I 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1423 

To reauthorize and improve the national flood insurance program, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 8, 2017 

Ms. VELA ́ZQUEZ introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Financial Services 

A BILL 

To reauthorize and improve the national flood insurance 

program, and for other purposes. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘National Flood Insurance Program Reauthorization and 

6 Improvement Act of 2017’’. 

7 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

8 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Extension of national flood insurance program. 

Sec. 3. Improved disclosure requirement for standard flood insurance policies. 

Sec. 4. Properties with preexisting conditions. 


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Sec. 5. Improvement of administrative and litigation process for claims adjudication. 

Sec. 6. Improvement of oversight of engineers. 

Sec. 7. Publicly searchable online registry. 

Sec. 8. Penalties for fraud and false statements in the National Flood Insurance Program. 

Sec. 9. Whistleblower protection for employees. 

Sec. 10. Engineering firm independence. 

Sec. 11. GAO reports. 

Sec. 12. Regulations. 

1 SEC. 2. EXTENSION OF NATIONAL FLOOD INSURANCE PRO2 GRAM. 

3 (a) FINANCING.—Section 1309(a) of the National 

4 Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4016(a)) is 

5 amended by striking ‘‘September 30, 2017’’ and inserting 

6 ‘‘September 30, 2027’’. 

7 (b) PROGRAM EXPIRATION.—Section 1319 of the Na8 tional Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4026) is 

9 amended by striking ‘‘September 30, 2017’’ and inserting 

10 ‘‘September 30, 2027’’. 

11 SEC. 3. IMPROVED DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENT FOR 

12 STANDARD FLOOD INSURANCE POLICIES. 

13 Section 100234 of the Biggert-Waters Flood Insur14 ance Reform Act of 2012 (42 U.S.C. 4013a) is amended 

15 by adding at the end the following new subsections: 

16 ‘‘(c) DISCLOSURE OF COVERAGE.— 

17 ‘‘(1) DISCLOSURE SHEET.—Each policy under 

18 the National Flood Insurance Program shall include 

19 a disclosure sheet that sets forth, in plain lan20 guage— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the definition of the term ‘flood’ for 

2 purposes of coverage under the policy; 

3 ‘‘(B) a description of what type of flood 

4 forces are necessary so that losses from an 

5 event are covered under the policy, including 

6 overflow of inland or tidal waves, unusual and 

7 rapid accumulation or runoff of a surface any 

8 source, and mudflow; 

9 ‘‘(C) a statement of the types and charac10 teristics of losses that are not covered under the 

11 policy; 

12 ‘‘(D) a summary of total cost and amount 

13 of insurance coverage; 

14 ‘‘(E) a statement that the disclosure sheet 

15 provides general information about the policy16 holder’s standard flood insurance policy; 

17 ‘‘(F) a statement that the standard flood 

18 insurance policy, together with the application, 

19 endorsements, and declarations page, make up 

20 the official contract and are controlling in the 

21 event that there is any difference between the 

22 information on the disclosure sheet and the in23 formation in the policy; and 

24 ‘‘(G) a statement that if the policyholder 

25 has any questions regarding information in the 


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1 disclosure sheet or policy he or she should con2 tact their insurance agent, together with the ad3 dress and phone number at which to contact 

4 such agent. 

5 ‘‘(2) ACKNOWLEDGMENT SHEET.—Each policy 

6 under the National Flood Insurance Program shall 

7 include an acknowledgment sheet that sets forth, in 

8 plain language— 

9 ‘‘(A) a statement of whether or not there 

10 is a basement in the property to be covered by 

11 the policy; 

12 ‘‘(B) a statement of whether or not the 

13 policy provides coverage for the contents of the 

14 property covered by the policy; 

15 ‘‘(C) a statement that the standard flood 

16 insurance policy, together with the application, 

17 endorsements, and declarations page, make up 

18 the official contract and are controlling in the 

19 event that there is any difference between the 

20 information on the acknowledgment sheet and 

21 the information in the policy; and 

22 ‘‘(D) a statement that if the policyholder 

23 has any questions regarding information in the 

24 acknowledgment sheet or policy he or she 

25 should contact their insurance agent, together 


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1 with the address and phone number at which to 

2 contact such agent. 

3 ‘‘(3) REQUIRED SIGNATURES.—A policy for 

4 flood insurance coverage under the National Flood 

5 Insurance Program may not take effect unless the 

6 disclosure sheet required under paragraph (1) and 

7 the acknowledgment sheet required under paragraph 

8 (2), with respect to the policy, are signed and dated 

9 by the policyholder, the insurance agent who sold the 

10 policy, and a representative of the Administrator. 

11 ‘‘(d) AVAILABILITY IN OTHER LANGUAGES.— 

12 ‘‘(1) AVAILABILITY.—The Administrator shall 

13 make policies under the National Flood Insurance 

14 Program, and the disclosure and acknowledgment 

15 sheets required by subsection (c), available in Span16 ish language versions and in such other languages as 

17 the Administrator considers appropriate and shall 

18 provide such a version at the request of the insured 

19 or prospective insured. 

