an Act that specifically amends the 


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1 date specified in this section or May 31, 2012’’ and insert2 ing ‘‘September 30, 2016’’. 

3 (b) EXTENSION OF FINANCING.—Section 1309(a) of 

4 such Act (42 U.S.C. 4016(a)) is amended by striking ‘‘the 

5 earlier of the date of the enactment into law of an Act 

6 that specifically amends the date specified in this section 

7 or May 31, 2012’’ and inserting ‘‘September 30, 2016’’. 

8 SEC. 343. MANDATORY PURCHASE. 

9 (a) AUTHORITY TO TEMPORARILY SUSPEND MANDA10 TORY PURCHASE REQUIREMENT.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 102 of the Flood 

12 Disaster Protection Act of 1973 (42 U.S.C. 4012a) 

13 is amended by adding at the end the following new 

14 subsection: 

15 ‘‘(i) AUTHORITY TO TEMPORARILY SUSPEND MAN16 DATORY PURCHASE REQUIREMENT.— 

17 ‘‘(1) FINDING BY ADMINISTRATOR THAT AREA

18 IS AN ELIGIBLE AREA.—For any area, upon a re19 quest submitted to the Administrator by a local gov20 ernment authority having jurisdiction over any por21 tion of the area, the Administrator shall make a 

22 finding of whether the area is an eligible area under 

23 paragraph (3). If the Administrator finds that such 

24 area is an eligible area, the Administrator shall, in 

25 the discretion of the Administrator, designate a peVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:19 May 10, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00050 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5652.RH H5652

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1 riod during which such finding shall be effective, 

2 which shall not be longer in duration than 12 

3 months. 

4 ‘‘(2) SUSPENSION OF MANDATORY PURCHASE

5 REQUIREMENT.—If the Administrator makes a find6 ing under paragraph (1) that an area is an eligible 

7 area under paragraph (3), during the period speci8 fied in the finding, the designation of such eligible 

9 area as an area having special flood hazards shall 

10 not be effective for purposes of subsections (a), (b), 

11 and (e) of this section, and section 202(a) of this 

12 Act. Nothing in this paragraph may be construed to 

13 prevent any lender, servicer, regulated lending insti14 tution, Federal agency lender, the Federal National 

15 Mortgage Association, or the Federal Home Loan 

16 Mortgage Corporation, at the discretion of such enti17 ty, from requiring the purchase of flood insurance 

18 coverage in connection with the making, increasing, 

19 extending, or renewing of a loan secured by im20 proved real estate or a mobile home located or to be 

21 located in such eligible area during such period or 

22 a lender or servicer from purchasing coverage on be23 half of a borrower pursuant to subsection (e). 

24 ‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE AREAS.—An eligible area under 

25 this paragraph is an area that is designated or will, 


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1 pursuant to any issuance, revision, updating, or 

2 other change in flood insurance maps that takes ef3 fect on or after the date of the enactment of the 

4 Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012, become des5 ignated as an area having special flood hazards and 

6 that meets any one of the following 3 requirements: 

7 ‘‘(A) AREAS WITH NO HISTORY OF SPE8 CIAL FLOOD HAZARDS.—The area does not in9 clude any area that has ever previously been 

10 designated as an area having special flood haz11 ards. 

12 ‘‘(B) AREAS WITH FLOOD PROTECTION

13 SYSTEMS UNDER IMPROVEMENTS.—The area 

14 was intended to be protected by a flood protec15 tion system— 

16 ‘‘(i) that has been decertified, or is re17 quired to be certified, as providing protec18 tion for the 100-year frequency flood 

19 standard; 

20 ‘‘(ii) that is being improved, con21 structed, or reconstructed; and 

22 ‘‘(iii) for which the Administrator has 

23 determined measurable progress toward 

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1 ward securing financial commitments suffi2 cient to fund such completion. 

3 ‘‘(C) AREAS FOR WHICH APPEAL HAS

4 BEEN FILED.—An area for which a community 

5 has appealed designation of the area as having 

6 special flood hazards in a timely manner under 

7 section 1363. 

8 ‘‘(4) EXTENSION OF DELAY.—Upon a request 

9 submitted by a local government authority having 

10 jurisdiction over any portion of the eligible area, the 

11 Administrator may extend the period during which a 

12 finding under paragraph (1) shall be effective, ex13 cept that— 

14 ‘‘(A) each such extension under this para15 graph shall not be for a period exceeding 12 

16 months; and 

17 ‘‘(B) for any area, the cumulative number 

18 of such extensions may not exceed 2. 

19 ‘‘(5) ADDITIONAL EXTENSION FOR COMMU20 NITIES MAKING MORE THAN ADEQUATE PROGRESS

21 ON FLOOD PROTECTION SYSTEM.— 

22 ‘‘(A) EXTENSION.— 

23 ‘‘(i) AUTHORITY.—Except as provided 

24 in subparagraph (B), in the case of an eli25 gible area for which the Administrator has, 


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1 pursuant to paragraph (4), extended the 

2 period of effectiveness of the finding under 

3 paragraph (1) for the area, upon a request 

4 submitted by a local government authority 

5 having jurisdiction over any portion of the 

6 eligible area, if the Administrator finds 

7 that more than adequate progress has been 

8 made on the construction of a flood protec9 tion system for such area, as determined in 

10 accordance with the last sentence of sec11 tion 1307(e) of the National Flood Insur12 ance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4014(e)), the 

13 Administrator may, in the discretion of the 

14 Administrator, further extend the period 

15 during which the finding under paragraph 

16 (1) shall be effective for such area for an 

17 additional 12 months. 

18 ‘‘(ii) LIMIT.—For any eligible area, 

19 the cumulative number of extensions under 

20 this subparagraph may not exceed 2. 

21 ‘‘(B) EXCLUSION FOR NEW MORTGAGES.— 

22 ‘‘(i) EXCLUSION.—Any extension 

23 under subparagraph (A) of this paragraph 

24 of a finding under paragraph (1) shall not 

25 be effective with respect to any excluded 


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1 property after the origination, increase, ex2 tension, or renewal of the loan referred to 

3 in clause (ii)(II) for the property. 

4 ‘‘(ii) EXCLUDED PROPERTIES.—For 

5 purposes of this subparagraph, the term 

6 ‘excluded property’ means any improved 

7 real estate or mobile home— 

8 ‘‘(I) that is located in an eligible 

9 area; and 

10 ‘‘(II) for which, during the period 

11 that any extension under subpara12 graph (A) of this paragraph of a find13 ing under paragraph (1) is otherwise 

14 in effect for the eligible area in which 

15 such property is located— 

16 ‘‘(aa) a loan that is secured 

17 by the property is originated; or 

18 ‘‘(bb) any existing loan that 

19 is secured by the property is in20 creased, extended, or renewed. 

21 ‘‘(6) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

22 this subsection may be construed to affect the appli23 cability of a designation of any area as an area hav24 ing special flood hazards for purposes of the avail25 ability of flood insurance coverage, criteria for land 


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1 management and use, notification of flood hazards, 

2 eligibility for mitigation assistance, or any other pur3 pose or provision not specifically referred to in para4 graph (2). 

5 ‘‘(7) REPORTS.—The Administrator shall, in 

6 each annual report submitted pursuant to section 

7 1320, include information identifying each finding 

8 under paragraph (1) by the Administrator during 

9 the preceding year that an area is an area having 

10 special flood hazards, the basis for each such find11 ing, any extensions pursuant to paragraph (4) of the 

12 periods of effectiveness of such findings, and the 

13 reasons for such extensions.’’. 

14 (2) NO REFUNDS.—Nothing in this subsection 

15 or the amendments made by this subsection may be 

16 construed to authorize or require any payment or re17 fund for flood insurance coverage purchased for any 

18 property that covered any period during which such 

19 coverage is not required for the property pursuant to 

20 the applicability of the amendment made by para21 graph (1). 

22 (b) TERMINATION OF FORCE-PLACED INSURANCE.— 

23 Section 102(e) of the Flood Disaster Protection Act of 

24 1973 (42 U.S.C. 4012a(e)) is amended— 


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1 (1) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘insurance.’’ 

2 and inserting ‘‘insurance, including premiums or 

3 fees incurred for coverage beginning on the date on 

4 which flood insurance coverage lapsed or did not 

5 provide a sufficient coverage amount.’’; 

6 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (3) and (4) as 

7 paragraphs (5) and 6), respectively; and 

8 (3) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol9 lowing new paragraphs: 

10 ‘‘(3) TERMINATION OF FORCE-PLACED INSUR11 ANCE.—Within 30 days of receipt by the lender or 

12 servicer of a confirmation of a borrower’s existing 

13 flood insurance coverage, the lender or servicer 

14 shall— 

15 ‘‘(A) terminate the force-placed insurance; 

16 and 

17 ‘‘(B) refund to the borrower all force18 placed insurance premiums paid by the bor19 rower during any period during which the bor20 rower’s flood insurance coverage and the force21 placed flood insurance coverage were each in ef22 fect, and any related fees charged to the bor23 rower with respect to the force-placed insurance 

24 during such period. 


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1 ‘‘(4) SUFFICIENCY OF DEMONSTRATION.—For 

2 purposes of confirming a borrower’s existing flood 

3 insurance coverage, a lender or servicer for a loan 

4 shall accept from the borrower an insurance policy 

5 declarations page that includes the existing flood in6 surance policy number and the identity of, and con7 tact information for, the insurance company or 

8 agent.’’. 

9 (c) USE OF PRIVATE INSURANCE TO SATISFY MAN10 DATORY PURCHASE REQUIREMENT.—Section 102(b) of 

11 the Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973 (42 U.S.C. 

12 4012a(b)) is amended— 

13 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

14 (A) by striking ‘‘lending institutions not to 

15 make’’ and inserting ‘‘lending institutions— 

16 ‘‘(A) not to make’’; 

17 (B) in subparagraph (A), as designated by 

18 subparagraph (A) of this paragraph, by striking 

19 ‘‘less.’’ and inserting ‘‘less; and’’; and 

20 (C) by adding at the end the following new 

21 subparagraph: 

22 ‘‘(B) to accept private flood insurance as 

23 satisfaction of the flood insurance coverage re24 quirement under subparagraph (A) if the cov25 erage provided by such private flood insurance 


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1 meets the requirements for coverage under such 

2 subparagraph.’’; 

3 (2) in paragraph (2), by inserting after ‘‘pro4 vided in paragraph (1).’’ the following new sentence: 

5 ‘‘Each Federal agency lender shall accept private 

6 flood insurance as satisfaction of the flood insurance 

7 coverage requirement under the preceding sentence 

8 if the flood insurance coverage provided by such pri9 vate flood insurance meets the requirements for cov10 erage under such sentence.’’; 

11 (3) in paragraph (3), in the matter following 

12 subparagraph (B), by adding at the end the fol13 lowing new sentence: ‘‘The Federal National Mort14 gage Association and the Federal Home Loan Mort15 gage Corporation shall accept private flood insurance 

16 as satisfaction of the flood insurance coverage re17 quirement under the preceding sentence if the flood 

18 insurance coverage provided by such private flood in19 surance meets the requirements for coverage under 

20 such sentence.’’; and 

21 (4) by adding at the end the following new 

22 paragraph: 

23 ‘‘(5) PRIVATE FLOOD INSURANCE DEFINED.— 

24 In this subsection, the term ‘private flood insurance’ 


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1 means a contract for flood insurance coverage al2 lowed for sale under the laws of any State.’’. 

3 SEC. 344. REFORMS OF COVERAGE TERMS. 

4 (a) MINIMUM DEDUCTIBLES FOR CLAIMS.—Section 

5 1312 of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 

6 U.S.C. 4019) is amended— 

7 (1) by striking ‘‘The Director is’’ and inserting 

8 the following: ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Adminis9 trator is’’; and 

10 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘(b) MINIMUM ANNUAL DEDUCTIBLES.— 

12 ‘‘(1) SUBSIDIZED RATE PROPERTIES.—For any 

13 structure that is covered by flood insurance under 

14 this title, and for which the chargeable rate for such 

15 coverage is less than the applicable estimated risk 

16 premium rate under section 1307(a)(1) for the area 

17 (or subdivision thereof) in which such structure is 

18 located, the minimum annual deductible for damage 

19 to or loss of such structure shall be $2,000. 

20 ‘‘(2) ACTUARIAL RATE PROPERTIES.—For any 

21 structure that is covered by flood insurance under 

22 this title, for which the chargeable rate for such cov23 erage is not less than the applicable estimated risk 

24 premium rate under section 1307(a)(1) for the area 

25 (or subdivision thereof) in which such structure is 


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1 located, the minimum annual deductible for damage 

2 to or loss of such structure shall be $1,000.’’. 

3 (b) CLARIFICATION OF RESIDENTIAL AND COMMER4 CIAL COVERAGE LIMITS.—Section 1306(b) of the Na5 tional Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4013(b)) 

6 is amended— 

7 (1) in paragraph (2)— 

8 (A) by striking ‘‘in the case of any residen9 tial property’’ and inserting ‘‘in the case of any 

10 residential building designed for the occupancy 

11 of from one to four families’’; and 

12 (B) by striking ‘‘shall be made available to 

13 every insured upon renewal and every applicant 

14 for insurance so as to enable such insured or 

15 applicant to receive coverage up to a total 

16 amount (including such limits specified in para17 graph (1)(A)(i)) of $250,000’’ and inserting 

18 ‘‘shall be made available, with respect to any 

19 single such building, up to an aggregate liability 

20 (including such limits specified in paragraph 

21 (1)(A)(i)) of $250,000’’; and 

22 (2) in paragraph (4)— 

23 (A) by striking ‘‘in the case of any nonresi24 dential property, including churches,’’ and inVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:19 May 10, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00061 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5652.RH H5652

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1 serting ‘‘in the case of any nonresidential build2 ing, including a church,’’; and 

3 (B) by striking ‘‘shall be made available to 

4 every insured upon renewal and every applicant 

5 for insurance, in respect to any single structure, 

6 up to a total amount (including such limit spec7 ified in subparagraph (B) or (C) of paragraph 

8 (1), as applicable) of $500,000 for each struc9 ture and $500,000 for any contents related to 

10 each structure’’ and inserting ‘‘shall be made 

11 available with respect to any single such build12 ing, up to an aggregate liability (including such 

13 limits specified in subparagraph (B) or (C) of 

14 paragraph (1), as applicable) of $500,000, and 

15 coverage shall be made available up to a total 

16 of $500,000 aggregate liability for contents 

17 owned by the building owner and $500,000 ag18 gregate liability for each unit within the build19 ing for contents owned by the tenant’’. 

20 (c) INDEXING OF MAXIMUM COVERAGE LIMITS.— 

21 Subsection (b) of section 1306 of the National Flood In22 surance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4013(b)) is amended— 

23 (1) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

24 end; 


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1 (2) in paragraph (5), by striking the period at 

2 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; 

3 (3) by redesignating paragraph (5) as para4 graph (7); and 

5 (4) by adding at the end the following new 

6 paragraph: 

7 ‘‘(8) each of the dollar amount limitations 

8 under paragraphs (2), (3), (4), (5), and (6) shall be 

9 adjusted effective on the date of the enactment of 

10 the Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012, such ad11 justments shall be calculated using the percentage 

12 change, over the period beginning on September 30, 

13 1994, and ending on such date of enactment, in 

14 such inflationary index as the Administrator shall, 

15 by regulation, specify, and the dollar amount of such 

16 adjustment shall be rounded to the next lower dollar; 

17 and the Administrator shall cause to be published in 

18 the Federal Register the adjustments under this 

19 paragraph to such dollar amount limitations; except 

20 that in the case of coverage for a property that is 

21 made available, pursuant to this paragraph, in an 

22 amount that exceeds the limitation otherwise appli23 cable to such coverage as specified in paragraph (2), 

24 (3), (4), (5), or (6), the total of such coverage shall 

25 be made available only at chargeable rates that are 


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1 not less than the estimated premium rates for such 

2 coverage determined in accordance with section 

3 1307(a)(1).’’. 

4 (d) OPTIONAL COVERAGE FOR LOSS OF USE OF PER5 SONAL RESIDENCE AND BUSINESS INTERRUPTION.—Sub6 section (b) of section 1306 of the National Flood Insur7 ance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4013(b)), as amended by 

8 the preceding provisions of this section, is further amend9 ed by inserting after paragraph (4) the following new 

10 paragraphs: 

11 ‘‘(5) the Administrator may provide that, in the 

12 case of any residential property, each renewal or new 

13 contract for flood insurance coverage may provide 

14 not more than $5,000 aggregate liability per dwell15 ing unit for any necessary increases in living ex16 penses incurred by the insured when losses from a 

17 flood make the residence unfit to live in, except 

18 that— 

19 ‘‘(A) purchase of such coverage shall be at 

20 the option of the insured; 

21 ‘‘(B) any such coverage shall be made 

22 available only at chargeable rates that are not 

23 less than the estimated premium rates for such 

24 coverage determined in accordance with section 

25 1307(a)(1); and 


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1 ‘‘(C) the Administrator may make such 

2 coverage available only if the Administrator 

3 makes a determination and causes notice of 

4 such determination to be published in the Fed5 eral Register that— 

6 ‘‘(i) a competitive private insurance 

7 market for such coverage does not exist; 

8 and 

9 ‘‘(ii) the national flood insurance pro10 gram has the capacity to make such cov11 erage available without borrowing funds 

12 from the Secretary of the Treasury under 

13 section 1309 or otherwise; 

14 ‘‘(6) the Administrator may provide that, in the 

15 case of any commercial property or other residential 

16 property, including multifamily rental property, cov17 erage for losses resulting from any partial or total 

18 interruption of the insured’s business caused by 

19 damage to, or loss of, such property from a flood 

20 may be made available to every insured upon re21 newal and every applicant, up to a total amount of 

22 $20,000 per property, except that— 

23 ‘‘(A) purchase of such coverage shall be at 

24 the option of the insured; 


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1 ‘‘(B) any such coverage shall be made 

2 available only at chargeable rates that are not 

3 less than the estimated premium rates for such 

4 coverage determined in accordance with section 

5 1307(a)(1); and 

6 ‘‘(C) the Administrator may make such 

7 coverage available only if the Administrator 

8 makes a determination and causes notice of 

9 such determination to be published in the Fed10 eral Register that— 

11 ‘‘(i) a competitive private insurance 

12 market for such coverage does not exist; 

13 and 

14 ‘‘(ii) the national flood insurance pro15 gram has the capacity to make such cov16 erage available without borrowing funds 

17 from the Secretary of the Treasury under 

18 section 1309 or otherwise;’’. 

19 (e) PAYMENT OF PREMIUMS IN INSTALLMENTS FOR

20 RESIDENTIAL PROPERTIES.—Section 1306 of the Na21 tional Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4013) is 

22 amended by adding at the end the following new sub23 section: 

24 ‘‘(d) PAYMENT OF PREMIUMS IN INSTALLMENTS FOR

25 RESIDENTIAL PROPERTIES.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) AUTHORITY.—In addition to any other 

2 terms and conditions under subsection (a), such reg3 ulations shall provide that, in the case of any resi4 dential property, premiums for flood insurance cov5 erage made available under this title for such prop6 erty may be paid in installments. 

