I 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8462 

To safeguard taxpayer resources and strengthen the Nation’s resilience 

against severe storms and flooding. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 30, 2020 

Mr. PRICE of North Carolina (for himself and Mr. ZELDIN) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services, 

and in addition to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, 

for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case 

for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 

committee concerned 

A BILL 

To safeguard taxpayer resources and strengthen the Nation’s 

resilience against severe storms and flooding. 

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 ‘‘Flood Resiliency and 

5 Taxpayer Savings Act of 2020’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that— 


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1 (1) floods are the most common natural dis2 aster in the United States, causing injuries, damage, 

3 and destruction in all 50 States since 2012; 

4 (2) recent storms have strained the capacity of 

5 many local and State governments to respond and 

6 recover, necessitating significant increases in dis7 aster assistance from the Federal Government; 

8 (3) the Congressional Budget Office has cau9 tioned that U.S. economic losses associated with 

10 heavy precipitation, storm surges, and hurricane 

11 winds could average $54 billion every year and re12 quire Federal spending averaging $17 billion per 

13 year; 

14 (4) according to the Federal Emergency Man15 agement Agency, nearly 250 weather-related disas16 ters in the United States have caused at least $1 bil17 lion in damage each since 1980; 

18 (5) since 2005 alone, Federal funding for dis19 aster assistance has exceeded $450 billion, including 

20 over $19 billion in supplemental appropriations 

21 signed into law in June of 2019; 

22 (6) after reviewing just a portion of the Federal 

23 Government property inventory, the Office of Man24 agement and Budget identified significant flood 


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1 risks, including more than $80 billion in Federal as2 sets located in designated flood zones; 

3 (7) a 2017 study of Federal mitigation grants 

4 conducted by National Institute of Building Sciences 

5 Multihazard Mitigation Council demonstrated that 

6 mitigation investment can save the Nation, on aver7 age, $6 in future disaster costs for every $1 spent 

8 on hazard mitigation; and 

9 (8) the Government Accountability Office has 

10 recommended that enhanced Federal and local ef11 forts to improve resilience can reduce the effects and 

12 costs of future disasters. 

13 (b) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this Act— 

14 (1) to improve the resiliency of communities 

15 and assets of the Federal Government against flood16 ing, thereby limiting damage, reducing the need to 

17 rebuild after floods, and saving taxpayer dollars; and 

18 (2) provide a flexible framework for full consid19 eration of sensible resilience alternatives without re20 quiring any specific construction or mitigation meth21 ods. 

22 SEC. 3. FLOOD RISK MANAGEMENT. 

23 (a) EVALUATION OF POTENTIAL FOR FLOODING.— 

24 When carrying out an agency action involving a federally 

25 funded project, the head of each agency shall evaluate the 


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1 potential for flooding throughout the planned lifetime or 

2 duration of the federally funded project to— 

3 (1) reduce the risk of financial and property 

4 losses, including taxpayer losses resulting from 

5 floods; 

6 (2) take practicable steps toward ensuring that 

7 Federal resources will be allocated to structures and 

8 projects that will remain flood resistant throughout 

9 their intended design life; 

10 (3) preserve and utilize, to the extent reason11 able, the capacity of natural systems to protect 

12 against the damages of flooding; 

13 (4) prevent, to the extent possible, the disrup14 tion of critical services during flood events, including 

15 the closure of strategic transportation routes, inac16 cessibility of health care facilities, or loss of power 

17 or essential water and wastewater services; and 

18 (5) minimize the impact of current and future 

19 floods on human safety, health, and welfare. 

20 (b) DETERMINATION REGARDING SITING IN FLOOD21 PLAIN.—In carrying out the review of agency actions re22 quired under Executive Order 11988 (42 Fed. Reg. 