20 ‘‘(2) PUBLICIZING AVAILABILITY.—The Admin21 istrator shall take such actions as may be necessary 

22 to inform insureds and prospective insures of the 

23 availability of policies in such languages other than 

24 English. 


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1 ‘‘(3) CONFLICTING INFORMATION.—In the case 

2 of any difference between the information that is 

3 provided pursuant to this subsection to a policy4 holder in the English language and in the Spanish 

5 or other language, the information provided in the 

6 English language shall be determinative.’’. 

7 SEC. 4. PROPERTIES WITH PREEXISTING CONDITIONS. 

8 Section 1311 of the National Flood Insurance Act of 

9 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4018) is amended by adding at the end 

10 the following new subsection: 

11 ‘‘(c) PROGRAM FOR INVESTIGATION OF PREEXISTING

12 STRUCTURAL CONDITIONS.— 

13 ‘‘(1) VOLUNTARY PROGRAM.—The Adminis14 trator shall carry out a program to provide for com15 panies participating in the Write Your Own program 

16 (as such term is defined in section 100202 of the 

17 Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 

18 2012 (42 U.S.C. 4004)) to investigate preexisting 

19 structural conditions of insured properties and po20 tentially insured properties that could result in the 

21 denial of a claim under a policy for flood insurance 

22 coverage under this title in the event of a flood loss 

23 to such property. Participation in the program shall 

24 be voluntary on the part of Write Your Own compa25 nies. 


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1 ‘‘(2) INVESTIGATION OF PROPERTIES.—Under 

2 the program under this subsection, a Write Your 

3 Own company participating in the program shall— 

4 ‘‘(A) provide in policies for flood insurance 

5 coverage under this title covered by the pro6 gram that, upon the request of the policyholder, 

7 the company shall provide for— 

8 ‘‘(i) an investigation of the property 

9 covered by such policy, using common 

10 methods, to determine whether preexisting 

11 structural conditions are present that could 

12 result in the denial of a claim under such 

13 policy for flood losses; and 

14 ‘‘(ii) if such investigation is not deter15 minative, an on-site inspection of the prop16 erty to determine whether such preexisting 

17 structural conditions are present; 

18 ‘‘(B) upon completion of an investigation 

19 or inspection pursuant to subparagraph (A) 

20 that determines that such a preexisting struc21 tural condition is present or absent, submit a 

22 report to the policyholder and Administrator de23 scribing the condition; and 

24 ‘‘(C) impose a surcharge on each policy de25 scribed in subparagraph (A) in such amount 


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1 that the Administrator determines is appro2 priate to cover the costs of investigations and 

3 inspections performed pursuant to such policies 

4 and reimburse Write Your Own companies par5 ticipating in the program under this subsection 

6 for such costs.’’. 

7 SEC. 5. IMPROVEMENT OF ADMINISTRATIVE AND LITIGA8 TION PROCESS FOR CLAIMS ADJUDICATION. 

9 (a) INDUSTRY PROGRAM WITH FEDERAL FINANCIAL

10 ASSISTANCE.—Section 1333 of the National Flood Insur11 ance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4053) is amended— 

12 (1) by striking ‘‘mailing of notice of disallow13 ance or partial disallowance by the Administrator’’ 

14 and inserting ‘‘the final determination by the Ad15 ministrator disallowing or partially disallowing the 

16 claim’’; and 

17 (2) by adding after the period at the end the 

18 following: ‘‘If the claimant prevails in an action 

19 under this section, the court may award costs of liti20 gation, including attorneys fee, litigation expenses, 

21 and engineering and other expert expenses, to the 

22 claimant. Any such award shall be paid by the Ad23 ministrator and, upon such payment, the Adminis24 trator shall be subrogated to the rights of the claim25 ant to recover such costs for which the AdminisVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:32 Mar 15, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1423.IH H1423

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1 trator has compensated the claimant from any com2 pany or other insurer responsible for the disallow3 ance of the claim.’’. 

4 (b) GOVERNMENT PROGRAM WITH INDUSTRY AS5 SISTANCE.—Section 1341 of the National Flood Insurance 

6 Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4072) is amended— 

7 (1) by striking ‘‘mailing of notice of disallow8 ance or partial disallowance of’’ and inserting ‘‘the 

9 final determination disallowing or partially dis10 allowing’’; and 

11 (2) by adding after the period at the end the 

12 following: ‘‘If the claimant prevails in an action 

13 under this section, the court may award costs of liti14 gation, including attorneys fee, litigation expenses, 

15 and engineering and other expert expenses, to the 

16 claimant. Any such award shall be paid by the Ad17 ministrator and, upon such payment, the Adminis18 trator shall be subrogated to the rights of the claim19 ant to recover such costs for which the Adminis20 trator has compensated the claimant from any insur21 ance company or other insurer or insurance adjust22 ment organization that may be responsible for the 

23 disallowance of the claim.’’. 

24 (c) AWARDS FOR COSTS IN APPEALS TO FEMA.— 

25 Section 1312 of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 


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1 (42 U.S.C. 4019) is amended by adding at the end the 

2 following new subsection: 

3 ‘‘(d) AWARDS FOR COSTS IN ADMINISTRATIVE PRO4 CEEDINGS.—If the claimant prevails in any appeal to the 

5 Administrator of the disallowance of a claim for losses cov6 ered by flood insurance made available under this title, 

7 the Administrator shall award costs of the appeal, includ8 ing attorneys fee, any proceeding expenses, and engineer9 ing and other expert expenses, to the claimant.’’. 