7 ‘‘(2) LIMITATIONS.—In implementing the au8 thority under paragraph (1), the Administrator may 

9 establish increased chargeable premium rates and 

10 surcharges, and deny coverage and establish such 

11 other sanctions, as the Administrator considers nec12 essary to ensure that insureds purchase, pay for, 

13 and maintain coverage for the full term of a contract 

14 for flood insurance coverage or to prevent insureds 

15 from purchasing coverage only for periods during a 

16 year when risk of flooding is comparatively higher or 

17 canceling coverage for periods when such risk is 

18 comparatively lower.’’. 

19 (f) EFFECTIVE DATE OF POLICIES COVERING PROP20 ERTIES AFFECTED BY FLOODS IN PROGRESS.—Para21 graph (1) of section 1306(c) of the National Flood Insur22 ance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4013(c)) is amended by add23 ing after the period at the end the following: ‘‘With respect 

24 to any flood that has commenced or is in progress before 

25 the expiration of such 30-day period, such flood insurance 


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1 coverage for a property shall take effect upon the expira2 tion of such 30-day period and shall cover damage to such 

3 property occurring after the expiration of such period that 

4 results from such flood, but only if the property has not 

5 suffered damage or loss as a result of such flood before 

6 the expiration of such 30-day period.’’. 

7 SEC. 345. REFORMS OF PREMIUM RATES. 

8 (a) INCREASE IN ANNUAL LIMITATION ON PREMIUM

9 INCREASES.—Section 1308(e) of the National Flood In10 surance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4015(e)) is amended by 

11 striking ‘‘10 percent’’ and inserting ‘‘20 percent’’. 

12 (b) PHASE-IN OF RATES FOR CERTAIN PROPERTIES

13 IN NEWLY MAPPED AREAS.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 1308 of the Na15 tional Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 

16 4015) is amended— 

17 (A) in subsection (a), in the matter pre18 ceding paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘or notice’’ 

19 after ‘‘prescribe by regulation’’; 

20 (B) in subsection (c), by inserting ‘‘and 

21 subsection (g)’’ before the first comma; and 

22 (C) by adding at the end the following new 

23 subsection: 


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1 ‘‘(g) 5-YEAR PHASE-IN OF FLOOD INSURANCE

2 RATES FOR CERTAIN PROPERTIES IN NEWLY MAPPED

3 AREAS.— 

4 ‘‘(1) 5-YEAR PHASE-IN PERIOD.—Notwith5 standing subsection (c) or any other provision of law 

6 relating to chargeable risk premium rates for flood 

7 insurance coverage under this title, in the case of 

8 any area that was not previously designated as an 

9 area having special flood hazards and that, pursuant 

10 to any issuance, revision, updating, or other change 

11 in flood insurance maps, becomes designated as such 

12 an area, during the 5-year period that begins, except 

13 as provided in paragraph (2), upon the date that 

14 such maps, as issued, revised, updated, or otherwise 

15 changed, become effective, the chargeable premium 

16 rate for flood insurance under this title with respect 

17 to any covered property that is located within such 

18 area shall be the rate described in paragraph (3). 

19 ‘‘(2) APPLICABILITY TO PREFERRED RISK RATE

20 AREAS.—In the case of any area described in para21 graph (1) that consists of or includes an area that, 

22 as of date of the effectiveness of the flood insurance 

23 maps for such area referred to in paragraph (1) as 

24 so issued, revised, updated, or changed, is eligible 

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1 miums for flood insurance coverage and was eligible 

2 for such premiums as of the enactment of the Flood 

3 Insurance Reform Act of 2012, the 5-year period re4 ferred to in paragraph (1) for such area eligible for 

5 preferred risk rate method premiums shall begin 

6 upon the expiration of the period during which such 

7 area is eligible for such preferred risk rate method 

8 premiums. 

9 ‘‘(3) PHASE-IN OF FULL ACTUARIAL RATES.— 

10 With respect to any area described in paragraph (1), 

11 the chargeable risk premium rate for flood insurance 

12 under this title for a covered property that is located 

13 in such area shall be— 

14 ‘‘(A) for the first year of the 5-year period 

15 referred to in paragraph (1), the greater of— 

16 ‘‘(i) 20 percent of the chargeable risk 

17 premium rate otherwise applicable under 

18 this title to the property; and 

19 ‘‘(ii) in the case of any property that, 

20 as of the beginning of such first year, is el21 igible for preferred risk rate method pre22 miums for flood insurance coverage, such 

23 preferred risk rate method premium for 

24 the property; 


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1 ‘‘(B) for the second year of such 5-year pe2 riod, 40 percent of the chargeable risk premium 

3 rate otherwise applicable under this title to the 

4 property; 

5 ‘‘(C) for the third year of such 5-year pe6 riod, 60 percent of the chargeable risk premium 

7 rate otherwise applicable under this title to the 

8 property; 

9 ‘‘(D) for the fourth year of such 5-year pe10 riod, 80 percent of the chargeable risk premium 

11 rate otherwise applicable under this title to the 

12 property; and 

13 ‘‘(E) for the fifth year of such 5-year pe14 riod, 100 percent of the chargeable risk pre15 mium rate otherwise applicable under this title 

16 to the property. 

17 ‘‘(4) COVERED PROPERTIES.—For purposes of 

18 the subsection, the term ‘covered property’ means 

19 any residential property occupied by its owner or a 

20 bona fide tenant as a primary residence.’’. 

21 (2) REGULATION OR NOTICE.—The Adminis22 trator of the Federal Emergency Management Agen23 cy shall issue an interim final rule or notice to im24 plement this subsection and the amendments made 


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1 by this subsection as soon as practicable after the 

2 date of the enactment of this Act. 

3 (c) PHASE-IN OF ACTUARIAL RATES FOR CERTAIN

4 PROPERTIES.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 1308(c) of the Na6 tional Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 

7 4015(c)) is amended— 

8 (A) by redesignating paragraph (2) as 

9 paragraph (7); and 

10 (B) by inserting after paragraph (1) the 

11 following new paragraphs: 

12 ‘‘(2) COMMERCIAL PROPERTIES.—Any nonresi13 dential property. 

14 ‘‘(3) SECOND HOMES AND VACATION HOMES.— 

15 Any residential property that is not the primary res16 idence of any individual. 

17 ‘‘(4) HOMES SOLD TO NEW OWNERS.—Any sin18 gle family property that— 

19 ‘‘(A) has been constructed or substantially 

20 improved and for which such construction or 

21 improvement was started, as determined by the 

22 Administrator, before December 31, 1974, or 

23 before the effective date of the initial rate map 

24 published by the Administrator under para25 graph (2) of section 1360(a) for the area in 


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1 which such property is located, whichever is 

2 later; and 

3 ‘‘(B) is purchased after the effective date 

4 of this paragraph, pursuant to section 

5 345(c)(3)(A) of the Flood Insurance Reform 

6 Act of 2012. 

7 ‘‘(5) HOMES DAMAGED OR IMPROVED.—Any 

8 property that, on or after the date of the enactment 

9 of the Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012, has ex10 perienced or sustained— 

11 ‘‘(A) substantial flood damage exceeding 

12 50 percent of the fair market value of such 

13 property; or 

14 ‘‘(B) substantial improvement exceeding 

15 30 percent of the fair market value of such 

16 property. 

17 ‘‘(6) HOMES WITH MULTIPLE CLAIMS.—Any se18 vere repetitive loss property (as such term is defined 

19 in section 1366(j)).’’. 

20 (2) TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.—Section 1308 

21 of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 

22 U.S.C. 4015) is amended— 

23 (A) in subsection (c)— 

24 (i) in the matter preceding paragraph 

25 (1), by striking ‘‘the limitations provided 


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1 under paragraphs (1) and (2)’’ and insert2 ing ‘‘subsection (e)’’; and 

3 (ii) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘, 

4 except’’ and all that follows through ‘‘sub5 section (e)’’; and 

6 (B) in subsection (e), by striking ‘‘para7 graph (2) or (3)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraph 

8 (7)’’. 

9 (3) EFFECTIVE DATE AND TRANSITION.— 

10 (A) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments 

11 made by paragraphs (1) and (2) shall apply be12 ginning upon the expiration of the 12-month 

13 period that begins on the date of the enactment 

14 of this Act, except as provided in subparagraph 

15 (B) of this paragraph. 

16 (B) TRANSITION FOR PROPERTIES COV17 ERED BY FLOOD INSURANCE UPON EFFECTIVE

18 DATE.— 

19 (i) INCREASE OF RATES OVER TIME.— 

20 In the case of any property described in 

21 paragraph (2), (3), (4), (5), or (6) of sec22 tion 1308(c) of the National Flood Insur23 ance Act of 1968, as amended by para24 graph (1) of this subsection, that, as of the 

25 effective date under subparagraph (A) of 


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1 this paragraph, is covered under a policy 

2 for flood insurance made available under 

3 the national flood insurance program for 

4 which the chargeable premium rates are 

5 less than the applicable estimated risk pre6 mium rate under section 1307(a)(1) of 

7 such Act for the area in which the prop8 erty is located, the Administrator of the 

9 Federal Emergency Management Agency 

10 shall increase the chargeable premium 

11 rates for such property over time to such 

12 applicable estimated risk premium rate 

13 under section 1307(a)(1). 

14 (ii) AMOUNT OF ANNUAL INCREASE.— 

15 Such increase shall be made by increasing 

16 the chargeable premium rates for the prop17 erty (after application of any increase in 

18 the premium rates otherwise applicable to 

19 such property), once during the 12-month 

20 period that begins upon the effective date 

21 under subparagraph (A) of this paragraph 

22 and once every 12 months thereafter until 

23 such increase is accomplished, by 20 per24 cent (or such lesser amount as may be nec25 essary so that the chargeable rate does not 


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1 exceed such applicable estimated risk pre2 mium rate or to comply with clause (iii)). 

3 (iii) PROPERTIES SUBJECT TO PHASE4 IN AND ANNUAL INCREASES.—In the case 

5 of any pre-FIRM property (as such term is 

6 defined in section 578(b) of the National 

7 Flood Insurance Reform Act of 1974), the 

8 aggregate increase, during any 12-month 

9 period, in the chargeable premium rate for 

10 the property that is attributable to this 

11 subparagraph or to an increase described 

12 in section 1308(e) of the National Flood 

13 Insurance Act of 1968 may not exceed 20 

14 percent. 

15 (iv) FULL ACTUARIAL RATES.—The 

16 provisions of paragraphs (2), (3), (4), (5), 

17 and (6) of such section 1308(c) shall apply 

18 to such a property upon the accomplish19 ment of the increase under this subpara20 graph and thereafter. 

21 (d) PROHIBITION OF EXTENSION OF SUBSIDIZED

22 RATES TO LAPSED POLICIES.—Section 1308 of the Na23 tional Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4015), as 

24 amended by the preceding provisions of this subtitle, is 

25 further amended— 


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1 (1) in subsection (e), by inserting ‘‘or sub2 section (h)’’ after ‘‘subsection (c)’’; and 

3 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub4 section: 

5 ‘‘(h) PROHIBITION OF EXTENSION OF SUBSIDIZED

6 RATES TO LAPSED POLICIES.—Notwithstanding any 

7 other provision of law relating to chargeable risk premium 

8 rates for flood insurance coverage under this title, the Ad9 ministrator shall not provide flood insurance coverage 

10 under this title for any property for which a policy for 

11 such coverage for the property has previously lapsed in 

12 coverage as a result of the deliberate choice of the holder 

13 of such policy, at a rate less than the applicable estimated 

14 risk premium rates for the area (or subdivision thereof) 

15 in which such property is located.’’. 

16 (e) RECOGNITION OF STATE AND LOCAL FUNDING

17 FOR CONSTRUCTION, RECONSTRUCTION, AND IMPROVE18 MENT OF FLOOD PROTECTION SYSTEMS IN DETERMINA19 TION OF RATES.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 1307 of the Na21 tional Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 

22 4014) is amended— 

23 (A) in subsection (e)— 

24 (i) in the first sentence, by striking 

25 ‘‘construction of a flood protection system’’ 


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1 and inserting ‘‘construction, reconstruc2 tion, or improvement of a flood protection 

3 system (without respect to the level of Fed4 eral investment or participation)’’; and 

5 (ii) in the second sentence— 

6 (I) by striking ‘‘construction of a 

7 flood protection system’’ and inserting 

8 ‘‘construction, reconstruction, or im9 provement of a flood protection sys10 tem’’; and 

11 (II) by inserting ‘‘based on the 

12 present value of the completed sys13 tem’’ after ‘‘has been expended’’; and 

14 (B) in subsection (f)— 

15 (i) in the first sentence in the matter 

16 preceding paragraph (1), by inserting 

17 ‘‘(without respect to the level of Federal 

18 investment or participation)’’ before the 

19 period at the end; 

20 (ii) in the third sentence in the matter 

21 preceding paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘, 

22 whether coastal or riverine,’’ after ‘‘special 

23 flood hazard’’; and 

24 (iii) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘a 

25 Federal agency in consultation with the 


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1 local project sponsor’’ and inserting ‘‘the 

2 entity or entities that own, operate, main3 tain, or repair such system’’. 

4 (2) REGULATIONS.—The Administrator of the 

5 Federal Emergency Management Agency shall pro6 mulgate regulations to implement this subsection 

7 and the amendments made by this subsection as 

8 soon as practicable, but not more than 18 months 

9 after the date of the enactment of this Act. Para10 graph (3) may not be construed to annul, alter, af11 fect, authorize any waiver of, or establish any excep12 tion to, the requirement under the preceding sen13 tence. 

14 SEC. 346. TECHNICAL MAPPING ADVISORY COUNCIL. 

15 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a council 

16 to be known as the Technical Mapping Advisory Council 

17 (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Council’’). 

18 (b) MEMBERSHIP.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Council shall consist 

20 of— 

21 (A) the Administrator of the Federal 

22 Emergency Management Agency (in this section 

23 referred to as the ‘‘Administrator’’), or the des24 ignee thereof; 


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1 (B) the Director of the United States Geo2 logical Survey of the Department of the Inte3 rior, or the designee thereof; 

4 (C) the Under Secretary of Commerce for 

5 Oceans and Atmosphere, or the designee there6 of; 

7 (D) the commanding officer of the United 

8 States Army Corps of Engineers, or the des9 ignee thereof; 

10 (E) the chief of the Natural Resources 

11 Conservation Service of the Department of Ag12 riculture, or the designee thereof; 

13 (F) the Director of the United States Fish 

14 and Wildlife Service of the Department of the 

15 Interior, or the designee thereof; 

16 (G) the Assistant Administrator for Fish17 eries of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

18 Administration of the Department of Com19 merce, or the designee thereof; and 

20 (H) 14 additional members to be appointed 

21 by the Administrator of the Federal Emergency 

22 Management Agency, who shall be— 

23 (i) an expert in data management; 

24 (ii) an expert in real estate; 

25 (iii) an expert in insurance; 


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1 (iv) a member of a recognized regional 

2 flood and storm water management organi3 zation; 

4 (v) a representative of a State emer5 gency management agency or association 

6 or organization for such agencies; 

7 (vi) a member of a recognized profes8 sional surveying association or organiza9 tion; 

10 (vii) a member of a recognized profes11 sional mapping association or organization; 

12 (viii) a member of a recognized pro13 fessional engineering association or organi14 zation; 

15 (ix) a member of a recognized profes16 sional association or organization rep17 resenting flood hazard determination firms; 

18 (x) a representative of State national 

19 flood insurance coordination offices; 

20 (xi) representatives of two local gov21 ernments, at least one of whom is a local 

22 levee flood manager or executive, des23 ignated by the Federal Emergency Man24 agement Agency as Cooperating Technical 

25 Partners; and 


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1 (xii) representatives of two State gov2 ernments designated by the Federal Emer3 gency Management Agency as Cooperating 

4 Technical States. 

5 (2) QUALIFICATIONS.—Members of the Council 

6 shall be appointed based on their demonstrated 

7 knowledge and competence regarding surveying, car8 tography, remote sensing, geographic information 

9 systems, or the technical aspects of preparing and 

10 using flood insurance rate maps. In appointing 

11 members under paragraph (1)(H), the Administrator 

12 shall ensure that the membership of the Council has 

13 a balance of Federal, State, local, and private mem14 bers, and includes an adequate number of represent15 atives from the States with coastline on the Gulf of 

16 Mexico and other States containing areas identified 

17 by the Administrator of the Federal Emergency 

18 Management Agency as at high-risk for flooding or 

19 special flood hazard areas. 

20 (c) DUTIES.— 

21 (1) NEW MAPPING STANDARDS.—Not later than 

22 the expiration of the 12-month period beginning 

23 upon the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

24 Council shall develop and submit to the Adminis25 trator and the Congress proposed new mapping 


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1 standards for 100-year flood insurance rate maps 

2 used under the national flood insurance program 

3 under the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968. In 

4 developing such proposed standards the Council 

5 shall— 

6 (A) ensure that the flood insurance rate 

7 maps reflect true risk, including graduated risk 

8 that better reflects the financial risk to each 

9 property; such reflection of risk should be at 

10 the smallest geographic level possible (but not 

11 necessarily property-by-property) to ensure that 

12 communities are mapped in a manner that 

13 takes into consideration different risk levels 

14 within the community; 

15 (B) ensure the most efficient generation, 

16 display, and distribution of flood risk data, 

17 models, and maps where practicable through 

18 dynamic digital environments using spatial 

19 database technology and the Internet; 

20 (C) ensure that flood insurance rate maps 

21 reflect current hydrologic and hydraulic data, 

22 current land use, and topography, incorporating 

23 the most current and accurate ground and 

24 bathymetric elevation data; 


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1 (D) determine the best ways to include in 

2 such flood insurance rate maps levees, decerti3 fied levees, and areas located below dams, in4 cluding determining a methodology for ensuring 

5 that decertified levees and other protections are 

6 included in flood insurance rate maps and their 

7 corresponding flood zones reflect the level of 

8 protection conferred; 

9 (E) consider how to incorporate restored 

10 wetlands and other natural buffers into flood 

11 insurance rate maps, which may include wet12 lands, groundwater recharge areas, erosion 

13 zones, meander belts, endangered species habi14 tat, barrier islands and shoreline buffer fea15 tures, riparian forests, and other features; 

16 (F) consider whether to use vertical posi17 tioning (as defined by the Administrator) for 

18 flood insurance rate maps; 

19 (G) ensure that flood insurance rate maps 

20 differentiate between a property that is located 

21 in a flood zone and a structure located on such 

22 property that is not at the same risk level for 

23 flooding as such property due to the elevation 

24 of the structure; 


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1 (H) ensure that flood insurance rate maps 

2 take into consideration the best scientific data 

3 and potential future conditions (including pro4 jections for sea level rise); and 

5 (I) consider how to incorporate the new 

6 standards proposed pursuant to this paragraph 

7 in existing mapping efforts. 