23 26951; relating to floodplain management), the head of 

24 each agency shall determine whether the federally funded 

25 project (as such term is defined in subsection (e)) under 


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1 review is sited in a floodplain currently or is expected to 

2 lie within or take place in a floodplain during the expected 

3 duration or design life of the project, taking into consider4 ation— 

5 (1) the most recent flood insurance rate map 

6 published by the Administrator of the Federal Emer7 gency Management Agency for the community in 

8 which the project shall take place, including prelimi9 nary and advisory maps prepared by the Adminis10 trator; 

11 (2) relevant and available assessments of future 

12 flooding vulnerabilities conducted or used by the 

13 agency, other agencies, or State or local govern14 ments; 

15 (3) additional available information regarding 

16 expected future conditions, including changes in land 

17 use, watershed characteristics, and infrastructure; 

18 and 

19 (4) additional available hydrologic and hydrau20 lic data from public and private sources regarding 

21 current and future flood risk, including information 

22 on expected changes in precipitation patterns, ero23 sion, and sea level. 

24 (c) ALTERNATE DESIGN LEVELS FOR RESILIENT IN25 FRASTRUCTURE.—If, after considering the available inforVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:53 Oct 27, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8462.IH H8462

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1 mation required under subsection (b), the head of an agen2 cy determines that such information is not adequate or 

3 sufficiently credible to understand and characterize cur4 rent and future flood risks to the project, the head of the 

5 agency shall use the following design standards in evalu6 ating resilience for or alternatives to the investment: 

7 (1) NON-CRITICAL PROJECTS.—If the project 

8 under review is not considered critical, the head of 

9 the agency shall assume, at a minimum, that flood 

10 heights would be expected to be 2 feet higher than 

11 the base flood elevation for the current 1 percent an12 nual chance flood or the flood elevation for the cur13 rent 0.2 percent annual chance flood, whichever is 

14 greater. 

15 (2) CRITICAL PROJECTS.—If the project under 

16 review is considered critical, the head of the agency 

17 shall assume, at a minimum, that flood heights 

18 would be expected to be 3 feet higher than the base 

19 flood elevation for the current 1 percent annual 

20 chance flood or 1 foot higher than the flood elevation 

21 for the current 0.2 percent annual chance flood, 

22 whichever is greater. 

23 (3) RESILIENCE STANDARD.—In evaluating re24 silience options, the flood heights specified in pre25 ceding paragraphs shall establish a standard design 


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1 level to which a structure or facility evaluated under 

2 this subsection shall be made functionally resilient. 

3 This may include using structural or nonstructural 

4 methods to reduce or prevent damage, elevating a 

5 structure, or where appropriate, designing it to 

6 adapt to, withstand, and rapidly recover from the 

7 corresponding flood event. 

8 (4) ALTERNATIVES.—In evaluating alternatives, 

9 including alternative sites and designs, the head of 

10 the agency shall fully consider the ability of natural 

11 systems and nature-based processes to achieve or 

12 support flood risk reduction and cost savings over 

13 the long term. 

14 (d) GUIDELINES FOR AGENCIES.— 

15 (1) GUIDELINES.—Agencies shall amend their 

16 regulations and procedures to incorporate the resil17 ience standards established under subsections (b) 

18 and (c) to establish new flood risk management 

19 standards. Agency standards shall, at a minimum, 

20 incorporate provisions to implement subsection (a) 

21 and shall require that the construction of Federal 

22 structures and facilities and construction of struc23 tures and facilities using Federal funds be in accord24 ance with the standards and criteria established 

25 under subsections (b) and (c) and comply with appliVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:53 Oct 27, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8462.IH H8462

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1 cable State, local, tribal, and territorial standards 

2 that exceed Federal standards and criteria. Such 

3 standards shall be consistent with the purposes of 

4 the National Flood Insurance Program. 

5 (2) ISSUANCE.—Not later than the expiration 

6 of the 18-month period beginning on the date of the 

7 enactment of this Act, the Federal Interagency 

8 Floodplain Management Task Force shall issue 

9 guidelines to be used by agencies in meeting the re10 quirements of this Act. 

11 (3) REQUIRED CONTENT.—At a minimum, such 

12 guidelines shall— 

13 (A) establish appropriate tracking and re14 porting procedures for agencies to follow; 

15 (B) establish limits on the extent to which 

16 exceptions for a particular agency may be al17 lowed in cases in which an exception is in the 

18 interest of national security, is deemed to be an 

19 emergency action, or is determined to present a 

20 conflict with other existing statutory require21 ments. 