10 (d) USE OF PRIVATE COUNSEL.—Section 1347 of the 

11 National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4083) 

12 is amended by adding at the end the following new sub13 section: 

14 ‘‘(c) USE OF PRIVATE COUNSEL.— 

15 ‘‘(1) FEE SCHEDULE.—The Administrator shall 

16 establish a fee schedule for payment of private coun17 sel used to represent the Administrator in controver18 sies, actions, and proceedings in connection with the 

19 National Flood Insurance Program under this title. 

20 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENT FOR

21 PREAUTHORIZATION.—The Administrator shall re22 quire any private counsel obtained in connection 

23 with any controversy, action, or proceeding in con24 nection with the National Flood Insurance Program 

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1 ministrator before taking any major action associ2 ated with such controversy, action, or proceeding, 

3 which shall include settlement, hiring experts, and 

4 such other actions as the Administrator shall speci5 fy.’’. 

6 SEC. 6. IMPROVEMENT OF OVERSIGHT OF ENGINEERS. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part C of chapter 2 of the Na8 tional Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4081 et 

9 seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new 

10 section: 

11 ‘‘SEC. 1349. OVERSIGHT OF ENGINEERS. 

12 ‘‘(a) QUALIFICATIONS.—The Administrator shall re13 quire that any individual that provides engineering serv14 ices in connection with flood insurance coverage provided 

15 under this title, including inspections under section 

16 1306(e) and services in connection with assessing any 

17 claim for losses covered by a policy for such coverage, 

18 shall— 

19 ‘‘(1) have registered with the Administrator and 

20 certified to the Administrator that the engineer is 

21 professionally licensed to practice as an engineer; 

22 ‘‘(2) have expertise in a particular discipline of 

23 engineering or act within the area of their com24 petency, as the Administrator shall require; and 


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1 ‘‘(3) be certified by the Administrator pursuant 

2 to subsection (b). 

3 ‘‘(b) CERTIFICATION BY FEMA.— 

4 ‘‘(1) REQUIREMENT.—The Administrator shall 

5 carry out a program under this subsection to certify 

6 engineers as qualified to provide engineering services 

7 in connection with flood insurance coverage provided 

8 under this title. 

9 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—The program under this sub10 section shall— 

11 ‘‘(A) include an initial training seminar; 

12 ‘‘(B) provide such standards and testing 

13 requirements as the Administrator shall estab14 lish; and 

15 ‘‘(C) require an annual renewal of certifi16 cation through continuing education. 

17 ‘‘(c) FEES.— 

18 ‘‘(1) SCHEDULE; COLLECTION.—The Adminis19 trator shall establish and collect fees using a stand20 ardized fee schedule for all engineering services pro21 vided in connection with flood insurance coverage 

22 provided under this title, which schedule shall be 

23 similar to the fee schedule of the Administrator used 

24 for companies adjusting claims under such coverage. 


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1 ‘‘(2) DEPOSIT.—Any fees collected under para2 graph (1) section shall be deposited into the Na3 tional Flood Insurance Fund pursuant to section 

4 1310(b)(6). 

5 ‘‘(d) IDENTIFICATION NUMBERS.—The Adminis6 trator shall establish a system to provide a unique numer7 ical identifier for each engineer that provides engineering 

8 services in connection with flood insurance coverage pro9 vided under this title to assist in tracking past perform10 ance in the provision of such services. 

11 ‘‘(e) SUBMISSION OF DOCUMENTATION.—In the case 

12 of any insurance company participating in the Write Your 

13 Own program (as such term is defined in section 100202 

14 of the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 

15 2012 (42 U.S.C. 4004)): 

16 ‘‘(1) TO WRITE YOUR OWN INSURERS.—The 

17 Administrator shall— 

18 ‘‘(A) require all such participating insur19 ance companies to obtain from providers of en20 gineering services provided in connection with 

21 flood insurance coverage provided under this 

22 title, including any sub-contractors, 

23 ‘‘(i) documentation sufficient to 

24 itemize and disaggregate the costs and fees 


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1 for such services, including the costs and 

2 fees for any subcontractors; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) all photos, notes, draft reports, 

4 and other documentation relating to pro5 viding such services in connection with a 

6 claim under such coverage; 

7 ‘‘(B) make available to such participating 

8 insurance companies the fee schedule estab9 lished under subsection (c) and such other in10 formation as may be necessary to enable such 

11 participating insurance companies to determine 

12 whether the costs and fees charged by providers 

13 of engineering services are reasonable in rela14 tion to the services provided. 

15 ‘‘(2) TO FEMA.—The Administrator shall re16 quire each such insurance company to submit to the 

17 Administrator, before any reimbursement or other 

18 allowance, payment, or compensation is provided 

19 under the Write Your Own program in connection 

20 with engineering services provided, all supporting 

21 documentation relating to such engineering serv22 ices.’’. 

23 (b) USE OF FEES.—Subsection (a) of section 1310 

24 of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 

25 4017(a)) is amended— 


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1 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (7) and (8) as 

2 paragraphs (9) and (10), respectively; and 

3 (2) by inserting after paragraph (6) the fol4 lowing new paragraph: 

5 ‘‘(7) to the extent that fees are deposited in the 

6 Fund pursuant to section 1349(c)(2), for costs asso7 ciated with carrying out systems for certification and 

8 identification under subsections (b) and (d), respec9 tively, of section 1349;’’. 