8 (2) ONGOING DUTIES.—The Council shall, on 

9 an ongoing basis, review the mapping protocols de10 veloped pursuant to paragraph (1), and make rec11 ommendations to the Administrator when the Coun12 cil determines that mapping protocols should be al13 tered. 

14 (3) MEETINGS.—In carrying out its duties 

15 under this section, the Council shall consult with 

16 stakeholders through at least 4 public meetings an17 nually, and shall seek input of all stakeholder inter18 ests including State and local representatives, envi19 ronmental and conservation organizations, insurance 

20 industry representatives, advocacy groups, planning 

21 organizations, and mapping organizations. 

22 (d) PROHIBITION ON COMPENSATION.—Members of 

23 the Council shall receive no additional compensation by 

24 reason of their service on the Council. 


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1 (e) CHAIRPERSON.—The Administrator shall serve as 

2 the Chairperson of the Council. 

3 (f) STAFF.— 

4 (1) FEMA.—Upon the request of the Council, 

5 the Administrator may detail, on a nonreimbursable 

6 basis, personnel of the Federal Emergency Manage7 ment Agency to assist the Council in carrying out its 

8 duties. 

9 (2) OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES.—Upon request 

10 of the Council, any other Federal agency that is a 

11 member of the Council may detail, on a non-reim12 bursable basis, personnel to assist the Council in 

13 carrying out its duties. 

14 (g) POWERS.—In carrying out this section, the Coun15 cil may hold hearings, receive evidence and assistance, pro16 vide information, and conduct research, as the Council 

17 considers appropriate. 

18 (h) TERMINATION.—The Council shall terminate 

19 upon the expiration of the 5-year period beginning on the 

20 date of the enactment of this Act. 

21 (i) MORATORIUM ON FLOOD MAP CHANGES.— 

22 (1) MORATORIUM.—Except as provided in para23 graph (2) and notwithstanding any other provision 

24 of this subtitle, the National Flood Insurance Act of 

25 1968, or the Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973, 


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1 during the period beginning upon the date of the en2 actment of this Act and ending upon the submission 

3 by the Council to the Administrator and the Con4 gress of the proposed new mapping standards re5 quired under subsection (c)(1), the Administrator 

6 may not make effective any new or updated rate 

7 maps for flood insurance coverage under the na8 tional flood insurance program that were not in ef9 fect for such program as of such date of enactment, 

10 or otherwise revise, update, or change the flood in11 surance rate maps in effect for such program as of 

12 such date. 

13 (2) LETTERS OF MAP CHANGE.—During the pe14 riod described in paragraph (1), the Administrator 

15 may revise, update, and change the flood insurance 

16 rate maps in effect for the national flood insurance 

17 program only pursuant to a letter of map change 

18 (including a letter of map amendment, letter of map 

19 revision, and letter of map revision based on fill). 

20 SEC. 347. FEMA INCORPORATION OF NEW MAPPING PROTO21 COLS. 

22 (a) NEW RATE MAPPING STANDARDS.—Not later 

23 than the expiration of the 6-month period beginning upon 

24 submission by the Technical Mapping Advisory Council 

25 under section 346 of the proposed new mapping standards 


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1 for flood insurance rate maps used under the national 

2 flood insurance program developed by the Council pursu3 ant to section 346(c), the Administrator of the Federal 

4 Emergency Management Agency (in this section referred 

5 to as the ‘‘Administrator’’) shall establish new standards 

6 for such rate maps based on such proposed new standards 

7 and the recommendations of the Council. 

8 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—The new standards for flood 

9 insurance rate maps established by the Administrator pur10 suant to subsection (a) shall— 

11 (1) delineate and include in any such rate 

12 maps— 

13 (A) all areas located within the 100-year 

14 flood plain; and 

15 (B) areas subject to graduated and other 

16 risk levels, to the maximum extent possible; 

17 (2) ensure that any such rate maps— 

18 (A) include levees, including decertified lev19 ees, and the level of protection they confer; 

20 (B) reflect current land use and topog21 raphy and incorporate the most current and ac22 curate ground level data; 

23 (C) take into consideration the impacts 

24 and use of fill and the flood risks associated 

25 with altered hydrology; 


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1 (D) differentiate between a property that 

2 is located in a flood zone and a structure lo3 cated on such property that is not at the same 

4 risk level for flooding as such property due to 

5 the elevation of the structure; 

6 (E) identify and incorporate natural fea7 tures and their associated flood protection bene8 fits into mapping and rates; and 

9 (F) identify, analyze, and incorporate the 

10 impact of significant changes to building and 

11 development throughout any river or costal 

12 water system, including all tributaries, which 

13 may impact flooding in areas downstream; and 

14 (3) provide that such rate maps are developed 

15 on a watershed basis. 

16 (c) REPORT.—If, in establishing new standards for 

17 flood insurance rate maps pursuant to subsection (a) of 

18 this section, the Administrator does not implement all of 

19 the recommendations of the Council made under the pro20 posed new mapping standards developed by the Council 

21 pursuant to section 346(c), upon establishment of the new 

22 standards the Administrator shall submit a report to the 

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1 ommendations were not adopted and explaining the rea2 sons such recommendations were not adopted. 

3 (d) IMPLEMENTATION.—The Administrator shall, not 

4 later than the expiration of the 6-month period beginning 

5 upon establishment of the new standards for flood insur6 ance rate maps pursuant to subsection (a) of this section, 

7 commence use of the new standards and updating of flood 

8 insurance rate maps in accordance with the new stand9 ards. Not later than the expiration of the 10-year period 

10 beginning upon the establishment of such new standards, 

11 the Administrator shall complete updating of all flood in12 surance rate maps in accordance with the new standards, 

13 subject to the availability of sufficient amounts for such 

14 activities provided in appropriation Acts. 

15 (e) TEMPORARY SUSPENSION OF MANDATORY PUR16 CHASE REQUIREMENT FOR CERTAIN PROPERTIES.— 

17 (1) SUBMISSION OF ELEVATION CERTIFI18 CATE.—Subject to paragraphs (2) and (3) of this 

19 subsection, subsections (a), (b), and (e) of section 

20 102 of the Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973 

21 (42 U.S.C. 4012a), and section 202(a) of such Act, 

22 shall not apply to a property located in an area des23 ignated as having a special flood hazard if the owner 

24 of such property submits to the Administrator an 

25 elevation certificate for such property showing that 


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1 the lowest level of the primary residence on such 

2 property is at an elevation that is at least three feet 

3 higher than the elevation of the 100-year flood plain. 

4 (2) REVIEW OF CERTIFICATE.—The Adminis5 trator shall accept as conclusive each elevation cer6 tificate submitted under paragraph (1) unless the 

7 Administrator conducts a subsequent elevation sur8 vey and determines that the lowest level of the pri9 mary residence on the property in question is not at 

10 an elevation that is at least three feet higher than 

11 the elevation of the 100-year flood plain. The Ad12 ministrator shall provide any such subsequent ele13 vation survey to the owner of such property. 

14 (3) DETERMINATIONS FOR PROPERTIES ON

15 BORDERS OF SPECIAL FLOOD HAZARD AREAS.— 

16 (A) EXPEDITED DETERMINATION.—In the 

17 case of any survey for a property submitted to 

18 the Administrator pursuant to paragraph (1) 

19 showing that a portion of the property is lo20 cated within an area having special flood haz21 ards and that a structure located on the prop22 erty is not located within such area having spe23 cial flood hazards, the Administrator shall expe24 ditiously process any request made by an owner 

25 of the property for a determination pursuant to 


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1 paragraph (2) or a determination of whether 

2 the structure is located within the area having 

3 special flood hazards. 

4 (B) PROHIBITION OF FEE.—If the Admin5 istrator determines pursuant to subparagraph 

6 (A) that the structure on the property is not lo7 cated within the area having special flood haz8 ards, the Administrator shall not charge a fee 

9 for reviewing the flood hazard data and shall 

10 not require the owner to provide any additional 

11 elevation data. 

12 (C) SIMPLIFICATION OF REVIEW PROC13 ESS.—The Administrator shall collaborate with 

14 private sector flood insurers to simplify the re15 view process for properties described in sub16 paragraph (A) and to ensure that the review 

17 process provides for accurate determinations. 

18 (4) TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY.—This sub19 section shall cease to apply to a property on the date 

20 on which the Administrator updates the flood insur21 ance rate map that applies to such property in ac22 cordance with the requirements of subsection (d). 


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1 SEC. 348. TREATMENT OF LEVEES. 

2 Section 1360 of the National Flood Insurance Act of 

3 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4101) is amended by adding at the end 

4 the following new subsection: 

5 ‘‘(k) TREATMENT OF LEVEES.—The Administrator 

6 may not issue flood insurance maps, or make effective up7 dated flood insurance maps, that omit or disregard the 

8 actual protection afforded by an existing levee, floodwall, 

9 pump or other flood protection feature, regardless of the 

10 accreditation status of such feature.’’. 

11 SEC. 349. PRIVATIZATION INITIATIVES. 

12 (a) FEMA AND GAO REPORTS.—Not later than the 

13 expiration of the 18-month period beginning on the date 

14 of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the 

15 Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Comp16 troller General of the United States shall each conduct a 

17 separate study to assess a broad range of options, meth18 ods, and strategies for privatizing the national flood insur19 ance program and shall each submit a report to the Com20 mittee on Financial Services of the House of Representa21 tives and the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban 

22 Affairs of the Senate with recommendations for the best 

23 manner to accomplish such privatization. 

24 (b) PRIVATE RISK-MANAGEMENT INITIATIVES.— 

25 (1) AUTHORITY.—The Administrator of the 

26 Federal Emergency Management Agency may carry 


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1 out such private risk-management initiatives under 

2 the national flood insurance program as the Admin3 istrator considers appropriate to determine the ca4 pacity of private insurers, reinsurers, and financial 

5 markets to assist communities, on a voluntary basis 

6 only, in managing the full range of financial risks 

7 associated with flooding. 

8 (2) ASSESSMENT.—Not later than the expira9 tion of the 12-month period beginning on the date 

10 of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall 

11 assess the capacity of the private reinsurance, cap12 ital, and financial markets by seeking proposals to 

13 assume a portion of the program’s insurance risk 

14 and submit to the Congress a report describing the 

15 response to such request for proposals and the re16 sults of such assessment. 

17 (3) PROTOCOL FOR RELEASE OF DATA.—The 

18 Administrator shall develop a protocol to provide for 

19 the release of data sufficient to conduct the assess20 ment required under paragraph (2). 

21 (c) REINSURANCE.—The National Flood Insurance 

22 Act of 1968 is amended— 

23 (1) in section 1331(a)(2) (42 U.S.C. 

24 4051(a)(2)), by inserting ‘‘, including as reinsurance 


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1 of insurance coverage provided by the flood insur2 ance program’’ before ‘‘, on such terms’’; 

3 (2) in section 1332(c)(2) (42 U.S.C. 

4 4052(c)(2)), by inserting ‘‘or reinsurance’’ after 

5 ‘‘flood insurance coverage’’; 

6 (3) in section 1335(a) (42 U.S.C. 4055(a))— 

7 (A) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘(a)’’; and 

8 (B) by adding at the end the following new 

9 paragraph: 

10 ‘‘(2) The Administrator is authorized to secure rein11 surance coverage of coverage provided by the flood insur12 ance program from private market insurance, reinsurance, 

13 and capital market sources at rates and on terms deter14 mined by the Administrator to be reasonable and appro15 priate in an amount sufficient to maintain the ability of 

16 the program to pay claims and that minimizes the likeli17 hood that the program will utilize the borrowing authority 

18 provided under section 1309.’’; 

19 (4) in section 1346(a) (12 U.S.C. 4082(a))— 

20 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), 

21 by inserting ‘‘, or for purposes of securing rein22 surance of insurance coverage provided by the 

23 program,’’ before ‘‘of any or all of’’; 

24 (B) in paragraph (1)— 


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1 (i) by striking ‘‘estimating’’ and in2 serting ‘‘Estimating’’; and 

3 (ii) by striking the semicolon at the 

4 end and inserting a period; 

5 (C) in paragraph (2)— 

6 (i) by striking ‘‘receiving’’ and insert7 ing ‘‘Receiving’’; and 

8 (ii) by striking the semicolon at the 

9 end and inserting a period; 

10 (D) in paragraph (3)— 

11 (i) by striking ‘‘making’’ and inserting 

12 ‘‘Making’’; and 

13 (ii) by striking ‘‘; and’’ and inserting 

14 a period; 

15 (E) in paragraph (4)— 

16 (i) by striking ‘‘otherwise’’ and insert17 ing ‘‘Otherwise’’; and 

18 (ii) by redesignating such paragraph 

19 as paragraph (5); and 

20 (F) by inserting after paragraph (3) the 

21 following new paragraph: 

22 ‘‘(4) Placing reinsurance coverage on insurance 

23 provided by such program.’’; and 

24 (5) in section 1370(a)(3) (42 U.S.C. 

25 4121(a)(3)), by inserting before the semicolon at the 


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1 end the following: ‘‘, is subject to the reporting re2 quirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, 

3 pursuant to section 13(a) or 15(d) of such Act (15 

4 U.S.C. 78m(a), 78o(d)), or is authorized by the Ad5 ministrator to assume reinsurance on risks insured 

6 by the flood insurance program’’. 

7 (d) ASSESSMENT OF CLAIMS-PAYING ABILITY.— 

8 (1) ASSESSMENT.—Not later than September 

9 30 of each year, the Administrator of the Federal 

10 Emergency Management Agency shall conduct an 

11 assessment of the claims-paying ability of the na12 tional flood insurance program, including the pro13 gram’s utilization of private sector reinsurance and 

14 reinsurance equivalents, with and without reliance 

15 on borrowing authority under section 1309 of the 

16 National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 

17 4016). In conducting the assessment, the Adminis18 trator shall take into consideration regional con19 centrations of coverage written by the program, peak 

20 flood zones, and relevant mitigation measures. 

21 (2) REPORT.—The Administrator shall submit 

22 a report to the Congress of the results of each such 

23 assessment, and make such report available to the 

24 public, not later than 30 days after completion of 

25 the assessment. 


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1 SEC. 350. FEMA ANNUAL REPORT ON INSURANCE PRO2 GRAM. 

3 Section 1320 of the National Flood Insurance Act of 

4 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4027) is amended— 

5 (1) in the section heading, by striking ‘‘REPORT

6 TO THE PRESIDENT’’ and inserting ‘‘ANNUAL RE7 PORT TO CONGRESS’’; 

8 (2) in subsection (a)— 

9 (A) by striking ‘‘biennially’’; 

10 (B) by striking ‘‘the President for submis11 sion to’’; and 

12 (C) by inserting ‘‘not later than June 30 

13 of each year’’ before the period at the end; 

14 (3) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘biennial’’ and 

15 inserting ‘‘annual’’; and 

16 (4) by adding at the end the following new sub17 section: 

18 ‘‘(c) FINANCIAL STATUS OF PROGRAM.—The report 

19 under this section for each year shall include information 

20 regarding the financial status of the national flood insur21 ance program under this title, including a description of 

22 the financial status of the National Flood Insurance Fund 

23 and current and projected levels of claims, premium re24 ceipts, expenses, and borrowing under the program.’’. 


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1 SEC. 351. MITIGATION ASSISTANCE. 

2 (a) MITIGATION ASSISTANCE GRANTS.—Section 

3 1366 of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 

4 U.S.C. 4104c) is amended— 

5 (1) in subsection (a), by striking the last sen6 tence and inserting the following: ‘‘Such financial 

7 assistance shall be made available— 

8 ‘‘(1) to States and communities in the form of 

9 grants under this section for carrying out mitigation 

10 activities; 

11 ‘‘(2) to States and communities in the form of 

12 grants under this section for carrying out mitigation 

13 activities that reduce flood damage to severe repet14 itive loss structures; and 

15 ‘‘(3) to property owners in the form of direct 

16 grants under this section for carrying out mitigation 

17 activities that reduce flood damage to individual 

18 structures for which 2 or more claim payments for 

19 losses have been made under flood insurance cov20 erage under this title if the Administrator, after con21 sultation with the State and community, determines 

22 that neither the State nor community in which such 

23 a structure is located has the capacity to manage 

24 such grants.’’. 

25 (2) by striking subsection (b); 

26 (3) in subsection (c)— 


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1 (A) by striking ‘‘flood risk’’ and inserting 

2 ‘‘multi-hazard’’; 

3 (B) by striking ‘‘provides protection 

4 against’’ and inserting ‘‘examines reduction of’’; 

5 and 

6 (C) by redesignating such subsection as 

7 subsection (b); 

8 (4) by striking subsection (d); 

9 (5) in subsection (e)— 

10 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking the para11 graph designation and all that follows through 

12 the end of the first sentence and inserting the 

13 following: 

14 ‘‘(1) REQUIREMENT OF CONSISTENCY WITH AP15 PROVED MITIGATION PLAN.—Amounts provided 

16 under this section may be used only for mitigation 

17 activities that are consistent with mitigation plans 

18 that are approved by the Administrator and identi19 fied under subparagraph (4).’’; 

20 (B) by striking paragraphs (2), (3), and 

21 (4) and inserting the following new paragraphs: 

22 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS OF TECHNICAL FEASI23 BILITY, COST EFFECTIVENESS, AND INTEREST OF

24 NFIF.—The Administrator may approve only mitiga25 tion activities that the Administrator determines are 


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1 technically feasible and cost-effective and in the in2 terest of, and represent savings to, the National 

3 Flood Insurance Fund. In making such determina4 tions, the Administrator shall take into consideration 

5 recognized benefits that are difficult to quantify. 

6 ‘‘(3) PRIORITY FOR MITIGATION ASSISTANCE.— 

7 In providing grants under this section for mitigation 

8 activities, the Administrator shall give priority for 

9 funding to activities that the Administrator deter10 mines will result in the greatest savings to the Na11 tional Flood Insurance Fund, including activities 

12 for— 

13 ‘‘(A) severe repetitive loss structures; 

14 ‘‘(B) repetitive loss structures; and 

15 ‘‘(C) other subsets of structures as the Ad16 ministrator may establish.’’; 

17 (C) in paragraph (5)— 

18 (i) by striking all of the matter that 

19 precedes subparagraph (A) and inserting 

20 the following: 

21 ‘‘(4) ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES.—Eligible activities 

22 may include—’’; 

23 (ii) by striking subparagraphs (E) and 

24 (H); 


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1 (iii) by redesignating subparagraphs 

2 (D), (F), and (G) as subparagraphs (E), 

3 (G), and (H); 

4 (iv) by inserting after subparagraph 

5 (C) the following new subparagraph: 

6 ‘‘(D) elevation, relocation, and 

7 floodproofing of utilities (including equipment 

8 that serve structures);’’; 

9 (v) by inserting after subparagraph 

10 (E), as so redesignated by clause (iii) of 

11 this subparagraph, the following new sub12 paragraph: 

13 ‘‘(F) the development or update of State, 

14 local, or Indian tribal mitigation plans which 

15 meet the planning criteria established by the 

16 Administrator, except that the amount from 

17 grants under this section that may be used 

18 under this subparagraph may not exceed 

19 $50,000 for any mitigation plan of a State or 

20 $25,000 for any mitigation plan of a local gov21 ernment or Indian tribe;’’; 

22 (vi) in subparagraph (H); as so redes23 ignated by clause (iii) of this subpara24 graph, by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; and 


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1 (vii) by adding at the end the fol2 lowing new subparagraphs: 

3 ‘‘(I) other mitigation activities not de4 scribed in subparagraphs (A) through (G) or 

5 the regulations issued under subparagraph (H), 

6 that are described in the mitigation plan of a 

7 State, community, or Indian tribe; and 

8 ‘‘(J) personnel costs for State staff that 

9 provide technical assistance to communities to 

10 identify eligible activities, to develop grant ap11 plications, and to implement grants awarded 

12 under this section, not to exceed $50,000 per 

13 State in any Federal fiscal year, so long as the 

14 State applied for and was awarded at least 

15 $1,000,000 in grants available under this sec16 tion in the prior Federal fiscal year; the re17 quirements of subsections (d)(1) and (d)(2) 

18 shall not apply to the activity under this sub19 paragraph.’’; 

20 (D) by adding at the end the following new 

21 paragraph: 

22 ‘‘(6) ELIGIBILITY OF DEMOLITION AND RE23 BUILDING OF PROPERTIES.—The Administrator 

24 shall consider as an eligible activity the demolition 

25 and rebuilding of properties to at least base flood 


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1 elevation or greater, if required by the Administrator 

2 or if required by any State regulation or local ordi3 nance, and in accordance with criteria established by 

4 the Administrator.’’; and 

5 (E) by redesignating such subsection as 

6 subsection (c); 

7 (6) by striking subsections (f), (g), and (h) and 

8 inserting the following new subsection: 

9 ‘‘(d) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.—The Administrator 

10 may provide grants for eligible mitigation activities as fol11 lows: 

12 ‘‘(1) SEVERE REPETITIVE LOSS STRUCTURES.— 

13 In the case of mitigation activities to severe repet14 itive loss structures, in an amount up to 100 percent 

15 of all eligible costs. 

16 ‘‘(2) REPETITIVE LOSS STRUCTURES.—In the 

17 case of mitigation activities to repetitive loss struc18 tures, in an amount up to 90 percent of all eligible 

19 costs. 

20 ‘‘(3) OTHER MITIGATION ACTIVITIES.—In the 

21 case of all other mitigation activities, in an amount 

22 up to 75 percent of all eligible costs.’’; 

23 (7) in subsection (i)— 

24 (A) in paragraph (2)— 


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1 (i) by striking ‘‘certified under sub2 section (g)’’ and inserting ‘‘required under 

3 subsection (d)’’; and 

4 (ii) by striking ‘‘3 times the amount’’ 

5 and inserting ‘‘the amount’’; and 

6 (B) by redesignating such subsection as 

7 subsection (e); 

8 (8) in subsection (j)— 

9 (A) by striking ‘‘Riegle Community Devel10 opment and Regulatory Improvement Act of 

11 1994’’ and inserting ‘‘Flood Insurance Reform 

12 Act of 2012’’; 

13 (B) by redesignating such subsection as 

14 subsection (f); and 

15 (9) by striking subsections (k) and (m) and in16 serting the following new subsections: 

17 ‘‘(g) FAILURE TO MAKE GRANT AWARD WITHIN 5 

18 YEARS.—For any application for a grant under this sec19 tion for which the Administrator fails to make a grant 

20 award within 5 years of the date of application, the grant 

21 application shall be considered to be denied and any fund22 ing amounts allocated for such grant applications shall re23 main in the National Flood Mitigation Fund under section 

24 1367 of this title and shall be made available for grants 

25 under this section. 


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1 ‘‘(h) LIMITATION ON FUNDING FOR MITIGATION AC2 TIVITIES FOR SEVERE REPETITIVE LOSS STRUCTURES.— 

3 The amount used pursuant to section 1310(a)(8) in any 

4 fiscal year may not exceed $40,000,000 and shall remain 

5 available until expended. 

6 ‘‘(i) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section, the 

7 following definitions shall apply: 

8 ‘‘(1) COMMUNITY.—The term ‘community’ 

9 means— 

10 ‘‘(A) a political subdivision that— 

11 ‘‘(i) has zoning and building code ju12 risdiction over a particular area having 

13 special flood hazards, and 

14 ‘‘(ii) is participating in the national 

15 flood insurance program; or 

16 ‘‘(B) a political subdivision of a State, or 

17 other authority, that is designated by political 

18 subdivisions, all of which meet the requirements 

19 of subparagraph (A), to administer grants for 

20 mitigation activities for such political subdivi21 sions. 

22 ‘‘(2) REPETITIVE LOSS STRUCTURE.—The term 

23 ‘repetitive loss structure’ has the meaning given 

24 such term in section 1370. 


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1 ‘‘(3) SEVERE REPETITIVE LOSS STRUCTURE.— 

2 The term ‘severe repetitive loss structure’ means a 

3 structure that— 

4 ‘‘(A) is covered under a contract for flood 

5 insurance made available under this title; and 

6 ‘‘(B) has incurred flood-related damage— 

7 ‘‘(i) for which 4 or more separate 

8 claims payments have been made under 

9 flood insurance coverage under this title, 

10 with the amount of each such claim ex11 ceeding $15,000, and with the cumulative 

12 amount of such claims payments exceeding 

13 $60,000; or 

14 ‘‘(ii) for which at least 2 separate 

15 claims payments have been made under 

16 such coverage, with the cumulative amount 

17 of such claims exceeding the value of the 

18 insured structure.’’. 

19 (b) ELIMINATION OF GRANTS PROGRAM FOR REPET20 ITIVE INSURANCE CLAIMS PROPERTIES.—Chapter I of 

21 the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 is amended by 

22 striking section 1323 (42 U.S.C. 4030). 

23 (c) ELIMINATION OF PILOT PROGRAM FOR MITIGA24 TION OF SEVERE REPETITIVE LOSS PROPERTIES.—ChapVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:19 May 10, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00107 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5652.RH H5652

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1 ter III of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 is 

2 amended by striking section 1361A (42 U.S.C. 4102a). 

3 (d) NATIONAL FLOOD INSURANCE FUND.—Section 

4 1310(a) of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 

5 U.S.C. 4017(a)) is amended— 

6 (1) in paragraph (7), by inserting ‘‘and’’ after 

7 the semicolon; and 

8 (2) by striking paragraphs (8) and (9). 

9 (e) NATIONAL FLOOD MITIGATION FUND.—Section 

10 1367 of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 

11 U.S.C. 4104d) is amended— 

12 (1) in subsection (b)— 

13 (A) by striking paragraph (1) and insert14 ing the following new paragraph: 

15 ‘‘(1) in each fiscal year, from the National 

16 Flood Insurance Fund in amounts not exceeding 

17 $90,000,000 to remain available until expended, of 

18 which— 

19 ‘‘(A) not more than $40,000,000 shall be 

20 available pursuant to subsection (a) of this sec21 tion only for assistance described in section 

22 1366(a)(1); 

23 ‘‘(B) not more than $40,000,000 shall be 

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1 tion only for assistance described in section 

2 1366(a)(2); and 

3 ‘‘(C) not more than $10,000,000 shall be 

4 available pursuant to subsection (a) of this sec5 tion only for assistance described in section 

6 1366(a)(3).’’. 

7 (B) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘section 

8 1366(i)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 1366(e)’’; 

9 (2) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘sections 1366 

10 and 1323’’ and inserting ‘‘section 1366’’; 

11 (3) by redesignating subsections (d) and (e) as 

12 subsections (f) and (g), respectively; and 

13 (4) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol14 lowing new subsections: 

15 ‘‘(d) PROHIBITION ON OFFSETTING COLLECTIONS.— 

16 Notwithstanding any other provision of this title, amounts 

17 made available pursuant to this section shall not be sub18 ject to offsetting collections through premium rates for 

19 flood insurance coverage under this title. 

20 ‘‘(e) CONTINUED AVAILABILITY AND REALLOCA21 TION.—Any amounts made available pursuant to subpara22 graph (A), (B), or (C) of subsection (b)(1) that are not 

23 used in any fiscal year shall continue to be available for 

24 the purposes specified in such subparagraph of subsection 

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1 able, unless the Administrator determines that realloca2 tion of such unused amounts to meet demonstrated need 

3 for other mitigation activities under section 1366 is in the 

4 best interest of the National Flood Insurance Fund.’’. 

5 (f) INCREASED COST OF COMPLIANCE COVERAGE.— 

6 Section 1304(b)(4) of the National Flood Insurance Act 

7 of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4011(b)(4)) is amended— 

8 (1) by striking subparagraph (B); and 

9 (2) by redesignating subparagraphs (C), (D), 

10 and (E) as subparagraphs (B), (C), and (D), respec11 tively. 

12 SEC. 352. NOTIFICATION TO HOMEOWNERS REGARDING 

13 MANDATORY PURCHASE REQUIREMENT AP14 PLICABILITY AND RATE PHASE-INS. 

15 Section 201 of the Flood Disaster Protection Act of 

16 1973 (42 U.S.C. 4105) is amended by adding at the end 

17 the following new subsection: 

18 ‘‘(f) ANNUAL NOTIFICATION.—The Administrator, in 

19 consultation with affected communities, shall establish and 

20 carry out a plan to notify residents of areas having special 

21 flood hazards, on an annual basis— 

22 ‘‘(1) that they reside in such an area; 

23 ‘‘(2) of the geographical boundaries of such 

24 area; 


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1 ‘‘(3) of whether section 1308(g) of the National 

2 Flood Insurance Act of 1968 applies to properties 

3 within such area; 

4 ‘‘(4) of the provisions of section 102 requiring 

5 purchase of flood insurance coverage for properties 

6 located in such an area, including the date on which 

7 such provisions apply with respect to such area, tak8 ing into consideration section 102(i); and 

9 ‘‘(5) of a general estimate of what similar 

10 homeowners in similar areas typically pay for flood 

11 insurance coverage, taking into consideration section 

12 1308(g) of the National Flood Insurance Act of 

13 1968.’’. 

14 SEC. 353. NOTIFICATION TO MEMBERS OF CONGRESS OF 

15 FLOOD MAP REVISIONS AND UPDATES. 

16 Section 1360 of the National Flood Insurance Act of 

17 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4101), as amended by the preceding pro18 visions of this subtitle, is further amended by adding at 

19 the end the following new subsection: 

20 ‘‘(l) NOTIFICATION TO MEMBERS OF CONGRESS OF

21 MAP MODERNIZATION.—Upon any revision or update of 

22 any floodplain area or flood-risk zone pursuant to sub23 section (f), any decision pursuant to subsection (f)(1) that 

24 such revision or update is necessary, any issuance of pre25 liminary maps for such revision or updating, or any other 


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1 significant action relating to any such revision or update, 

2 the Administrator shall notify the Senators for each State 

3 affected, and each Member of the House of Representa4 tives for each congressional district affected, by such revi5 sion or update in writing of the action taken.’’. 

6 SEC. 354. NOTIFICATION AND APPEAL OF MAP CHANGES; 

7 NOTIFICATION TO COMMUNITIES OF ESTAB8 LISHMENT OF FLOOD ELEVATIONS. 

9 Section 1363 of the National Flood Insurance Act of 

10 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4104) is amended by striking the section 

11 designation and all that follows through the end of sub12 section (a) and inserting the following: 

13 ‘‘SEC. 1363. (a) In establishing projected flood ele14 vations for land use purposes with respect to any commu15 nity pursuant to section 1361, the Administrator shall 

16 first propose such determinations— 

17 ‘‘(1) by providing the chief executive officer of 

18 each community affected by the proposed elevations, 

19 by certified mail, with a return receipt requested, 

20 notice of the elevations, including a copy of the maps 

21 for the elevations for such community and a state22 ment explaining the process under this section to ap23 peal for changes in such elevations; 

24 ‘‘(2) by causing notice of such elevations to be 

25 published in the Federal Register, which notice shall 


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1 include information sufficient to identify the ele2 vation determinations and the communities affected, 

3 information explaining how to obtain copies of the 

4 elevations, and a statement explaining the process 

5 under this section to appeal for changes in the ele6 vations; 

7 ‘‘(3) by publishing in a prominent local news8 paper the elevations, a description of the appeals 

9 process for flood determinations, and the mailing ad10 dress and telephone number of a person the owner 

11 may contact for more information or to initiate an 

12 appeal; 

13 ‘‘(4) by providing written notification, by first 

14 class mail, to each owner of real property affected by 

15 the proposed elevations of— 

16 ‘‘(A) the status of such property, both 

17 prior to and after the effective date of the pro18 posed determination, with respect to flood zone 

19 and flood insurance requirements under this 

20 Act and the Flood Disaster Protection Act of 

21 1973; 

22 ‘‘(B) the process under this section to ap23 peal a flood elevation determination; and 


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1 ‘‘(C) the mailing address and phone num2 ber of a person the owner may contact for more 

3 information or to initiate an appeal; and’’. 

4 SEC. 355. NOTIFICATION TO TENANTS OF AVAILABILITY OF 

5 CONTENTS INSURANCE. 

6 The National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 is amend7 ed by inserting after section 1308 (42 U.S.C. 4015) the 

8 following new section: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 1308A. NOTIFICATION TO TENANTS OF AVAILABILITY 

10 OF CONTENTS INSURANCE. 

11 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall, upon 

12 entering into a contract for flood insurance coverage under 

13 this title for any property— 

14 ‘‘(1) provide to the insured sufficient copies of 

15 the notice developed pursuant to subsection (b); and 

16 ‘‘(2) require the insured to provide a copy of 

17 the notice, or otherwise provide notification of the 

18 information under subsection (b) in the manner that 

19 the manager or landlord deems most appropriate, to 

20 each such tenant and to each new tenant upon com21 mencement of such a tenancy. 

22 ‘‘(b) NOTICE.—Notice to a tenant of a property in 

23 accordance with this subsection is written notice that 

24 clearly informs a tenant— 


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1 ‘‘(1) whether the property is located in an area 

2 having special flood hazards; 

3 ‘‘(2) that flood insurance coverage is available 

4 under the national flood insurance program under 

5 this title for contents of the unit or structure leased 

6 by the tenant; 

7 ‘‘(3) of the maximum amount of such coverage 

8 for contents available under this title at that time; 

9 and 

10 ‘‘(4) of where to obtain information regarding 

11 how to obtain such coverage, including a telephone 

12 number, mailing address, and Internet site of the 

13 Administrator where such information is available.’’. 

14 SEC. 356. NOTIFICATION TO POLICY HOLDERS REGARDING 

15 DIRECT MANAGEMENT OF POLICY BY FEMA. 

16 Part C of chapter II of the National Flood Insurance 

17 Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4081 et seq.) is amended by add18 ing at the end the following new section: 

19 ‘‘SEC. 1349. NOTIFICATION TO POLICY HOLDERS REGARD20 ING DIRECT MANAGEMENT OF POLICY BY 

21 FEMA. 

22 ‘‘(a) NOTIFICATION.—Not later than 60 days before 

23 the date on which a transferred flood insurance policy ex24 pires, and annually thereafter until such time as the Fed25 eral Emergency Management Agency is no longer directly 


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1 administering such policy, the Administrator shall notify 

2 the holder of such policy that— 

3 ‘‘(1) the Federal Emergency Management 

4 Agency is directly administering the policy; 

5 ‘‘(2) such holder may purchase flood insurance 

6 that is directly administered by an insurance com7 pany; and 

8 ‘‘(3) purchasing flood insurance offered under 

9 the National Flood Insurance Program that is di10 rectly administered by an insurance company will 

11 not alter the coverage provided or the premiums 

12 charged to such holder that otherwise would be pro13 vided or charged if the policy was directly adminis14 tered by the Federal Emergency Management Agen15 cy. 

16 ‘‘(b) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘trans17 ferred flood insurance policy’ means a flood insurance pol18 icy that— 

19 ‘‘(1) was directly administered by an insurance 

20 company at the time the policy was originally pur21 chased by the policy holder; and 

22 ‘‘(2) at the time of renewal of the policy, direct 

23 administration of the policy was or will be trans24 ferred to the Federal Emergency Management Agen25 cy.’’. 


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1 SEC. 357. NOTICE OF AVAILABILITY OF FLOOD INSURANCE 

2 AND ESCROW IN RESPA GOOD FAITH ESTI3 MATE. 

4 Subsection (c) of section 5 of the Real Estate Settle5 ment Procedures Act of 1974 (12 U.S.C. 2604(c)) is 

6 amended by adding at the end the following new sentence: 

7 ‘‘Each such good faith estimate shall include the following 

8 conspicuous statements and information: (1) that flood in9 surance coverage for residential real estate is generally 

10 available under the national flood insurance program 

11 whether or not the real estate is located in an area having 

12 special flood hazards and that, to obtain such coverage, 

13 a home owner or purchaser should contact the national 

14 flood insurance program; (2) a telephone number and a 

15 location on the Internet by which a home owner or pur16 chaser can contact the national flood insurance program; 

17 and (3) that the escrowing of flood insurance payments 

18 is required for many loans under section 102(d) of the 

19 Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973, and may be a con20 venient and available option with respect to other loans.’’. 

21 SEC. 358. REIMBURSEMENT FOR COSTS INCURRED BY 

22 HOMEOWNERS AND COMMUNITIES OBTAIN23 ING LETTERS OF MAP AMENDMENT OR REVI24 SION. 

25 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1360 of the National 

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1 ed by the preceding provisions of this subtitle, is further 

2 amended by adding at the end the following new sub3 section: 

4 ‘‘(m) REIMBURSEMENT.— 

5 ‘‘(1) REQUIREMENT UPON BONA FIDE

6 ERROR.—If an owner of any property located in an 

7 area described in section 102(i)(3) of the Flood Dis8 aster Protection Act of 1973, or a community in 

9 which such a property is located, obtains a letter of 

10 map amendment, or a letter of map revision, due to 

11 a bona fide error on the part of the Administrator 

12 of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the 

13 Administrator shall reimburse such owner, or such 

14 entity or jurisdiction acting on such owner’s behalf, 

15 or such community, as applicable, for any reasonable 

16 costs incurred in obtaining such letter. 

17 ‘‘(2) REASONABLE COSTS.—The Administrator 

18 shall, by regulation or notice, determine a reasonable 

19 amount of costs to be reimbursed under paragraph 

20 (1), except that such costs shall not include legal or 

21 attorneys fees. In determining the reasonableness of 

22 costs, the Administrator shall only consider the ac23 tual costs to the owner or community, as applicable, 

24 of utilizing the services of an engineer, surveyor, or 

25 similar services.’’. 


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1 (b) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 90 days after the 

2 date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator of 

3 the Federal Emergency Management Agency shall issue 

4 the regulations or notice required under section 

5 1360(m)(2) of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968, 

6 as added by the amendment made by subsection (a) of 

7 this section. 