10 SEC. 7. PUBLICLY SEARCHABLE ONLINE REGISTRY. 

11 Part C of chapter 2 of the National Flood Insurance 

12 Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4081 et seq.), as amended by the 

13 preceding provisions of this Act, is further amended by 

14 adding at the end the following new section: 

15 ‘‘SEC. 1350. PUBLICLY SEARCHABLE ONLINE REGISTRY. 

16 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT AND MAINTENANCE.—The 

17 Administrator shall provide for the establishment and 

18 maintenance of a national registry, organized by State of 

19 residence, of all companies and individuals providing serv20 ices relating to the selling, writing, or servicing of flood 

21 insurance made available under this title or relating to the 

22 adjusting of claims under such flood insurance, which 

23 shall include all insurance companies participating in the 

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1 form Act of 2012 (42 U.S.C. 4004)) and all individuals 

2 participating in the direct servicing program, including— 

3 ‘‘(1) all individuals selling and writing policies 

4 for flood insurance coverage under this title; 

5 ‘‘(2) all companies and individuals providing ad6 justing services in connection with such flood insur7 ance; 

8 ‘‘(3) all companies and individuals providing en9 gineering services in connection with such flood in10 surance, identification of engineers using the unique 

11 numerical identifier assigned pursuant to section 

12 1349(d), and information regarding past perform13 ance in providing such services, including identifica14 tion of cases worked on, cases that involved litiga15 tion, and any association of the engineer with any 

16 company convicted of fraud; 

17 ‘‘(4) information identifying all penalties, fines, 

18 and criminal convictions of all such companies and 

19 individuals relating to the operation of the national 

20 flood insurance program; and 

21 ‘‘(5) information identifying any conviction or 

22 penalty assessed for fraud pertaining to any such 

23 company or individual. 

24 ‘‘(b) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The Administrator 

25 shall ensure that the registry required to be established 


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1 and maintained under this section is publicly available on2 line in a manner that provides the capacity to search the 

3 registry by the name of the company or individual. 

4 ‘‘(c) ANNUAL REVIEW.—The Comptroller General of 

5 the United States shall conduct a review of the registry 

6 established and maintained under this section on a bien7 nial basis to ensure its accuracy and currency. 

8 ‘‘(d) ADMINISTRATION.— 

9 ‘‘(1) NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION.—The Admin10 istrator shall enter into a contract with an appro11 priate nonprofit organization to establish and main12 tain the registry under this section. 

13 ‘‘(2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

14 There is authorized to be appropriated for payments 

15 under the contract under paragraph (1) such sums 

16 as may be necessary for establishment and mainte17 nance of the national registry under this section.’’. 

18 SEC. 8. PENALTIES FOR FRAUD AND FALSE STATEMENTS 

19 IN THE NATIONAL FLOOD INSURANCE PRO20 GRAM. 

21 Part C of chapter 2 of the National Flood Insurance 

22 Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4081 et seq.), as amended by the 

23 preceding provisions of this Act, is further amended by 

24 adding at the end the following new section: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 1351. PENALTIES FOR FRAUD AND FALSE STATE2 MENTS IN THE NATIONAL FLOOD INSURANCE 

3 PROGRAM. 

4 ‘‘(a) OFFENSE.—It shall be unlawful, in the prepara5 tion, production, or submission of any report in connection 

6 with the proving or adjusting of a claim for flood insur7 ance coverage made available under this title, including 

8 any engineering report or claims adjustment report, to 

9 knowingly engage in the practice of engineering without 

10 a license, to knowingly forge any such report, or to know11 ingly make any materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent 

12 statement or representation in such a report. 

13 ‘‘(b) PENALTIES.—Whoever violates subsection (a) 

14 shall be subject to any one or more of the following pen15 alties: 

16 ‘‘(1) CRIMINAL.—In the case of a person who 

17 is an individual, imprisonment for not more than 18 

18 months. 

19 ‘‘(2) CIVIL.—Such civil penalties as the Admin20 istrator, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and 

21 the Attorney General shall, by regulation, establish, 

22 which may include civil monetary penalties and 

23 fines, suspension and debarment from participation 

24 in the National Flood Insurance Program, and such 

25 other civil sanctions as such officials consider appro26 priate. In the case of any fine or monetary penalty 


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1 collected pursuant to this paragraph, such amounts 

2 collected shall be paid to the owner of the property 

3 for which the claim involved was made. 

4 ‘‘(c) EXEMPTION.—The offense under subsection (a) 

5 is exempted from the applicability of the fine provided 

6 under section 3571 of title 18, United States Code.’’. 

7 SEC. 9. WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTION FOR EMPLOYEES. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part C of chapter 2 of the Na9 tional Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4081 et 

10 seq.), as amended by the preceding provisions of this Act, 

11 is further amended by adding at the end the following new 

12 section: 

13 ‘‘SEC. 1352. WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTION FOR EMPLOY14 EES. 