8 SEC. 359. ENHANCED COMMUNICATION WITH CERTAIN 

9 COMMUNITIES DURING MAP UPDATING 

10 PROCESS. 

11 Section 1360 of the National Flood Insurance Act of 

12 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4101), as amended by the preceding pro13 visions of this subtitle, is further amended by adding at 

14 the end the following new subsection: 

15 ‘‘(n) ENHANCED COMMUNICATION WITH CERTAIN

16 COMMUNITIES DURING MAP UPDATING PROCESS.—In 

17 updating flood insurance maps under this section, the Ad18 ministrator shall communicate with communities located 

19 in areas where flood insurance rate maps have not been 

20 updated in 20 years or more and the appropriate State 

21 emergency agencies to resolve outstanding issues, provide 

22 technical assistance, and disseminate all necessary infor23 mation to reduce the prevalence of outdated maps in flood24 prone areas.’’. 


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1 SEC. 360. NOTIFICATION TO RESIDENTS NEWLY INCLUDED 

2 IN FLOOD HAZARD AREAS. 

3 Section 1360 of the National Flood Insurance Act of 

4 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4101), as amended by the preceding pro5 visions of this subtitle, is further amended by adding at 

6 the end the following new subsection: 

7 ‘‘(o) NOTIFICATION TO RESIDENTS NEWLY IN8 CLUDED IN FLOOD HAZARD AREA.—In revising or updat9 ing any areas having special flood hazards, the Adminis10 trator shall provide to each owner of a property to be 

11 newly included in such a special flood hazard area, at the 

12 time of issuance of such proposed revised or updated flood 

13 insurance maps, a copy of the proposed revised or updated 

14 flood insurance maps together with information regarding 

15 the appeals process under section 1363 (42 U.S.C. 

16 4104).’’. 

17 SEC. 361. TREATMENT OF SWIMMING POOL ENCLOSURES 

18 OUTSIDE OF HURRICANE SEASON. 

19 Chapter I of the National Flood Insurance Act of 

20 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4001 et seq.) is amended by adding at 

21 the end the following new section: 

22 ‘‘SEC. 1325. TREATMENT OF SWIMMING POOL ENCLOSURES 

23 OUTSIDE OF HURRICANE SEASON. 

24 ‘‘In the case of any property that is otherwise in com25 pliance with the coverage and building requirements of the 

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1 closed swimming pool located at ground level or in the 

2 space below the lowest floor of a building after November 

3 30 and before June 1 of any year shall have no effect on 

4 the terms of coverage or the ability to receive coverage 

5 for such building under the national flood insurance pro6 gram established pursuant to this title, if the pool is en7 closed with non-supporting breakaway walls.’’. 

8 SEC. 362. INFORMATION REGARDING MULTIPLE PERILS 

9 CLAIMS. 

10 Section 1345 of the National Flood Insurance Act of 

11 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4081) is amended by adding at the end 

12 the following new subsection: 

13 ‘‘(d) INFORMATION REGARDING MULTIPLE PERILS

14 CLAIMS.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 

16 if an insured having flood insurance coverage under 

17 a policy issued under the program under this title by 

18 the Administrator or a company, insurer, or entity 

19 offering flood insurance coverage under such pro20 gram (in this subsection referred to as a ‘partici21 pating company’) has wind or other homeowners 

22 coverage from any company, insurer, or other entity 

23 covering property covered by such flood insurance, in 

24 the case of damage to such property that may have 

25 been caused by flood or by wind, the Administrator 


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1 and the participating company, upon the request of 

2 the insured, shall provide to the insured, within 30 

3 days of such request— 

4 ‘‘(A) a copy of the estimate of structure 

5 damage; 

6 ‘‘(B) proofs of loss; 

7 ‘‘(C) any expert or engineering reports or 

8 documents commissioned by or relied upon by 

9 the Administrator or participating company in 

10 determining whether the damage was caused by 

11 flood or any other peril; and 

12 ‘‘(D) the Administrator’s or the partici13 pating company’s final determination on the 

14 claim. 

15 ‘‘(2) TIMING.—Paragraph (1) shall apply only 

16 with respect to a request described in such para17 graph made by an insured after the Administrator 

18 or the participating company, or both, as applicable, 

19 have issued a final decision on the flood claim in20 volved and resolution of all appeals with respect to 

21 such claim.’’. 


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1 SEC. 363. FEMA AUTHORITY TO REJECT TRANSFER OF 

2 POLICIES. 

3 Section 1345 of the National Flood Insurance Act of 

4 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4081) is amended by adding at the end 

5 the following new subsection: 

6 ‘‘(e) FEMA AUTHORITY TO REJECT TRANSFER OF

7 POLICIES.—Notwithstanding any other provision of this 

8 Act, the Administrator may, at the discretion of the Ad9 ministrator, refuse to accept the transfer of the adminis10 tration of policies for coverage under the flood insurance 

11 program under this title that are written and administered 

12 by any insurance company or other insurer, or any insur13 ance agent or broker.’’. 

14 SEC. 364. APPEALS. 

15 (a) TELEVISION AND RADIO ANNOUNCEMENT.—Sec16 tion 1363 of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 

17 (42 U.S.C. 4104), as amended by the preceding provisions 

18 of this subtitle, is further amended— 

19 (1) in subsection (a), by adding at the end the 

20 following new paragraph: 

21 ‘‘(5) by notifying a local television and radio 

22 station,’’; and 

23 (2) in the first sentence of subsection (b), by in24 serting before the period at the end the following: 

25 ‘‘and shall notify a local television and radio station 

26 at least once during the same 10-day period’’. 


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1 (b) EXTENSION OF APPEALS PERIOD.—Subsection 

2 (b) of section 1363 of the National Flood Insurance Act 

3 of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4104(b)) is amended— 

4 (1) by striking ‘‘(b) The Director’’ and insert5 ing ‘‘(b)(1) The Administrator’’; and 

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

7 paragraph: 

8 ‘‘(2) The Administrator shall grant an extension of 

9 the 90-day period for appeals referred to in paragraph (1) 

10 for 90 additional days if an affected community certifies 

11 to the Administrator, after the expiration of at least 60 

12 days of such period, that the community— 

13 ‘‘(A) believes there are property owners or les14 sees in the community who are unaware of such pe15 riod for appeals; and 

16 ‘‘(B) will utilize the extension under this para17 graph to notify property owners or lessees who are 

18 affected by the proposed flood elevation determina19 tions of the period for appeals and the opportunity 

20 to appeal the determinations proposed by the Ad21 ministrator.’’. 

22 (c) APPLICABILITY.—The amendments made by sub23 sections (a) and (b) shall apply with respect to any flood 

24 elevation determination for any area in a community that 

25 has not, as of the date of the enactment of this Act, been 


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1 issued a Letter of Final Determination for such deter2 mination under the flood insurance map modernization 

3 process. 

4 SEC. 365. RESERVE FUND. 

5 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Chapter I of the National 

6 Flood Insurance Act of 1968 is amended by inserting after 

7 section 1310 (42 U.S.C. 4017) the following new section: 

8 ‘‘SEC. 1310A. RESERVE FUND. 

9 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF RESERVE FUND.—In car10 rying out the flood insurance program authorized by this 

11 title, the Administrator shall establish in the Treasury of 

12 the United States a National Flood Insurance Reserve 

13 Fund (in this section referred to as the ‘Reserve Fund’) 

14 which shall— 

15 ‘‘(1) be an account separate from any other ac16 counts or funds available to the Administrator; and 

17 ‘‘(2) be available for meeting the expected fu18 ture obligations of the flood insurance program. 

19 ‘‘(b) RESERVE RATIO.—Subject to the phase-in re20 quirements under subsection (d), the Reserve Fund shall 

21 maintain a balance equal to— 

22 ‘‘(1) 1 percent of the sum of the total potential 

23 loss exposure of all outstanding flood insurance poli24 cies in force in the prior fiscal year; or 


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1 ‘‘(2) such higher percentage as the Adminis2 trator determines to be appropriate, taking into con3 sideration any circumstance that may raise a signifi4 cant risk of substantial future losses to the Reserve 

5 Fund. 

6 ‘‘(c) MAINTENANCE OF RESERVE RATIO.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall 

8 have the authority to establish, increase, or decrease 

9 the amount of aggregate annual insurance premiums 

10 to be collected for any fiscal year necessary— 

11 ‘‘(A) to maintain the reserve ratio required 

12 under subsection (b); and 

13 ‘‘(B) to achieve such reserve ratio, if the 

14 actual balance of such reserve is below the 

15 amount required under subsection (b). 

16 ‘‘(2) CONSIDERATIONS.—In exercising the au17 thority under paragraph (1), the Administrator shall 

18 consider— 

19 ‘‘(A) the expected operating expenses of 

20 the Reserve Fund; 

21 ‘‘(B) the insurance loss expenditures under 

22 the flood insurance program; 

23 ‘‘(C) any investment income generated 

24 under the flood insurance program; and 


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1 ‘‘(D) any other factor that the Adminis2 trator determines appropriate. 

3 ‘‘(3) LIMITATIONS.—In exercising the authority 

4 under paragraph (1), the Administrator shall be 

5 subject to all other provisions of this Act, including 

6 any provisions relating to chargeable premium rates 

7 and annual increases of such rates. 

8 ‘‘(d) PHASE-IN REQUIREMENTS.—The phase-in re9 quirements under this subsection are as follows: 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Beginning in fiscal year 

11 2012 and not ending until the fiscal year in which 

12 the ratio required under subsection (b) is achieved, 

13 in each such fiscal year the Administrator shall 

14 place in the Reserve Fund an amount equal to not 

15 less than 7.5 percent of the reserve ratio required 

16 under subsection (b). 

17 ‘‘(2) AMOUNT SATISFIED.—As soon as the ratio 

18 required under subsection (b) is achieved, and except 

19 as provided in paragraph (3), the Administrator 

20 shall not be required to set aside any amounts for 

21 the Reserve Fund. 

22 ‘‘(3) EXCEPTION.—If at any time after the 

23 ratio required under subsection (b) is achieved, the 

24 Reserve Fund falls below the required ratio under 

25 subsection (b), the Administrator shall place in the 


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1 Reserve Fund for that fiscal year an amount equal 

2 to not less than 7.5 percent of the reserve ratio re3 quired under subsection (b). 

4 ‘‘(e) LIMITATION ON RESERVE RATIO.—In any given 

5 fiscal year, if the Administrator determines that the re6 serve ratio required under subsection (b) cannot be 

7 achieved, the Administrator shall submit a report to the 

8 Congress that— 

9 ‘‘(1) describes and details the specific concerns 

10 of the Administrator regarding such consequences; 

11 ‘‘(2) demonstrates how such consequences 

12 would harm the long-term financial soundness of the 

13 flood insurance program; and 

14 ‘‘(3) indicates the maximum attainable reserve 

15 ratio for that particular fiscal year. 

16 ‘‘(f) AVAILABILITY OF AMOUNTS.—The reserve ratio 

17 requirements under subsection (b) and the phase-in re18 quirements under subsection (d) shall be subject to the 

19 availability of amounts in the National Flood Insurance 

20 Fund for transfer under section 1310(a)(10), as provided 

21 in section 1310(f).’’. 

22 (b) FUNDING.—Subsection (a) of section 1310 of the 

23 National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 

24 4017(a)), as amended by the preceding provisions of this 


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1 Act, is further amended by adding at the end the following 

2 new paragraph: 

3 ‘‘(10) for transfers to the National Flood Insur4 ance Reserve Fund under section 1310A, in accord5 ance with such section.’’. 

6 SEC. 366. CDBG ELIGIBILITY FOR FLOOD INSURANCE OUT7 REACH ACTIVITIES AND COMMUNITY BUILD8 ING CODE ADMINISTRATION GRANTS. 

9 Section 105(a) of the Housing and Community De10 velopment Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5305(a)) is amended— 

11 (1) in paragraph (24), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

12 end; 

13 (2) in paragraph (25), by striking the period at 

14 the end and inserting a semicolon; and 

15 (3) by adding at the end the following new 

16 paragraphs: 

17 ‘‘(26) supplementing existing State or local 

18 funding for administration of building code enforce19 ment by local building code enforcement depart20 ments, including for increasing staffing, providing 

21 staff training, increasing staff competence and pro22 fessional qualifications, and supporting individual 

23 certification or departmental accreditation, and for 

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1 partment, except that, to be eligible to use amounts 

2 as provided in this paragraph— 

3 ‘‘(A) a building code enforcement depart4 ment shall provide matching, non-Federal funds 

5 to be used in conjunction with amounts used 

6 under this paragraph in an amount— 

7 ‘‘(i) in the case of a building code en8 forcement department serving an area with 

9 a population of more than 50,000, equal to 

10 not less than 50 percent of the total 

11 amount of any funds made available under 

12 this title that are used under this para13 graph; 

14 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a building code en15 forcement department serving an area with 

16 a population of between 20,001 and 

17 50,000, equal to not less than 25 percent 

18 of the total amount of any funds made 

19 available under this title that are used 

20 under this paragraph; and 

21 ‘‘(iii) in the case of a building code 

22 enforcement department serving an area 

23 with a population of less than 20,000, 

24 equal to not less than 12.5 percent of the 

25 total amount of any funds made available 


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1 under this title that are used under this 

2 paragraph, 

3 except that the Secretary may waive the match4 ing fund requirements under this subparagraph, 

5 in whole or in part, based upon the level of eco6 nomic distress of the jurisdiction in which is lo7 cated the local building code enforcement de8 partment that is using amounts for purposes 

9 under this paragraph, and shall waive such 

10 matching fund requirements in whole for any 

11 recipient jurisdiction that has dedicated all 

12 building code permitting fees to the conduct of 

13 local building code enforcement; and 

14 ‘‘(B) any building code enforcement de15 partment using funds made available under this 

16 title for purposes under this paragraph shall 

17 empanel a code administration and enforcement 

18 team consisting of at least 1 full-time building 

19 code enforcement officer, a city planner, and a 

20 health planner or similar officer; and 

21 ‘‘(27) provision of assistance to local govern22 mental agencies responsible for floodplain manage23 ment activities (including such agencies of Indians 

24 tribes, as such term is defined in section 4 of the 

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1 termination Act of 1996 (25 U.S.C. 4103)) in com2 munities that participate in the national flood insur3 ance program under the National Flood Insurance 

4 Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4001 et seq.), only for car5 rying out outreach activities to encourage and facili6 tate the purchase of flood insurance protection 

7 under such Act by owners and renters of properties 

8 in such communities and to promote educational ac9 tivities that increase awareness of flood risk reduc10 tion; except that— 

11 ‘‘(A) amounts used as provided under this 

12 paragraph shall be used only for activities de13 signed to— 

14 ‘‘(i) identify owners and renters of 

15 properties in communities that participate 

16 in the national flood insurance program, 

17 including owners of residential and com18 mercial properties; 

19 ‘‘(ii) notify such owners and renters 

20 when their properties become included in, 

21 or when they are excluded from, an area 

22 having special flood hazards and the effect 

23 of such inclusion or exclusion on the appli24 cability of the mandatory flood insurance 

25 purchase requirement under section 102 of 


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1 the Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973 

2 (42 U.S.C. 4012a) to such properties; 

3 ‘‘(iii) educate such owners and renters 

4 regarding the flood risk and reduction of 

5 this risk in their community, including the 

6 continued flood risks to areas that are no 

7 longer subject to the flood insurance man8 datory purchase requirement; 

9 ‘‘(iv) educate such owners and renters 

10 regarding the benefits and costs of main11 taining or acquiring flood insurance, in12 cluding, where applicable, lower-cost pre13 ferred risk policies under this title for such 

14 properties and the contents of such prop15 erties; 

16 ‘‘(v) encourage such owners and rent17 ers to maintain or acquire such coverage; 

18 ‘‘(vi) notify such owners of where to 

19 obtain information regarding how to obtain 

20 such coverage, including a telephone num21 ber, mailing address, and Internet site of 

22 the Administrator of the Federal Emer23 gency Management Agency (in this para24 graph referred to as the ‘Administrator’) 

25 where such information is available; and 


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1 ‘‘(vii) educate local real estate agents 

2 in communities participating in the na3 tional flood insurance program regarding 

4 the program and the availability of cov5 erage under the program for owners and 

6 renters of properties in such communities, 

7 and establish coordination and liaisons 

8 with such real estate agents to facilitate 

9 purchase of coverage under the National 

10 Flood Insurance Act of 1968 and increase 

11 awareness of flood risk reduction; 

12 ‘‘(B) in any fiscal year, a local govern13 mental agency may not use an amount under 

14 this paragraph that exceeds 3 times the amount 

15 that the agency certifies, as the Secretary, in 

16 consultation with the Administrator, shall re17 quire, that the agency will contribute from non18 Federal funds to be used with such amounts 

19 used under this paragraph only for carrying out 

20 activities described in subparagraph (A); and 

21 for purposes of this subparagraph, the term 

22 ‘non-Federal funds’ includes State or local gov23 ernment agency amounts, in-kind contributions, 

24 any salary paid to staff to carry out the eligible 

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1 volved, the value of the time and services con2 tributed by volunteers to carry out such services 

3 (at a rate determined by the Secretary), and 

4 the value of any donated material or building 

5 and the value of any lease on a building; 

6 ‘‘(C) a local governmental agency that uses 

7 amounts as provided under this paragraph may 

8 coordinate or contract with other agencies and 

9 entities having particular capacities, specialties, 

10 or experience with respect to certain popu11 lations or constituencies, including elderly or 

12 disabled families or persons, to carry out activi13 ties described in subparagraph (A) with respect 

14 to such populations or constituencies; and 

15 ‘‘(D) each local government agency that 

16 uses amounts as provided under this paragraph 

17 shall submit a report to the Secretary and the 

18 Administrator, not later than 12 months after 

19 such amounts are first received, which shall in20 clude such information as the Secretary and the 

21 Administrator jointly consider appropriate to 

22 describe the activities conducted using such 

23 amounts and the effect of such activities on the 

24 retention or acquisition of flood insurance cov25 erage.’’. 


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1 SEC. 367. TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS. 

2 (a) FLOOD DISASTER PROTECTION ACT OF 1973.— 

3 The Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973 (42 U.S.C. 

4 4002 et seq.) is amended— 

5 (1) by striking ‘‘Director’’ each place such term 

6 appears, except in section 102(f)(3) (42 U.S.C. 

7 4012a(f)(3)), and inserting ‘‘Administrator’’; and 

8 (2) in section 201(b) (42 U.S.C. 4105(b)), by 

9 striking ‘‘Director’s’’ and inserting ‘‘Administra10 tor’s’’. 

11 (b) NATIONAL FLOOD INSURANCE ACT OF 1968.— 

12 The National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 

13 4001 et seq.) is amended— 

14 (1) by striking ‘‘Director’’ each place such term 

15 appears and inserting ‘‘Administrator’’; and 

16 (2) in section 1363 (42 U.S.C. 4104), by strik17 ing ‘‘Director’s’’ each place such term appears and 

18 inserting ‘‘Administrator’s’’. 

19 (c) FEDERAL FLOOD INSURANCE ACT OF 1956.— 

20 Section 15(e) of the Federal Flood Insurance Act of 1956 

21 (42 U.S.C. 2414(e)) is amended by striking ‘‘Director’’ 

22 each place such term appears and inserting ‘‘Adminis23 trator’’. 


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1 SEC. 368. REQUIRING COMPETITION FOR NATIONAL FLOOD 

2 INSURANCE PROGRAM POLICIES. 

3 (a) REPORT.—Not later than the expiration of the 

4 90-day period beginning upon the date of the enactment 

5 of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal Emergency 

6 Management Agency, in consultation with insurance com7 panies, insurance agents and other organizations with 

8 which the Administrator has contracted, shall submit to 

9 the Congress a report describing procedures and policies 

10 that the Administrator shall implement to limit the per11 centage of policies for flood insurance coverage under the 

12 national flood insurance program that are directly man13 aged by the Agency to not more than 10 percent of the 

14 aggregate number of flood insurance policies in force 

15 under such program. 

16 (b) IMPLEMENTATION.—Upon submission of the re17 port under subsection (a) to the Congress, the Adminis18 trator shall implement the policies and procedures de19 scribed in the report. The Administrator shall, not later 

20 than the expiration of the 12-month period beginning 

21 upon submission of such report, reduce the number of 

22 policies for flood insurance coverage that are directly man23 aged by the Agency, or by the Agency’s direct servicing 

24 contractor that is not an insurer, to not more than 10 

25 percent of the aggregate number of flood insurance poli26 cies in force as of the expiration of such 12-month period. 


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1 (c) CONTINUATION OF CURRENT AGENT RELATION2 SHIPS.—In carrying out subsection (b), the Administrator 

3 shall ensure that— 

4 (1) agents selling or servicing policies described 

5 in such subsection are not prevented from con6 tinuing to sell or service such policies; and 

7 (2) insurance companies are not prevented from 

8 waiving any limitation such companies could other9 wise enforce to limit any such activity. 

10 SEC. 369. STUDIES OF VOLUNTARY COMMUNITY-BASED 

11 FLOOD INSURANCE OPTIONS. 

12 (a) STUDIES.—The Administrator of the Federal 

13 Emergency Management Agency and the Comptroller 

14 General of the United States shall each conduct a separate 

15 study to assess options, methods, and strategies for offer16 ing voluntary community-based flood insurance policy op17 tions and incorporating such options into the national 

18 flood insurance program. Such studies shall take into con19 sideration and analyze how the policy options would affect 

20 communities having varying economic bases, geographic 

21 locations, flood hazard characteristics or classifications, 

22 and flood management approaches. 

23 (b) REPORTS.—Not later than the expiration of the 

24 18-month period beginning on the date of the enactment 

25 of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal Emergency 


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1 Management Agency and the Comptroller General of the 

2 United States shall each submit a report to the Committee 

3 on Financial Services of the House of Representatives and 

4 the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs 

5 of the Senate on the results and conclusions of the study 

6 such agency conducted under subsection (a), and each 

7 such report shall include recommendations for the best 

8 manner to incorporate voluntary community-based flood 

9 insurance options into the national flood insurance pro10 gram and for a strategy to implement such options that 

11 would encourage communities to undertake flood mitiga12 tion activities. 

13 SEC. 370. REPORT ON INCLUSION OF BUILDING CODES IN 

14 FLOODPLAIN MANAGEMENT CRITERIA. 

15 Not later than the expiration of the 6-month period 

16 beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

17 Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management 

18 Agency shall conduct a study and submit a report to the 

19 Committee on Financial Services of the House of Rep20 resentatives and the Committee on Banking, Housing, and 

21 Urban Affairs of the Senate regarding the impact, effec22 tiveness, and feasibility of amending section 1361 of the 

23 National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4102) 

24 to include widely used and nationally recognized building 


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1 codes as part of the floodplain management criteria devel2 oped under such section, and shall determine— 

3 (1) the regulatory, financial, and economic im4 pacts of such a building code requirement on home5 owners, States and local communities, local land use 

6 policies, and the Federal Emergency Management 

7 Agency; 

8 (2) the resources required of State and local 

9 communities to administer and enforce such a build10 ing code requirement; 

11 (3) the effectiveness of such a building code re12 quirement in reducing flood-related damage to build13 ings and contents; 

14 (4) the impact of such a building code require15 ment on the actuarial soundness of the National 

16 Flood Insurance Program; 

17 (5) the effectiveness of nationally recognized 

18 codes in allowing innovative materials and systems 

19 for flood-resistant construction; 

20 (6) the feasibility and effectiveness of providing 

21 an incentive in lower premium rates for flood insur22 ance coverage under such Act for structures meeting 

23 whichever of such widely used and nationally recog24 nized building code or any applicable local building 

25 code provides greater protection from flood damage; 


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1 (7) the impact of such a building code require2 ment on rural communities with different building 

3 code challenges than more urban environments; and 

4 (8) the impact of such a building code require5 ment on Indian reservations. 

6 SEC. 371. STUDY ON GRADUATED RISK. 

7 (a) STUDY.—The National Academy of Sciences shall 

8 conduct a study exploring methods for understanding 

9 graduated risk behind levees and the associated land de10 velopment, insurance, and risk communication dimensions, 

11 which shall— 

12 (1) research, review, and recommend current 

13 best practices for estimating direct annualized flood 

14 losses behind levees for residential and commercial 

15 structures; 

16 (2) rank such practices based on their best 

17 value, balancing cost, scientific integrity, and the in18 herent uncertainties associated with all aspects of 

19 the loss estimate, including geotechnical engineering, 

20 flood frequency estimates, economic value, and direct 

21 damages; 

22 (3) research, review, and identify current best 

23 floodplain management and land use practices be24 hind levees that effectively balance social, economic, 


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1 and environmental considerations as part of an over2 all flood risk management strategy; 

3 (4) identify examples where such practices have 

4 proven effective and recommend methods and proc5 esses by which they could be applied more broadly 

6 across the United States, given the variety of dif7 ferent flood risks, State and local legal frameworks, 

8 and evolving judicial opinions; 

9 (5) research, review, and identify a variety of 

10 flood insurance pricing options for flood hazards be11 hind levees which are actuarially sound and based on 

12 the flood risk data developed using the top three 

13 best value approaches identified pursuant to para14 graph (1); 

15 (6) evaluate and recommend methods to reduce 

16 insurance costs through creative arrangements be17 tween insureds and insurers while keeping a clear 

18 accounting of how much financial risk is being borne 

19 by various parties such that the entire risk is ac20 counted for, including establishment of explicit limits 

21 on disaster aid or other assistance in the event of a 

22 flood; and 

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1 ated risks to community officials, homeowners, and 

2 other residents. 

3 (b) REPORT.—Not later than the expiration of the 

4 12-month period beginning on the date of the enactment 

5 of this Act, the National Academy of Sciences shall submit 

6 a report to the Committees on Financial Services and 

7 Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Rep8 resentatives and the Committees on Banking, Housing, 

9 and Urban Affairs and Commerce, Science and Transpor10 tation of the Senate on the study under subsection (a) in11 cluding the information and recommendations required 

12 under such subsection. 

13 SEC. 372. REPORT ON FLOOD-IN-PROGRESS DETERMINA14 TION. 

15 The Administrator of the Federal Emergency Man16 agement Agency shall review the processes and procedures 

17 for determining that a flood event has commenced or is 

18 in progress for purposes of flood insurance coverage made 

19 available under the national flood insurance program 

20 under the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 and for 

21 providing public notification that such an event has com22 menced or is in progress. In such review, the Adminis23 trator shall take into consideration the effects and implica24 tions that weather conditions, such as rainfall, snowfall, 

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1 tions have on the determination that a flood event has 

2 commenced or is in progress. Not later than the expiration 

3 of the 6-month period beginning upon the date of the en4 actment of this Act, the Administrator shall submit a re5 port to the Congress setting forth the results and conclu6 sions of the review undertaken pursuant to this section 

7 and any actions undertaken or proposed actions to be 

8 taken to provide for a more precise and technical deter9 mination that a flooding event has commenced or is in 

10 progress. 

11 SEC. 373. STUDY ON REPAYING FLOOD INSURANCE DEBT. 

12 Not later than the expiration of the 6-month period 

13 beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

14 Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management 

15 Agency shall submit a report to the Congress setting forth 

16 a plan for repaying within 10 years all amounts, including 

17 any amounts previously borrowed but not yet repaid, owed 

18 pursuant to clause (2) of subsection (a) of section 1309 

19 of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 

20 4016(a)(2)). 

21 SEC. 374. NO CAUSE OF ACTION. 

22 No cause of action shall exist and no claim may be 

23 brought against the United States for violation of any no24 tification requirement imposed upon the United States by 

25 this subtitle or any amendment made by this subtitle. 


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1 SEC. 375. AUTHORITY FOR THE CORPS OF ENGINEERS TO 

2 PROVIDE SPECIALIZED OR TECHNICAL SERV3 ICES. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi5 sion of law, upon the request of a State or local govern6 ment, the Secretary of the Army may evaluate a levee sys7 tem that was designed or constructed by the Secretary for 

8 the purposes of the National Flood Insurance Program es9 tablished under chapter 1 of the National Flood Insurance 

10 Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4011 et seq.). 

11 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—A levee system evaluation 

12 under subsection (a) shall— 

13 (1) comply with applicable regulations related 

14 to areas protected by a levee system; 

15 (2) be carried out in accordance with such pro16 cedures as the Secretary, in consultation with the 

17 Administrator of the Federal Emergency Manage18 ment Agency, may establish; and 

19 (3) be carried out only if the State or local gov20 ernment agrees to reimburse the Secretary for all 

21 cost associated with the performance of the activi22 ties. 


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1 Subtitle E—Repeal of the Office of 

2 Financial Research 

3 SEC. 381. REPEAL OF THE OFFICE OF FINANCIAL RE4 SEARCH. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle B of title I of the Dodd6 Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act 

7 is hereby repealed. 

8 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS TO THE DODD9 FRANK ACT.—The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and 

10 Consumer Protection Act is amended— 

11 (1) in section 102(a), by striking paragraph 

12 (5); 

13 (2) in section 111— 

14 (A) in subsection (b)(2)— 

15 (i) by striking subparagraph (A); and 

16 (ii) by redesignating subparagraphs 

17 (B), (C), (D), and (E) as subparagraphs 

18 (A), (B), (C), and (D), respectively; 

19 (B) in subsection (c)(1), by striking ‘‘sub20 paragraphs (C), (D), and (E)’’ and inserting 

21 ‘‘subparagraphs (B), (C), and (D)’’; 

22 (3) in section 112— 

23 (A) in subsection (a)(2)— 


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1 (i) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

2 ‘‘direct the Office of Financial Research 

3 to’’; 

4 (ii) by striking subparagraph (B); and 

5 (iii) by redesignating subparagraphs 

6 (C), (D), (E), (F), (G), (H), (I), (J), (K), 

7 (L), (M), and (N) as subparagraphs (B), 

8 (C), (D), (E), (F), (G), (H), (I), (J), (K), 

9 (L), and (M), respectively; and 

10 (B) in subsection (d)— 

11 (i) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘the 

12 Office of Financial Research, member 

13 agencies, and’’ and inserting ‘‘member 

14 agencies and’’; 

15 (ii) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘the 

16 Office of Financial Research, any member 

17 agency, and’’ and inserting ‘‘any member 

18 agency and’’; 

19 (iii) in paragraph (3)— 

20 (I) by striking ‘‘, acting through 

21 the Office of Financial Research,’’ 

22 each place it appears; and 

23 (II) in subparagraph (B), by 

24 striking ‘‘the Office of Financial Re25 search or’’; and 


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1 (iv) in paragraph (5)(A), by striking 

2 ‘‘, the Office of Financial Research,’’; 

3 (4) in section 116, by striking ‘‘, acting through 

4 the Office of Financial Research,’’ each place it ap5 pears; and 

6 (5) by striking section 118. 

7 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT TO THE PAPERWORK

8 REDUCTION ACT.—Effective as of the date specified in 

9 section 1100H of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and 

10 Consumer Protection Act, section 1100D(a) of such Act 

11 is amended to read as follows: 

12 ‘‘(a) DESIGNATION AS AN INDEPENDENT AGENCY.— 

13 Section 3502(5) of subchapter I of chapter 35 of title 44, 

14 United States Code (commonly known as the Paperwork 

15 Reduction Act) is amended by inserting ‘the Bureau of 

16 Consumer Financial Protection,’ after ‘the Securities and 

17 Exchange Commission,’.’’. 

18 (d) TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.—The table of con19 tents for the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Con20 sumer Protection Act is amended— 

21 (1) by striking the item relating to section 118; 

22 and 

23 (2) by striking the items relating to subtitle B 

24 of title I. 


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1 TITLE IV—COMMITTEE ON THE 

2 JUDICIARY 

3 SEC. 401. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Help Efficient, Acces5 sible, Low-cost, Timely Healthcare (HEALTH) Act of 

6 2011’’. 

7 SEC. 402. ENCOURAGING SPEEDY RESOLUTION OF CLAIMS. 

8 The time for the commencement of a health care law9 suit shall be 3 years after the date of manifestation of 

10 injury or 1 year after the claimant discovers, or through 

11 the use of reasonable diligence should have discovered, the 

12 injury, whichever occurs first. In no event shall the time 

13 for commencement of a health care lawsuit exceed 3 years 

14 after the date of manifestation of injury unless tolled for 

15 any of the following— 

16 (1) upon proof of fraud; 

17 (2) intentional concealment; or 

18 (3) the presence of a foreign body, which has no 

19 therapeutic or diagnostic purpose or effect, in the 

20 person of the injured person. 

21 Actions by a minor shall be commenced within 3 years 

22 from the date of the alleged manifestation of injury except 

23 that actions by a minor under the full age of 6 years shall 

24 be commenced within 3 years of manifestation of injury 

25 or prior to the minor’s 8th birthday, whichever provides 


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1 a longer period. Such time limitation shall be tolled for 

2 minors for any period during which a parent or guardian 

3 and a health care provider or health care organization 

4 have committed fraud or collusion in the failure to bring 

5 an action on behalf of the injured minor. 

6 SEC. 403. COMPENSATING PATIENT INJURY. 

7 (a) UNLIMITED AMOUNT OF DAMAGES FOR ACTUAL

8 ECONOMIC LOSSES IN HEALTH CARE LAWSUITS.—In any 

9 health care lawsuit, nothing in this title shall limit a claim10 ant’s recovery of the full amount of the available economic 

11 damages, notwithstanding the limitation in subsection (b). 

12 (b) ADDITIONAL NONECONOMIC DAMAGES.—In any 

13 health care lawsuit, the amount of noneconomic damages, 

14 if available, may be as much as $250,000, regardless of 

15 the number of parties against whom the action is brought 

16 or the number of separate claims or actions brought with 

17 respect to the same injury. 

18 (c) NO DISCOUNT OF AWARD FOR NONECONOMIC

19 DAMAGES.—For purposes of applying the limitation in 

20 subsection (b), future noneconomic damages shall not be 

21 discounted to present value. The jury shall not be in22 formed about the maximum award for noneconomic dam23 ages. An award for noneconomic damages in excess of 

24 $250,000 shall be reduced either before the entry of judg25 ment, or by amendment of the judgment after entry of 


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1 judgment, and such reduction shall be made before ac2 counting for any other reduction in damages required by 

3 law. If separate awards are rendered for past and future 

4 noneconomic damages and the combined awards exceed 

5 $250,000, the future noneconomic damages shall be re6 duced first. 

7 (d) FAIR SHARE RULE.—In any health care lawsuit, 

8 each party shall be liable for that party’s several share 

9 of any damages only and not for the share of any other 

10 person. Each party shall be liable only for the amount of 

11 damages allocated to such party in direct proportion to 

12 such party’s percentage of responsibility. Whenever a 

13 judgment of liability is rendered as to any party, a sepa14 rate judgment shall be rendered against each such party 

15 for the amount allocated to such party. For purposes of 

16 this section, the trier of fact shall determine the propor17 tion of responsibility of each party for the claimant’s 

18 harm. 

19 SEC. 404. MAXIMIZING PATIENT RECOVERY. 

20 (a) COURT SUPERVISION OF SHARE OF DAMAGES

21 ACTUALLY PAID TO CLAIMANTS.—In any health care law22 suit, the court shall supervise the arrangements for pay23 ment of damages to protect against conflicts of interest 

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1 ticular, in any health care lawsuit in which the attorney 

2 for a party claims a financial stake in the outcome by vir3 tue of a contingent fee, the court shall have the power 

4 to restrict the payment of a claimant’s damage recovery 

5 to such attorney, and to redirect such damages to the 

6 claimant based upon the interests of justice and principles 

7 of equity. In no event shall the total of all contingent fees 

8 for representing all claimants in a health care lawsuit ex9 ceed the following limits: 

10 (1) Forty percent of the first $50,000 recovered 

11 by the claimant(s). 

12 (2) Thirty-three and one-third percent of the 

13 next $50,000 recovered by the claimant(s). 

14 (3) Twenty-five percent of the next $500,000 

15 recovered by the claimant(s). 

16 (4) Fifteen percent of any amount by which the 

17 recovery by the claimant(s) is in excess of $600,000. 

18 (b) APPLICABILITY.—The limitations in this section 

19 shall apply whether the recovery is by judgment, settle20 ment, mediation, arbitration, or any other form of alter21 native dispute resolution. In a health care lawsuit involv22 ing a minor or incompetent person, a court retains the 

23 authority to authorize or approve a fee that is less than 

24 the maximum permitted under this section. The requireVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:19 May 10, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00152 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5652.RH H5652

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1 ment for court supervision in the first two sentences of 

2 subsection (a) applies only in civil actions. 

3 SEC. 405. PUNITIVE DAMAGES. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Punitive damages may, if other5 wise permitted by applicable State or Federal law, be 

6 awarded against any person in a health care lawsuit only 

7 if it is proven by clear and convincing evidence that such 

8 person acted with malicious intent to injure the claimant, 

9 or that such person deliberately failed to avoid unneces10 sary injury that such person knew the claimant was sub11 stantially certain to suffer. In any health care lawsuit 

12 where no judgment for compensatory damages is rendered 

13 against such person, no punitive damages may be awarded 

14 with respect to the claim in such lawsuit. No demand for 

15 punitive damages shall be included in a health care lawsuit 

16 as initially filed. A court may allow a claimant to file an 

17 amended pleading for punitive damages only upon a mo18 tion by the claimant and after a finding by the court, upon 

19 review of supporting and opposing affidavits or after a 

20 hearing, after weighing the evidence, that the claimant has 

21 established by a substantial probability that the claimant 

22 will prevail on the claim for punitive damages. At the re23 quest of any party in a health care lawsuit, the trier of 

24 fact shall consider in a separate proceeding— 


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1 (1) whether punitive damages are to be award2 ed and the amount of such award; and 

3 (2) the amount of punitive damages following a 

4 determination of punitive liability. 