15 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—No person shall terminate or in 

16 any other way discriminate against, or cause to be termi17 nated or discriminated against, any covered employee or 

18 any authorized representative of covered employees by rea19 son of the fact that such employee or representative, 

20 whether at the initiative of the employee or in the ordinary 

21 course of the duties of the employee (or any person acting 

22 pursuant to a request of the employee), has— 

23 ‘‘(1) provided, caused to be provided, or is 

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1 reau of Investigation, or any other State, local, or 

2 Federal, government authority or law enforcement 

3 agency relating to any violation of, or any act or 

4 omission that there are reasonable grounds to be5 lieve (whether or not the employee actually has such 

6 belief) to be a violation of, any provision of any law 

7 relating to the National Flood Insurance Program or 

8 any rule, order, standard, or prohibition prescribed 

9 by the Agency in connection with the National Flood 

10 Insurance Program; 

11 ‘‘(2) testified or will testify in any proceeding 

12 resulting from the administration or enforcement of 

13 any provision of any law relating to the National 

14 Flood Insurance Program or any rule, order, stand15 ard, or prohibition prescribed by the Agency in con16 nection with the National Flood Insurance program; 

17 ‘‘(3) filed, instituted, or caused to be filed or in18 stituted any proceeding under the National Flood 

19 Insurance Program; or 

20 ‘‘(4) objected to, or refused to participate in, 

21 any activity, policy, practice, or assigned task that 

22 the employee (or other such person) reasonably be23 lieved to be in violation of any law, rule, order, 

24 standard, or prohibition, subject to the jurisdiction 


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1 of, or enforceable by, the Agency in connection with 

2 the National Flood Insurance Program. 

3 ‘‘(b) PROCEDURES AND TIMETABLES.— 

4 ‘‘(1) COMPLAINT.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A person who believes 

6 that he or she has been discharged or otherwise 

7 discriminated against by any person in violation 

8 of subsection (a) may, not later than 180 days 

9 after the date on which such alleged violation 

10 occurs, file (or have any person file on his or 

11 her behalf) a complaint with the Administrator 

12 alleging such discharge or discrimination and 

13 identifying the person responsible for such act. 

14 ‘‘(B) ACTIONS OF ADMINISTRATOR.—Upon 

15 receipt of such a complaint, the Administrator 

16 shall notify, in writing, the person named in the 

17 complaint who is alleged to have committed the 

18 violation, of— 

19 ‘‘(i) the filing of the complaint; 

20 ‘‘(ii) the allegations contained in the 

21 complaint; 

22 ‘‘(iii) the substance of evidence sup23 porting the complaint; and 


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1 ‘‘(iv) opportunities that will be af2 forded to such person under paragraph 

3 (2). 

4 ‘‘(2) INVESTIGATION BY ADMINISTRATOR.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 

6 days after the date of receipt of a complaint 

7 filed under paragraph (1), and after affording 

8 the complainant and the person named in the 

9 complaint who is alleged to have committed the 

10 violation that is the basis for the complaint an 

11 opportunity to submit to the Administrator a 

12 written response to the complaint and an oppor13 tunity to meet with a representative of the Ad14 ministrator to present statements from wit15 nesses, the Administrator shall— 

16 ‘‘(i) initiate an investigation and de17 termine whether there is reasonable cause 

18 to believe that the complaint has merit; 

19 and 

20 ‘‘(ii) notify the complainant and the 

21 person alleged to have committed the viola22 tion of subsection (a), in writing, of such 

23 determination. 

24 ‘‘(B) NOTICE OF RELIEF AVAILABLE.—If 

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1 sonable cause to believe that a violation of sub2 section (a) has occurred, the Administrator 

3 shall, together with the notice under subpara4 graph (A)(ii), issue a preliminary order pro5 viding the relief prescribed by paragraph 

6 (4)(B). 

7 ‘‘(C) REQUEST FOR HEARING.—Not later 

8 than 30 days after the date of receipt of notifi9 cation of a determination of the Administrator 

10 under this paragraph, either the person alleged 

11 to have committed the violation or the com12 plainant may file objections to the findings or 

13 preliminary order, or both, and request a hear14 ing on the record. The filing of such objections 

15 shall not operate to stay any reinstatement 

16 remedy contained in the preliminary order. Any 

17 such hearing shall be conducted expeditiously, 

18 and if a hearing is not requested in such 30-day 

19 period, the preliminary order shall be deemed a 

20 final order that is not subject to judicial review. 

21 ‘‘(3) GROUNDS FOR DETERMINATION OF COM22 PLAINTS.— 

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

24 shall dismiss a complaint filed under this sub25 section, and shall not conduct an investigation 


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1 otherwise required under paragraph (2), unless 

2 the complainant makes a prima facie showing 

3 that any behavior described in paragraphs (1) 

4 through (4) of subsection (a) was a contrib5 uting factor in the unfavorable personnel action 

6 alleged in the complaint. 

7 ‘‘(B) REBUTTAL EVIDENCE.—Notwith8 standing a finding by the Administrator that 

9 the complainant has made the showing required 

10 under subparagraph (A), no investigation other11 wise required under paragraph (2) shall be con12 ducted, if the employer demonstrates, by clear 

13 and convincing evidence, that the employer 

14 would have taken the same unfavorable per15 sonnel action in the absence of that behavior. 

16 ‘‘(C) EVIDENTIARY STANDARDS.—The Ad17 ministrator may determine that a violation of 

18 subsection (a) has occurred only if the com19 plainant demonstrates that any behavior de20 scribed in paragraphs (1) through (4) of sub21 section (a) was a contributing factor in the un22 favorable personnel action alleged in the com23 plaint. Relief may not be ordered under sub24 paragraph (A) if the employer demonstrates by 

25 clear and convincing evidence that the employer 


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1 would have taken the same unfavorable per2 sonnel action in the absence of that behavior. 

3 ‘‘(4) ISSUANCE OF FINAL ORDERS; REVIEW

4 PROCEDURES.— 

5 ‘‘(A) TIMING.—Not later than 120 days 

6 after the date of conclusion of any hearing 

7 under paragraph (2), the Administrator shall 

8 issue a final order providing the relief pre9 scribed by this paragraph or denying the com10 plaint. At any time before issuance of a final 

11 order, a proceeding under this subsection may 

12 be terminated on the basis of a settlement 

13 agreement entered into by the Administrator, 

14 the complainant, and the person alleged to have 

15 committed the violation. 

16 ‘‘(B) PENALTIES.— 

17 ‘‘(i) ORDER OF ADMINISTRATOR.—If, 

18 in response to a complaint filed under 

19 paragraph (1), the Administrator deter20 mines that a violation of subsection (a) has 

21 occurred, the Administrator shall order the 

22 person who committed such violation— 

23 ‘‘(I) to take affirmative action to 

24 abate the violation; 


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1 ‘‘(II) to reinstate the complain2 ant to his or her former position, to3 gether with compensation, including 

4 twice the amount of back pay due, 

5 and restore the terms, conditions, and 

6 privileges associated with his or her 

7 employment; and 

8 ‘‘(III) to provide compensatory 

9 damages to the complainant. 

10 ‘‘(ii) PENALTY.—If an order is issued 

11 under clause (i), the Administrator, at the 

12 request of the complainant, shall assess 

13 against the person against whom the order 

14 is issued, a sum equal to the aggregate 

15 amount of all costs and expenses (includ16 ing attorney fees and expert witness fees) 

17 reasonably incurred, as determined by the 

18 Administrator, by the complainant for, or 

19 in connection with, the bringing of the 

20 complaint upon which the order was 

21 issued. 

22 ‘‘(C) PENALTY FOR FRIVOLOUS CLAIMS.— 

23 If the Administrator finds that a complaint 

24 under paragraph (1) is frivolous or has been 

25 brought in bad faith, the Administrator may 


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1 award to the prevailing employer a reasonable 

2 attorney fee, not exceeding $1,000, to be paid 

3 by the complainant. 

4 ‘‘(D) DE NOVO REVIEW.— 

5 ‘‘(i) FAILURE OF THE ADMINIS6 TRATOR TO ACT.—If the Administrator has 

7 not issued a final order within 210 days 

8 after the date of filing of a complaint 

9 under this subsection, or within 90 days 

10 after the date of receipt of a written deter11 mination, the complainant may bring an 

12 action at law or equity for de novo review 

13 in the appropriate district court of the 

14 United States having jurisdiction, which 

15 shall have jurisdiction over such an action 

16 without regard to the amount in con17 troversy, and which action shall, at the re18 quest of either party to such action, be 

19 tried by the court with a jury. 

20 ‘‘(ii) PROCEDURES.—A proceeding 

21 under clause (i) shall be governed by the 

22 same legal burdens of proof specified in 

23 paragraph (3). The court shall have juris24 diction to grant all relief necessary to 

25 make the employee whole, including injuncVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:32 Mar 15, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00027 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1423.IH H1423

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1 tive relief and compensatory damages, in2 cluding— 

3 ‘‘(I) reinstatement with the same 

4 seniority status that the employee 

5 would have had, but for the discharge 

6 or discrimination; 

7 ‘‘(II) compensation in the 

8 amount equal to twice the amount of 

9 back pay due, with interest; and 

10 ‘‘(III) compensation for any spe11 cial damages sustained as a result of 

12 the discharge or discrimination, in13 cluding litigation costs, expert witness 

14 fees, and reasonable attorney fees. 

15 ‘‘(E) OTHER APPEALS.—Unless the com16 plainant brings an action under subparagraph 

17 (D), any person adversely affected or aggrieved 

18 by a final order issued under subparagraph (A) 

19 may file a petition for review of the order in the 

20 United States Court of Appeals for the circuit 

21 in which the violation with respect to which the 

22 order was issued, allegedly occurred or the cir23 cuit in which the complainant resided on the 

24 date of such violation, not later than 60 days 

25 after the date of the issuance of the final order 


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1 of the Administrator under subparagraph (A). 

2 Review shall conform to chapter 7 of title 5, 

3 United States Code. The commencement of pro4 ceedings under this subparagraph shall not, un5 less ordered by the court, operate as a stay of 

6 the order. An order of the Administrator with 

7 respect to which review could have been ob8 tained under this subparagraph shall not be 

9 subject to judicial review in any criminal or 

10 other civil proceeding. 

11 ‘‘(5) FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH ORDER.— 

12 ‘‘(A) ACTIONS BY THE ADMINISTRATOR.— 

13 If any person has failed to comply with a final 

14 order issued under paragraph (4), the Adminis15 trator may file a civil action in the United 

16 States district court for the district in which 

17 the violation was found to have occurred, or in 

18 the United States district court for the District 

19 of Columbia, to enforce such order. In actions 

20 brought under this paragraph, the district 

21 courts shall have jurisdiction to grant all appro22 priate relief including injunctive relief and com23 pensatory damages. 