5 If a separate proceeding is requested, evidence relevant 

6 only to the claim for punitive damages, as determined by 

7 applicable State law, shall be inadmissible in any pro8 ceeding to determine whether compensatory damages are 

9 to be awarded. 

10 (b) DETERMINING AMOUNT OF PUNITIVE DAM11 AGES.— 

12 (1) FACTORS CONSIDERED.—In determining 

13 the amount of punitive damages, if awarded, in a 

14 health care lawsuit, the trier of fact shall consider 

15 only the following— 

16 (A) the severity of the harm caused by the 

17 conduct of such party; 

18 (B) the duration of the conduct or any 

19 concealment of it by such party; 

20 (C) the profitability of the conduct to such 

21 party; 

22 (D) the number of products sold or med23 ical procedures rendered for compensation, as 

24 the case may be, by such party, of the kind 


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1 causing the harm complained of by the claim2 ant; 

3 (E) any criminal penalties imposed on such 

4 party, as a result of the conduct complained of 

5 by the claimant; and 

6 (F) the amount of any civil fines assessed 

7 against such party as a result of the conduct 

8 complained of by the claimant. 

9 (2) MAXIMUM AWARD.—The amount of punitive 

10 damages, if awarded, in a health care lawsuit may 

11 be as much as $250,000 or as much as two times 

12 the amount of economic damages awarded, which13 ever is greater. The jury shall not be informed of 

14 this limitation. 

15 (c) NO PUNITIVE DAMAGES FOR PRODUCTS THAT

16 COMPLY WITH FDA STANDARDS.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.— 

18 (A) No punitive damages may be awarded 

19 against the manufacturer or distributor of a 

20 medical product, or a supplier of any compo21 nent or raw material of such medical product, 

22 based on a claim that such product caused the 

23 claimant’s harm where— 

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1 censure by the Food and Drug Administra2 tion with respect to the safety of the for3 mulation or performance of the aspect of 

4 such medical product which caused the 

5 claimant’s harm or the adequacy of the 

6 packaging or labeling of such medical 

7 product; and 

8 (II) such medical product was so ap9 proved, cleared, or licensed; or 

10 (ii) such medical product is generally 

11 recognized among qualified experts as safe 

12 and effective pursuant to conditions estab13 lished by the Food and Drug Administra14 tion and applicable Food and Drug Admin15 istration regulations, including without 

16 limitation those related to packaging and 

17 labeling, unless the Food and Drug Admin18 istration has determined that such medical 

19 product was not manufactured or distrib20 uted in substantial compliance with appli21 cable Food and Drug Administration stat22 utes and regulations. 

23 (B) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Subpara24 graph (A) may not be construed as establishing 

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1 tration to demonstrate affirmatively that a 

2 manufacturer, distributor, or supplier referred 

3 to in such subparagraph meets any of the con4 ditions described in such subparagraph. 

5 (2) LIABILITY OF HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS.— 

6 A health care provider who prescribes, or who dis7 penses pursuant to a prescription, a medical product 

8 approved, licensed, or cleared by the Food and Drug 

9 Administration shall not be named as a party to a 

10 product liability lawsuit involving such product and 

11 shall not be liable to a claimant in a class action 

12 lawsuit against the manufacturer, distributor, or 

13 seller of such product. Nothing in this paragraph 

14 prevents a court from consolidating cases involving 

15 health care providers and cases involving products li16 ability claims against the manufacturer, distributor, 

17 or product seller of such medical product. 

18 (3) PACKAGING.—In a health care lawsuit for 

19 harm which is alleged to relate to the adequacy of 

20 the packaging or labeling of a drug which is required 

21 to have tamper-resistant packaging under regula22 tions of the Secretary of Health and Human Serv23 ices (including labeling regulations related to such 

24 packaging), the manufacturer or product seller of 

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1 ages unless such packaging or labeling is found by 

2 the trier of fact by clear and convincing evidence to 

3 be substantially out of compliance with such regula4 tions. 

5 (4) EXCEPTION.—Paragraph (1) shall not 

6 apply in any health care lawsuit in which— 

7 (A) a person, before or after premarket ap8 proval, clearance, or licensure of such medical 

9 product, knowingly misrepresented to or with10 held from the Food and Drug Administration 

11 information that is required to be submitted 

12 under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic 

13 Act (21 U.S.C. 301 et seq.) or section 351 of 

14 the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 262) 

15 that is material and is causally related to the 

16 harm which the claimant allegedly suffered 

17 (B) a person made an illegal payment to 

18 an official of the Food and Drug Administra19 tion for the purpose of either securing or main20 taining approval, clearance, or licensure of such 

21 medical product; or 

22 (C) the defendant caused the medical prod23 uct which caused the claimant’s harm to be 

24 misbranded or adulterated (as such terms are 


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1 used in chapter V of the Federal Food, Drug, 

2 and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 351 et seq.)). 

3 SEC. 406. AUTHORIZATION OF PAYMENT OF FUTURE DAM4 AGES TO CLAIMANTS IN HEALTH CARE LAW5 SUITS. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—In any health care lawsuit, if an 

7 award of future damages, without reduction to present 

8 value, equaling or exceeding $50,000 is made against a 

9 party with sufficient insurance or other assets to fund a 

10 periodic payment of such a judgment, the court shall, at 

11 the request of any party, enter a judgment ordering that 

12 the future damages be paid by periodic payments, in ac13 cordance with the Uniform Periodic Payment of Judg14 ments Act promulgated by the National Conference of 

15 Commissioners on Uniform State Laws. 

16 (b) APPLICABILITY.—This section applies to all ac17 tions which have not been first set for trial or retrial be18 fore the effective date of this title. 

19 SEC. 407. DEFINITIONS. 

20 In this title: 

21 (1) ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION SYS22 TEM; ADR.—The term ‘‘alternative dispute resolution 

23 system’’ or ‘‘ADR’’ means a system that provides 

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1 ner other than through a civil action brought in a 

2 State or Federal court. 

3 (2) CLAIMANT.—The term ‘‘claimant’’ means 

4 any person who brings a health care lawsuit, includ5 ing a person who asserts or claims a right to legal 

6 or equitable contribution, indemnity, or subrogation, 

7 arising out of a health care liability claim or action, 

8 and any person on whose behalf such a claim is as9 serted or such an action is brought, whether de10 ceased, incompetent, or a minor. 

11 (3) COMPENSATORY DAMAGES.—The term 

12 ‘‘compensatory damages’’ means objectively 

13 verifiable monetary losses incurred as a result of the 

14 provision of, use of, or payment for (or failure to 

15 provide, use, or pay for) health care services or med16 ical products, such as past and future medical ex17 penses, loss of past and future earnings, cost of ob18 taining domestic services, loss of employment, and 

19 loss of business or employment opportunities, dam20 ages for physical and emotional pain, suffering, in21 convenience, physical impairment, mental anguish, 

22 disfigurement, loss of enjoyment of life, loss of soci23 ety and companionship, loss of consortium (other 

24 than loss of domestic service), hedonic damages, in25 jury to reputation, and all other nonpecuniary losses 


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1 of any kind or nature. The term ‘‘compensatory 

2 damages’’ includes economic damages and non3 economic damages, as such terms are defined in this 

4 section. 

5 (4) CONTINGENT FEE.—The term ‘‘contingent 

6 fee’’ includes all compensation to any person or per7 sons which is payable only if a recovery is effected 

8 on behalf of one or more claimants. 

9 (5) ECONOMIC DAMAGES.—The term ‘‘economic 

10 damages’’ means objectively verifiable monetary 

11 losses incurred as a result of the provision of, use 

12 of, or payment for (or failure to provide, use, or pay 

13 for) health care services or medical products, such as 

14 past and future medical expenses, loss of past and 

15 future earnings, cost of obtaining domestic services, 

16 loss of employment, and loss of business or employ17 ment opportunities. 

18 (6) HEALTH CARE LAWSUIT.—The term 

19 ‘‘health care lawsuit’’ means any health care liability 

20 claim concerning the provision of health care goods 

21 or services or any medical product affecting inter22 state commerce, or any health care liability action 

23 concerning the provision of health care goods or 

24 services or any medical product affecting interstate 

25 commerce, brought in a State or Federal court or 


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1 pursuant to an alternative dispute resolution system, 

2 against a health care provider, a health care organi3 zation, or the manufacturer, distributor, supplier, 

4 marketer, promoter, or seller of a medical product, 

5 regardless of the theory of liability on which the 

6 claim is based, or the number of claimants, plain7 tiffs, defendants, or other parties, or the number of 

8 claims or causes of action, in which the claimant al9 leges a health care liability claim. Such term does 

10 not include a claim or action which is based on 

11 criminal liability; which seeks civil fines or penalties 

12 paid to Federal, State, or local government; or which 

13 is grounded in antitrust. 

14 (7) HEALTH CARE LIABILITY ACTION.—The 

15 term ‘‘health care liability action’’ means a civil ac16 tion brought in a State or Federal court or pursuant 

17 to an alternative dispute resolution system, against 

18 a health care provider, a health care organization, or 

19 the manufacturer, distributor, supplier, marketer, 

20 promoter, or seller of a medical product, regardless 

21 of the theory of liability on which the claim is based, 

22 or the number of plaintiffs, defendants, or other par23 ties, or the number of causes of action, in which the 

24 claimant alleges a health care liability claim. 


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1 (8) HEALTH CARE LIABILITY CLAIM.—The 

2 term ‘‘health care liability claim’’ means a demand 

3 by any person, whether or not pursuant to ADR, 

4 against a health care provider, health care organiza5 tion, or the manufacturer, distributor, supplier, mar6 keter, promoter, or seller of a medical product, in7 cluding, but not limited to, third-party claims, cross8 claims, counter-claims, or contribution claims, which 

9 are based upon the provision of, use of, or payment 

10 for (or the failure to provide, use, or pay for) health 

11 care services or medical products, regardless of the 

12 theory of liability on which the claim is based, or the 

13 number of plaintiffs, defendants, or other parties, or 

14 the number of causes of action. 

15 (9) HEALTH CARE ORGANIZATION.—The term 

16 ‘‘health care organization’’ means any person or en17 tity which is obligated to provide or pay for health 

18 benefits under any health plan, including any person 

19 or entity acting under a contract or arrangement 

20 with a health care organization to provide or admin21 ister any health benefit. 

22 (10) HEALTH CARE PROVIDER.—The term 

23 ‘‘health care provider’’ means any person or entity 

24 required by State or Federal laws or regulations to 

25 be licensed, registered, or certified to provide health 


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1 care services, and being either so licensed, reg2 istered, or certified, or exempted from such require3 ment by other statute or regulation. 

4 (11) HEALTH CARE GOODS OR SERVICES.—The 

5 term ‘‘health care goods or services’’ means any 

6 goods or services provided by a health care organiza7 tion, provider, or by any individual working under 

8 the supervision of a health care provider, that relates 

9 to the diagnosis, prevention, or treatment of any 

10 human disease or impairment, or the assessment or 

11 care of the health of human beings. 

12 (12) MALICIOUS INTENT TO INJURE.—The 

13 term ‘‘malicious intent to injure’’ means inten14 tionally causing or attempting to cause physical in15 jury other than providing health care goods or serv16 ices. 

17 (13) MEDICAL PRODUCT.—The term ‘‘medical 

18 product’’ means a drug, device, or biological product 

19 intended for humans, and the terms ‘‘drug’’, ‘‘de20 vice’’, and ‘‘biological product’’ have the meanings 

21 given such terms in sections 201(g)(1) and 201(h) 

22 of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (21 

23 U.S.C. 321(g)(1) and (h)) and section 351(a) of the 

24 Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 262(a)), reVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:19 May 10, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00164 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5652.RH H5652

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1 spectively, including any component or raw material 

2 used therein, but excluding health care services. 

3 (14) NONECONOMIC DAMAGES.—The term 

4 ‘‘noneconomic damages’’ means damages for phys5 ical and emotional pain, suffering, inconvenience, 

6 physical impairment, mental anguish, disfigurement, 

7 loss of enjoyment of life, loss of society and compan8 ionship, loss of consortium (other than loss of do9 mestic service), hedonic damages, injury to reputa10 tion, and all other nonpecuniary losses of any kind 

11 or nature. 

12 (15) PUNITIVE DAMAGES.—The term ‘‘punitive 

13 damages’’ means damages awarded, for the purpose 

14 of punishment or deterrence, and not solely for com15 pensatory purposes, against a health care provider, 

16 health care organization, or a manufacturer, dis17 tributor, or supplier of a medical product. Punitive 

18 damages are neither economic nor noneconomic 

19 damages. 

20 (16) RECOVERY.—The term ‘‘recovery’’ means 

21 the net sum recovered after deducting any disburse22 ments or costs incurred in connection with prosecu23 tion or settlement of the claim, including all costs 

24 paid or advanced by any person. Costs of health care 

25 incurred by the plaintiff and the attorneys’ office 


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1 overhead costs or charges for legal services are not 

2 deductible disbursements or costs for such purpose. 

3 (17) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 

4 the several States, the District of Columbia, the 

5 Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, 

6 Guam, American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Is7 lands, the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, and 

8 any other territory or possession of the United 

9 States, or any political subdivision thereof. 

10 SEC. 408. EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS. 

11 (a) VACCINE INJURY.— 

12 (1) To the extent that title XXI of the Public 

13 Health Service Act establishes a Federal rule of law 

14 applicable to a civil action brought for a vaccine-re15 lated injury or death— 

16 (A) this title does not affect the application 

17 of the rule of law to such an action; and 

18 (B) any rule of law prescribed by this title 

19 in conflict with a rule of law of such title XXI 

20 shall not apply to such action. 

21 (2) If there is an aspect of a civil action 

22 brought for a vaccine-related injury or death to 

23 which a Federal rule of law under title XXI of the 

24 Public Health Service Act does not apply, then this 

25 title or otherwise applicable law (as determined 


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1 under this title) will apply to such aspect of such ac2 tion. 

3 (b) OTHER FEDERAL LAW.—Except as provided in 

4 this section, nothing in this title shall be deemed to affect 

5 any defense available to a defendant in a health care law6 suit or action under any other provision of Federal law. 

7 SEC. 409. STATE FLEXIBILITY AND PROTECTION OF 

8 STATES’ RIGHTS. 

9 (a) HEALTH CARE LAWSUITS.—The provisions gov10 erning health care lawsuits set forth in this title preempt, 

11 subject to subsections (b) and (c), State law to the extent 

12 that State law prevents the application of any provisions 

13 of law established by or under this title. The provisions 

14 governing health care lawsuits set forth in this title super15 sede chapter 171 of title 28, United States Code, to the 

16 extent that such chapter— 

17 (1) provides for a greater amount of damages 

18 or contingent fees, a longer period in which a health 

19 care lawsuit may be commenced, or a reduced appli20 cability or scope of periodic payment of future dam21 ages, than provided in this title; or 

22 (2) prohibits the introduction of evidence re23 garding collateral source benefits, or mandates or 

24 permits subrogation or a lien on collateral source 

25 benefits. 


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1 (b) PROTECTION OF STATES’ RIGHTS AND OTHER

2 LAWS.—(1) Any issue that is not governed by any provi3 sion of law established by or under this title (including 

4 State standards of negligence) shall be governed by other5 wise applicable State or Federal law. 

6 (2) This title shall not preempt or supersede any 

7 State or Federal law that imposes greater procedural or 

8 substantive protections for health care providers and 

9 health care organizations from liability, loss, or damages 

10 than those provided by this title or create a cause of ac11 tion. 

12 (c) STATE FLEXIBILITY.—No provision of this title 

13 shall be construed to preempt— 

14 (1) any State law (whether effective before, on, 

15 or after the date of the enactment of this Act) that 

16 specifies a particular monetary amount of compen17 satory or punitive damages (or the total amount of 

18 damages) that may be awarded in a health care law19 suit, regardless of whether such monetary amount is 

20 greater or lesser than is provided for under this title, 

21 notwithstanding section 303(a); or 

22 (2) any defense available to a party in a health 

23 care lawsuit under any other provision of State or 

24 Federal law. 


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1 SEC. 410. APPLICABILITY; EFFECTIVE DATE. 

2 This title shall apply to any health care lawsuit 

3 brought in a Federal or State court, or subject to an alter4 native dispute resolution system, that is initiated on or 

5 after the date of the enactment of this Act, except that 

6 any health care lawsuit arising from an injury occurring 

7 prior to the date of the enactment of this Act shall be 

8 governed by the applicable statute of limitations provisions 

9 in effect at the time the injury occurred. 

10 TITLE V—COMMITTEE ON OVER11 SIGHT AND GOVERNMENT RE12 FORM 

13 SEC. 501. RETIREMENT CONTRIBUTIONS. 

14 (a) CIVIL SERVICE RETIREMENT SYSTEM.— 

15 (1) INDIVIDUAL CONTRIBUTIONS.—Section 

16 8334(c) of title 5, United States Code, is amended— 

17 (A) by striking ‘‘(c) Each’’ and inserting 

18 ‘‘(c)(1) Each’’; and 

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

20 ‘‘(2) Notwithstanding any other provision of this sub21 section, the applicable percentage of basic pay under this 

22 subsection shall— 

23 ‘‘(A) except as provided in subparagraph (B) or 

24 (C), for purposes of computing an amount— 

25 ‘‘(i) for a period in calendar year 2013, be 

26 equal to the applicable percentage under this 


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1 subsection for calendar year 2012, plus an ad2 ditional 1.5 percentage points; 

3 ‘‘(ii) for a period in calendar year 2014, be 

4 equal to the applicable percentage under this 

5 subsection for calendar year 2013 (as deter6 mined under clause (i)), plus an additional 0.5 

7 percentage point; 

8 ‘‘(iii) for a period in calendar year 2015, 

9 2016, or 2017, be equal to the applicable per10 centage under this subsection for the preceding 

11 calendar year (as determined under clause (ii) 

12 or this clause, as the case may be), plus an ad13 ditional 1.0 percentage point; and 

14 ‘‘(iv) for a period in any calendar year 

15 after 2017, be equal to the applicable percent16 age under this subsection for calendar year 

17 2017 (as determined under clause (iii)); 

18 ‘‘(B) for purposes of computing an amount with 

19 respect to a Member for Member service— 

20 ‘‘(i) for a period in calendar year 2013, be 

21 equal to the applicable percentage under this 

22 subsection for calendar year 2012, plus an ad23 ditional 2.5 percentage points; 

24 ‘‘(ii) for a period in calendar year 2014, 

25 2015, 2016, or 2017, be equal to the applicable 


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1 percentage under this subsection for the pre2 ceding calendar year (as determined under 

3 clause (i) or this clause, as the case may be), 

4 plus an additional 1.5 percentage points; and 

5 ‘‘(iii) for a period in any calendar year 

6 after 2017, be equal to the applicable percent7 age under this subsection for calendar year 

8 2017 (as determined under clause (ii)); and 

9 ‘‘(C) for purposes of computing an amount with 

10 respect to a Member or employee for Congressional 

11 employee service— 

12 ‘‘(i) for a period in calendar year 2013, be 

13 equal to the applicable percentage under this 

14 subsection for calendar year 2012, plus an ad15 ditional 2.5 percentage points; 

16 ‘‘(ii) for a period in calendar year 2014, 

17 2015, 2016, or 2017, be equal to the applicable 

18 percentage under this subsection for the pre19 ceding calendar year (as determined under 

20 clause (i) or this clause, as the case may be), 

21 plus an additional 1.5 percentage points; and 

22 ‘‘(iii) for a period in any calendar year 

23 after 2017, be equal to the applicable percent24 age under this subsection for calendar year 

25 2017 (as determined under clause (ii)).’’. 


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1 (2) GOVERNMENT CONTRIBUTIONS.—Section 

2 8334(a)(1)(B) of title 5, United States Code, is 

3 amended— 

4 (A) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘Except as 

5 provided in clause (ii),’’ and inserting ‘‘Except 

6 as provided in clause (ii) or (iii),’’; and 

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

8 ‘‘(iii) The amount to be contributed under clause (i) 

9 shall, with respect to a period in any year beginning after 

10 December 31, 2012, be equal to— 

11 ‘‘(I) the amount which would otherwise apply 

12 under clause (i) with respect to such period, reduced 

13 by 

14 ‘‘(II) the amount by which, with respect to such 

15 period, the withholding under subparagraph (A) ex16 ceeds the amount which would otherwise have been 

17 withheld from the basic pay of the employee or elect18 ed official involved under subparagraph (A) based on 

19 the percentage applicable under subsection (c) for 

20 calendar year 2012.’’. 

21 (b) FEDERAL EMPLOYEES’ RETIREMENT SYSTEM.— 

22 Section 8422(a)(3) of title 5, United States Code, is 

23 amended— 

24 (1) by redesignating subparagraph (B) as sub25 paragraph (C); 


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1 (2) by inserting after subparagraph (A) the fol2 lowing: 

3 ‘‘(B) Notwithstanding any other provision of this 

4 paragraph, the applicable percentage under this para5 graph shall— 

6 ‘‘(i) except as provided in clause (ii) or (iii), for 

7 purposes of computing an amount— 

8 ‘‘(I) for a period in calendar year 2013, be 

9 equal to the applicable percentage under this 

10 paragraph for calendar year 2012, plus an ad11 ditional 1.5 percentage points; 

12 ‘‘(II) for a period in calendar year 2014, 

13 be equal to the applicable percentage under this 

14 paragraph for calendar year 2013 (as deter15 mined under subclause (I)), plus an additional 

16 0.5 percentage point; 

17 ‘‘(III) for a period in calendar year 2015, 

18 2016, or 2017, be equal to the applicable per19 centage under this paragraph for the preceding 

20 calendar year (as determined under subclause 

21 (II) or this subclause, as the case may be), plus 

22 an additional 1.0 percentage point; and 

23 ‘‘(IV) for a period in any calendar year 

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1 age under this paragraph for calendar year 

2 2017 (as determined under subclause (III)); 

3 ‘‘(ii) for purposes of computing an amount with 

4 respect to a Member— 

5 ‘‘(I) for a period in calendar year 2013, be 

6 equal to the applicable percentage under this 

7 paragraph for calendar year 2012, plus an ad8 ditional 2.5 percentage points; 

9 ‘‘(II) for a period in calendar year 2014, 

10 2015, 2016, or 2017, be equal to the applicable 

11 percentage under this paragraph for the pre12 ceding calendar year (as determined under sub13 clause (I) or this subclause, as the case may 

14 be), plus an additional 1.5 percentage points; 

15 and 

16 ‘‘(III) for a period in any calendar year 

17 after 2017, be equal to the applicable percent18 age under this paragraph for calendar year 

19 2017 (as determined under subclause (II)); and 

20 ‘‘(iii) for purposes of computing an amount 

21 with respect to a Congressional employee— 

22 ‘‘(I) for a period in calendar year 2013, 

23 2014, 2015, 2016, or 2017, be equal to the ap24 plicable percentage under this paragraph for 

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1 creased under this subclause, if applicable), plus 

2 an additional 1.5 percentage points; and 

3 ‘‘(II) for a period in any calendar year 

4 after 2017, be equal to the applicable percent5 age under this paragraph for calendar year 

6 2017 (as determined under subclause (I)).’’; 

7 and 

8 (3) in subparagraph (C) (as so redesignated by 

9 paragraph (1))— 

10 (A) by striking ‘‘9.3’’ each place it appears 

11 and inserting ‘‘12’’; and 

12 (B) by striking ‘‘9.8’’ each place it appears 

13 and inserting ‘‘12.5’’. 

14 SEC. 502. ANNUITY SUPPLEMENT. 

15 Section 8421(a) of title 5, United States Code, is 

16 amended— 

17 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘paragraph 

18 (3)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraphs (3) and (4)’’; 

19 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘paragraph 

20 (3)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraphs (3) and (4)’’; and 

21 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘(4)(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), no 

23 annuity supplement under this section shall be payable in 

24 the case of an individual who first becomes subject to this 

25 chapter after December 31, 2012. 


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1 ‘‘(B) Nothing in this paragraph applies in the case 

2 of an individual separating under subsection (d) or (e) of 

3 section 8412.’’. 

4 SEC. 503. CONTRIBUTIONS TO THRIFT SAVINGS FUND OF 

5 PAYMENTS FOR ACCRUED OR ACCUMULATED 

6 LEAVE. 

7 (a) AMENDMENTS RELATING TO CSRS.—Section 

8 8351(b) of title 5, United States Code, is amended— 

9 (1) by striking paragraph (2)(A) and inserting 

10 the following: 

11 ‘‘(2)(A) An employee or Member may contribute to 

12 the Thrift Savings Fund in any pay period any amount 

13 of such employee’s or Member’s basic pay for such pay 

14 period, and may contribute (by direct transfer to the 

15 Fund) any part of any payment that the employee or 

16 Member receives for accumulated and accrued annual or 

17 vacation leave under section 5551 or 5552. Notwith18 standing section 2105(e), in this paragraph the term ‘em19 ployee’ includes an employee of the United States Postal 

20 Service or of the Postal Regulatory Commission.’’; 

21 (2) by striking subparagraph (B) of paragraph 

22 (2); and 

23 (3) by redesignating subparagraph (C) of para24 graph (2) as subparagraph (B). 


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1 (b) AMENDMENTS RELATING TO FERS.—Section 

2 8432(a) of title 5, United States Code, is amended— 

3 (1) by striking all that precedes paragraph (3) 

4 and inserting the following: 

5 ‘‘(a)(1) An employee or Member— 

6 ‘‘(A) may contribute to the Thrift Savings 

7 Fund in any pay period, pursuant to an election 

8 under subsection (b), any amount of such employee’s 

9 or Member’s basic pay for such pay period; and 

10 ‘‘(B) may contribute (by direct transfer to the 

11 Fund) any part of any payment that the employee 

12 or Member receives for accumulated and accrued an13 nual or vacation leave under section 5551 or 5552. 

14 ‘‘(2) Contributions made under paragraph (1)(A) 

15 pursuant to an election under subsection (b) shall, with 

16 respect to each pay period for which such election remains 

17 in effect, be made in accordance with a program of regular 

18 contributions provided in regulations prescribed by the 

19 Executive Director.’’; and 

20 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

21 ‘‘(4) Notwithstanding section 2105(e), in this sub22 section the term ‘employee’ includes an employee of the 

23 United States Postal Service or of the Postal Regulatory 

24 Commission.’’. 


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1 (c) REGULATIONS.—The Executive Director of the 

2 Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board shall pro3 mulgate regulations to carry out the amendments made 

4 by this section. 

5 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

6 subsections (a) and (b) shall take effect 1 year after the 

7 date of the enactment of this Act. 

8 TITLE VI—COMMITTEE ON WAYS 

9 AND MEANS 

10 Subtitle A—Recapture of Overpay11 ments Resulting From Certain 

12 Federally-subsidized Health In13 surance 

14 SEC. 601. RECAPTURE OF OVERPAYMENTS RESULTING 

15 FROM CERTAIN FEDERALLY-SUBSIDIZED 

16 HEALTH INSURANCE. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (2) of section 36B(f) 

18 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by strik19 ing subparagraph (B). 

20 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—So much of para21 graph (2) of section 36B(f) of such Code, as amended by 

22 subsection (a), as precedes ‘‘advance payments’’ is amend23 ed to read as follows: 

24 ‘‘(2) EXCESS ADVANCE PAYMENTS.—If the’’. 


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1 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

2 this section shall apply to taxable years ending after De3 cember 31, 2013. 

4 Subtitle B—Social Security Num5 ber Required to Claim the Re6 fundable Portion of the Child 

7 Tax Credit 

8 SEC. 611. SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER REQUIRED TO CLAIM 

9 THE REFUNDABLE PORTION OF THE CHILD 

10 TAX CREDIT. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (d) of section 24 of the 

12 Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at 

13 the end the following new paragraph: 

14 ‘‘(5) IDENTIFICATION REQUIREMENT WITH RE15 SPECT TO TAXPAYER.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (1) shall 

17 not apply to any taxpayer for any taxable year 

18 unless the taxpayer includes the taxpayer’s So19 cial Security number on the return of tax for 

20 such taxable year. 

21 ‘‘(B) JOINT RETURNS.—In the case of a 

22 joint return, the requirement of subparagraph 

23 (A) shall be treated as met if the Social Secu24 rity number of either spouse is included on such 

25 return. 


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1 ‘‘(C) LIMITATION.—Subparagraph (A) 

2 shall not apply to the extent the tentative min3 imum tax (as defined in section 55(b)(1)(A)) 

4 exceeds the credit allowed under section 32.’’. 

5 (b) OMISSION TREATED AS MATHEMATICAL OR

6 CLERICAL ERROR.—Subparagraph (I) of section 

7 6213(g)(2) of such Code is amended to read as follows: 

8 ‘‘(I) an omission of a correct Social Secu9 rity number required under section 24(d)(5) 

10 (relating to refundable portion of child tax cred11 it), or a correct TIN under section 24(e) (relat12 ing to child tax credit), to be included on a re13 turn,’’. 

14 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Subsection (e) of 

15 section 24 of such Code is amended by inserting ‘‘WITH

16 RESPECT TO QUALIFYING CHILDREN’’ after ‘‘IDENTI17 FICATION REQUIREMENT’’ in the heading thereof. 

18 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

19 this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after 

20 the date of the enactment of this Act. 


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1 Subtitle C—Human Resources 

2 Provisions 

3 SEC. 621. REPEAL OF THE PROGRAM OF BLOCK GRANTS TO 

4 STATES FOR SOCIAL SERVICES. 

5 (a) REPEALS.—Sections 2001 through 2007 of the 

6 Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1397–1397f) are repealed. 

7 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

8 (1) Section 404(d) of the Social Security Act 

9 (42 U.S.C. 604(d)) is amended— 

10 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘any or 

11 all of the following provisions of law:’’ and all 

12 that follows through ‘‘The’’ and inserting 

13 ‘‘the’’; 

14 (B) in paragraph (3)— 

15 (i) by striking ‘‘RULES’’ and all that 

16 follows through ‘‘any amount paid’’ and in17 serting ‘‘RULES.—Any amount paid’’; 

18 (ii) by striking ‘‘a provision of law 

19 specified in paragraph (1)’’ and inserting 

20 ‘‘the Child Care and Development Block 

21 Grant Act of 1990’’; and 

22 (iii) by striking subparagraph (B); 

23 and 

24 (C) by striking paragraph (2) and redesig25 nating paragraph (3) as paragraph (2). 


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1 (2) Section 422(b) of the Social Security Act 

2 (42 U.S.C. 622(b)) is amended— 

3 (A) in paragraph (1)(A)— 

4 (i) by striking ‘‘administers or super5 vises’’ and inserting ‘‘administered or su6 pervised’’; and 

7 (ii) by striking ‘‘subtitle 1 of title 

8 XX’’ and inserting ‘‘subtitle A of title XX 

9 (as in effect before the repeal of such sub10 title)’’; and 

11 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘under 

12 subtitle 1 of title XX,’’. 

13 (3) Section 471(a) of the Social Security Act 

14 (42 U.S.C. 671(a)) is amended— 

15 (A) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘, under 

16 subtitle 1 of title XX of this Act,’’; and 

17 (B) in paragraph (8), by striking ‘‘XIX, or 

18 XX’’ and inserting ‘‘or XIX’’. 

19 (4) Section 472(h)(1) of the Social Security Act 

20 (42 U.S.C. 672(h)(1)) is amended by striking the 

21 2nd sentence. 

22 (5) Section 473(b) of the Social Security Act 

23 (42 U.S.C. 673(b)) is amended— 

24 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘(3)’’ 

25 and inserting ‘‘(2)’’; 


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1 (B) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘para2 graphs (1) and (2)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraph 

3 (1)’’; and 

4 (C) by striking paragraph (2) and redesig5 nating paragraphs (3) and (4) as paragraphs 

6 (2) and (3), respectively. 

7 (6) Section 504(b)(6) of the Social Security Act 

8 (42 U.S.C. 704(b)(6)) is amended in each of sub9 paragraphs (A) and (B) by striking ‘‘XIX, or XX’’ 

10 and inserting ‘‘or XIX’’. 

11 (7) Section 1101(a)(1) of the Social Security 

12 Act (42 U.S.C. 1301(a)(1)) is amended by striking 

13 the penultimate sentence. 

14 (8) Section 1128(h) of the Social Security Act 

15 (42 U.S.C. 1320a-7(h)) is amended— 

16 (A) by adding ‘‘or’’ at the end of para17 graph (2); and 

18 (B) by striking paragraph (3) and redesig19 nating paragraph (4) as paragraph (3). 

20 (9) Section 1128A(i)(1) of the Social Security 

21 Act (42 U.S.C. 1320a-7a(i)(1)) is amended by strik22 ing ‘‘or subtitle 1 of title XX’’. 

23 (10) Section 1132(a)(1) of the Social Security 

24 Act (42 U.S.C. 1320b-2(a)(1)) is amended by strik25 ing ‘‘XIX, or XX’’ and inserting ‘‘or XIX’’. 


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1 (11) Section 1902(e)(13)(F)(iii) of the Social 

2 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396a(e)(13)(F)(iii)) is 

3 amended— 

4 (A) by striking ‘‘EXCLUSIONS’’ and insert5 ing ‘‘EXCLUSION’’; and 

6 (B) by striking ‘‘an agency that determines 

7 eligibility for a program established under the 

8 Social Services Block Grant established under 

9 title XX or’’. 

10 (12) The heading for title XX of the Social Se11 curity Act is amended by striking ‘‘BLOCK 

12 GRANTS TO STATES FOR SOCIAL SERVICES’’ 

13 and inserting ‘‘HEALTH PROFESSIONS DEM14 ONSTRATIONS AND ENVIRONMENTAL 

15 HEALTH CONDITION DETECTION’’. 

16 (13) The heading for subtitle A of title XX of 

17 the Social Security Act is amended by striking 

18 ‘‘Block Grants to States for Social Serv19 ices’’ and inserting ‘‘Health Professions 

20 Demonstrations and Environmental 

21 Health Condition Detection’’. 

22 (14) Section 16(k)(5)(B)(i) of the Food and 

23 Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2025(k)(5)(B)(i)) 

24 is amended by striking ‘‘, or title XX,’’. 


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1 (15) Section 402(b)(3) of the Personal Respon2 sibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 

3 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1612(b)(3)) is amended by striking 

4 subparagraph (B) and redesignating subparagraph 

5 (C) as subparagraph (B). 

6 (16) Section 245A(h)(4)(I) of the Immigration 

7 Reform and Control Act of 1986 (8 U.S.C. 

8 1255a(h)(4)(I)) is amended by striking ‘‘, XVI, and 

9 XX’’ and inserting ‘‘and XVI’’. 

10 (17) Section 17 of the Richard B. Russell Na11 tional School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1766) is amend12 ed— 

13 (A) in subsection (a)(2)— 

14 (i) in subparagraph (B)— 

15 (I) by striking ‘‘—’’ and all that 

16 follows through ‘‘(i)’’; 

17 (II) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end 

18 of clause (i); and 

19 (III) by striking clause (ii); and 

20 (ii) in subparagraph (D)(ii), by strik21 ing ‘‘or title XX’’; and 

22 (B) in subsection (o)(2)(B)— 

23 (i) by striking ‘‘or title XX’’ each 

24 place it appears; and 

25 (ii) by striking ‘‘or XX’’. 


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1 (18) Section 201(b) of the Indian Child Welfare 

2 Act of 1978 (25 U.S.C. 1931(b)) is amended by 

3 striking ‘‘titles IV–B and XX’’ each place it appears 

4 and inserting ‘‘part B of title IV’’. 

5 (19) Section 3803(c)(2)(C) of title 31, United 

6 States Code, is amended by striking clause (vi) and 

7 redesignating clauses (vii) through (xvi) as clauses 

8 (vi) through (xv), respectively. 

9 (20) Section 14502(d)(3) of title 40, United 

10 States Code, is amended— 

11 (A) by striking ‘‘and title XX’’; and 

12 (B) by striking ‘‘, 1397 et seq.’’. 

13 (21) Section 2006(a)(15) of the Public Health 

14 Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300z-5(a)(15)) is amended 

15 by striking ‘‘and title XX’’. 

16 (22) Section 203(b)(3) of the Older Americans 

17 Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3013(b)(3)) is amended by 

18 striking ‘‘XIX, and XX’’ and inserting ‘‘and XIX’’. 

19 (23) Section 213 of the Older Americans Act of 

20 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3020d) is amended by striking ‘‘or 

21 title XX’’. 

22 (24) Section 306(d) of the Older Americans Act 

23 of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3026(d)) is amended in each of 

24 paragraphs (1) and (2) by striking ‘‘titles XIX and 

25 XX’’ and inserting ‘‘title XIX’’. 


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1 (25) Section 2605 of the Low-Income Home 

2 Energy Assistance Act of 1981 (42 U.S.C. 8624) is 

3 amended in each of subsections (b)(4) and (j) by 

4 striking ‘‘under title XX of the Social Security 

5 Act,’’. 

6 (26) Section 602 of the Child Development As7 sociate Scholarship Assistance Act of 1985 (42 

8 U.S.C. 10901) is repealed. 

9 (27) Section 3(d)(1) of the Assisted Suicide 

10 Funding Restriction Act of 1997 (42 U.S.C. 

11 14402(d)(1)) is amended by striking subparagraph 

12 (C) and redesignating subparagraphs (D) through 

13 (K) as subparagraphs (C) through (J), respectively. 

14 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The repeals and amend15 ments made by this section shall take effect on October 

16 1, 2012. 


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Union Calendar No. 330 

112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5652 

[Report No. 112–470] 

A BILL 

To provide for reconciliation pursuant to section 

for fiscal year 2013. 201 of the concurrent resolution on the budget 

MAY 9, 2012 

Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 

State of the Union and ordered to be printed 


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