24 ‘‘(B) CIVIL ACTIONS TO COMPEL COMPLI25 ANCE.—A person on whose behalf an order was 


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1 issued under paragraph (4) may commence a 

2 civil action against the person to whom such 

3 order was issued to require compliance with 

4 such order. The appropriate United States dis5 trict court shall have jurisdiction, without re6 gard to the amount in controversy or the citi7 zenship of the parties, to enforce such order. 

8 ‘‘(C) AWARD OF COSTS AUTHORIZED.— 

9 The court, in issuing any final order under this 

10 paragraph, may award costs of litigation (in11 cluding reasonable attorney and expert witness 

12 fees) to any party, whenever the court deter13 mines such award is appropriate. 

14 ‘‘(D) MANDAMUS PROCEEDINGS.—Any 

15 nondiscretionary duty imposed by this section 

16 shall be enforceable in a mandamus proceeding 

17 brought under section 1361 of title 28, United 

18 States Code. 

19 ‘‘(c) UNENFORCEABILITY OF CERTAIN AGREE20 MENTS.— 

21 ‘‘(1) NO WAIVER OF RIGHTS AND REMEDIES.— 

22 Except as provided under paragraph (3), and not23 withstanding any other provision of law, the rights 

24 and remedies provided for in this section may not be 

25 waived by any agreement, policy, form, or condition 


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1 of employment, including by any pre-dispute arbitra2 tion agreement. 

3 ‘‘(2) NO PRE-DISPUTE ARBITRATION AGREE4 MENTS.—Except as provided under paragraph (3), 

5 and notwithstanding any other provision of law, no 

6 pre-dispute arbitration agreement shall be valid or 

7 enforceable to the extent that it requires arbitration 

8 of a dispute arising under this section. 

9 ‘‘(3) EXCEPTION.—Notwithstanding paragraphs 

10 (1) and (2), an arbitration provision in a collective 

11 bargaining agreement shall be enforceable as to dis12 putes arising under subsection (a)(4), unless the Ad13 ministrator determines, by rule, that such provision 

14 is inconsistent with the purposes of this title. 

15 ‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section, the 

16 following definitions shall apply: 

17 ‘‘(1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘Adminis18 trator’ means the Administrator of the Federal 

19 Emergency Management Agency. 

20 ‘‘(2) AGENCY.—The term ‘Agency’ means the 

21 Federal Emergency Management Agency. 

22 ‘‘(3) COVERED EMPLOYEE.—The term ‘covered 

23 employee’ means any individual performing tasks re24 lated to the National Flood Insurance Program, in25 cluding such employees of— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the Agency; 

2 ‘‘(B) the Department of Homeland Secu3 rity; 

4 ‘‘(C) an insurance company participating 

5 in the Write Your Own program (as such term 

6 is defined in section 100202 of the Biggert7 Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012 

8 (42 U.S.C. 4004)); 

9 ‘‘(D) a third-party administrator for an in10 surance company described in subparagraph 

11 (C); 

12 ‘‘(E) an engineer, or engineering company, 

13 engaged in providing engineering services in 

14 connection with the National Flood Insurance 

15 Program, or a sub-contractor of such an engi16 neer or company; and 

17 ‘‘(F) a claims adjuster, or claims adjusting 

18 company, engaged in providing claims adjusting 

19 services in connection with the National Flood 

20 Insurance Program, or a sub-contractor of such 

21 an claims adjuster or company.’’. 

22 (b) AVAILABILITY OF FLOOD INSURANCE FUND.— 

23 Subsection (a) of section 1310 of the National Flood In24 surance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4017(a)), as amended by 


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1 section 6(b) of this Act, is further amended by inserting 

2 after paragraph (7) the following new paragraph: 

3 ‘‘(7) for penalties, relief, and costs under sec4 tion 1352(b), to the extent ordered to be paid by the 

5 Administrator or any officer or employee of the Fed6 eral Emergency Management Agency;’’. 

7 SEC. 10. ENGINEERING FIRM INDEPENDENCE. 

8 Part C of chapter 2 of the National Flood Insurance 

9 Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4081 et seq.), as amended by the 

10 preceding provisions of this Act, is further amended by 

11 adding at the end the following new sections: 

12 ‘‘SEC. 1353. SELECTION AND REPLACEMENT OF CLAIMS AD13 JUSTING AND ENGINEERING COMPANIES. 

14 ‘‘(a) In the case of an insurance company partici15 pating in the Write Your Own program (as such term is 

16 defined in section 100202 of the Biggert-Waters Flood In17 surance Reform Act of 2012 (42 U.S.C. 4004)) that en18 gages any adjusting company or engineering company in 

19 the adjustment of a claim for losses resulting from struc20 tural damage to a property under a policy for flood insur21 ance coverage made available under this title— 

22 ‘‘(1) no representative of the adjusting company 

23 or engineering company may visit the property be24 fore the expiration of the 30-day period beginning 

25 upon the date that the insurance company provides 


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1 notice to the owner of the property that such adjust2 ing or engineering company has been engaged, un3 less the owner, in writing, consents to an earlier 

4 visit; and 

5 ‘‘(2) if the policyholder submits to the insur6 ance company written notice of disapproval of the 

7 adjusting or engineering company selected by such 

8 insurance company before a representative of the ad9 justing or engineering company first visits the prop10 erty, such insurance company shall— 

11 ‘‘(A) within 30 days after the policy12 holder’s notification of such disapproval— 

13 ‘‘(i) submit to the Administrator no14 tice of the policyholders notification of 

15 such disapproval; and 

16 ‘‘(ii) submit to the policyholder a list 

17 of not less than three other adjusting or 

18 engineering companies, as the case may be, 

19 that are unaffiliated with the disapproved 

20 company to conduct the activities involved 

21 in adjusting such claim; and 

22 ‘‘(B) replace the original adjusting or engi23 neering company with the company from such 

24 list selected by the policyholder, if the policy25 holder notifies the insurance company and the 


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1 Administrator, in writing, of the policyholder’s 

2 selected company within 30 days after receiving 

3 the list required under subparagraph (A). 

4 ‘‘SEC. 1354. ENGINEERING FIRM INDEPENDENCE. 

5 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—It shall be unlawful, in partici6 pating in the Write Your Own program (as such term is 

7 defined in section 100202 of the Biggert-Waters Flood In8 surance Reform Act of 2012 (42 U.S.C. 4004)), to engage 

9 in any act or practice that violates the independence of 

10 an engineering company or individual engineer providing 

11 engineering services in connection with flood insurance 

12 coverage made available under this title. 

13 ‘‘(b) VIOLATIONS.—For purposes of subsection (a), 

14 acts or practices that violate the independence of an engi15 neering company or individual engineer shall include— 

16 ‘‘(1) the preparation or submission of any engi17 neering report in connection with a claim for dam18 ages under flood insurance coverage in which a per19 son with an interest in the award of such damages 

20 compensates, coerces, extorts, colludes, instructs, in21 duces, bribes, or intimidates a person, engineering 

22 firm, or other entity responsible for assessing dam23 ages for the purpose of causing the damages as24 signed to be based on any factor other than the 


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1 independent judgment of the engineering company 

2 or individual engineer; 

3 ‘‘(2) mischaracterizing, or suborning any 

4 mischaracterization of, the damages involved in any 

5 such claim; 

6 ‘‘(3) seeking to influence an engineer or other7 wise to encourage a targeted value of damages in 

8 order to facilitate the making of a report; and 

9 ‘‘(4) withholding or threatening to withhold 

10 timely payment for an engineering report or for en11 gineering services rendered. 

12 ‘‘(c) EXCEPTIONS.—The requirements of subsection 

13 (b) shall not be construed as prohibiting an insurance 

14 company participating in the Write Your Own program, 

15 a claims adjusting company, or an engineering company 

16 from asking an engineer to undertake one or more of the 

17 following: 

18 ‘‘(1) Consider additional information. 

19 ‘‘(2) Provide further detail, substantiation, or 

20 explanation for an assessment of damages. 

21 ‘‘(3) Correct errors in an engineering report. 

22 ‘‘(d) PROHIBITIONS ON CONFLICTS OF INTEREST.— 

23 No engineer engaged by an insurance company partici24 pating in the Write Your Own program to assess flood 

25 damages to a property covered by flood insurance made 


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1 available under this title may have an ownership or finan2 cial interest in— 

3 ‘‘(1) such insurance company, any claims ad4 justing company, or any other company, other than 

5 the company that employs such engineer, that is 

6 connected with assessing such damages; or 

7 ‘‘(2) the property being assessed. 

8 ‘‘(e) MANDATORY REPORTING.—An insurance com9 pany participating in the Write Your Own program which 

10 knows, upon or before submitting to the Administrator a 

11 claim for damages under flood insurance coverage made 

12 available under this title, of a violation of the independ13 ence standards under this section, may not submit such 

14 a claim unless the insurance company includes, together 

15 with such claim, a certification that the violation involved 

16 does not materially mistake the value of the damages and 

17 documentation to support such claim.’’. 

18 SEC. 11. GAO REPORTS. 

19 (a) REPORT ON EFFECTS OF GLOBAL WARMING ON

20 FLOOD INSURANCE PROGRAM SOLVENCY.—Not later 

21 than the expiration of the 18-month period beginning on 

22 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller 

23 General of the United States shall submit to the Congress 

24 a report analyzing the effects of global warming on the 

25 fiscal solvency of the National Flood Insurance Program. 


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1 (b) REPORT ON WYO COMPANIES.—The Comptroller 

2 General of the United States shall conduct a study of 

3 claims under flood insurance coverage provided through 

4 insurance companies participating in the Write Your Own 

5 program of the National Flood Insurance Program pursu6 ant to losses resulting from Hurricane Sandy of 2012, 

7 which shall determine— 

8 (1) how much profit such insurers made pursu9 ant to such claims; 

10 (2) how many of such claims were made and 

11 processed; and 

12 (3) the amount of each such claim that was ap13 proved and paid. 

14 Not later than the expiration of the 12-month period be15 ginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

16 Comptroller General shall submit a report to the Congress 

17 regarding the conclusions of the study conducted pursuant 

18 to this subsection. 

19 SEC. 12. REGULATIONS. 

20 Not later than the expiration of the 12-month period 

21 beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

22 Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management 

23 Agency shall issue regulations necessary to carry out this 

24 Act and the amendments made by this Act. 

Æ 


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