22 (4) OTHER CONTENT.—Such guidelines may 

23 also identify cases in which an agency may conduct 

24 a general review of types of projects that are similar 

25 or cases in which projects are of a limited duration 


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1 or de minimis expenditure that would allow for expe2 dited review. 

3 (5) CONSULTATION.—In developing such guide4 lines, the Federal Interagency Floodplain Manage5 ment Task Force shall consult with States, localities, 

6 Indian tribes, and other relevant stakeholders 

7 through listening sessions and may issue final guide8 lines only after an opportunity for public review and 

9 comment. 

10 (6) REPORT TO CONGRESS.— 

11 (A) REQUIREMENT.—Not later than the 

12 expiration of the 2-year period beginning on the 

13 date of the enactment of this Act and not less 

14 often than annually thereafter, the Federal 

15 Interagency Floodplain Management Task 

16 Force shall submit a report to the Committees 

17 on Transportation and Infrastructure and Fi18 nancial Services of the House of Representa19 tives and the Committees on Homeland Secu20 rity and Governmental Affairs and Banking, 

21 Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate re22 garding compliance by agencies with the re23 quirements of this Act. 


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1 (B) CONTENTS.—Each report submitted 

2 pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall include in3 formation sufficient to describe— 

4 (i) the number, types, and outcomes 

5 of reviews conducted by individual agen6 cies; 

7 (ii) any rulemakings, or policy or pro8 cedural changes made by agencies to en9 sure compliance with this Act; and 

10 (iii) any recommendations of the Fed11 eral Interagency Floodplain Management 

12 Task Force regarding improvements to en13 hance resilience from flooding and steward 

14 Federal resources. 

15 (e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

16 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis17 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Federal 

18 Emergency Management Agency. 

19 (2) AGENCY.—The term ‘‘agency’’ has the 

20 meaning given such term in Executive Order 11988 

21 (42 Fed. Reg. 26951; relating to floodplain manage22 ment), except that such term does not include any 

23 military department other than the Army Corps of 

24 Engineers. 


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1 (3) CRITICAL.—The term ‘‘critical’’ means, 

2 with respect to a project of an agency, any project 

3 with respect to which the head of the agency deter4 mines that a slight chance of flooding would present 

5 an unacceptable amount of risk, as such term is de6 fined in section 9.4 of title 44, Code of Federal Reg7 ulations. 

8 (4) FEDERALLY FUNDED PROJECT.—The term 

9 ‘‘federally funded project’’ means a project for which 

10 Federal funds are used for purposes of managing, 

11 acquiring, or disposing of Federal lands or assets 

12 and, with respect to a structure or facility, for new 

13 construction, for substantial improvement, or to ad14 dress substantial damage. Such term does not in15 clude the making, insuring, guaranteeing, or 

16 securitizing of residential mortgage loans for single17 family or multifamily housing. 

18 (5) FEDERAL INTERAGENCY FLOODPLAIN MAN19 AGEMENT TASK FORCE.—The term ‘‘Federal Inter20 agency Floodplain Management Task Force’’ means 

21 the interagency body that— 

22 (A) was established in 1975; 

23 (B) has been responsible for preparing re24 ports and guidance for a comprehensive, coordi25 nated approach to floodplain management; 


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1 (C) is chaired by the Federal Emergency 

2 Management Agency; and 

3 (D) includes membership from multiple 

4 agencies, including the Army Corps of Engi5 neers, the Department of Agriculture, the De6 partment of Housing and Urban Development, 

7 and the Department of Commerce. 

8 (6) RESILIENCE.—The term ‘‘resilience’’ means 

9 the ability to anticipate, prepare for, and adapt to 

10 changing conditions and withstand and rapidly re11 cover from disruption due to emergencies. 

12 (7) SUBSTANTIAL IMPROVEMENT; SUBSTANTIAL

13 DAMAGE.—The terms ‘‘substantial improvement’’ 

14 and ‘‘substantial damage’’ mean substantial im15 provement and substantial damage, respectively, to 

16 the extent described in section 1307(a)(2)(E) of the 

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

18 4014(a)(2)(E)). 

19 (f) APPLICABILITY.—This Act shall not apply to any 

20 federally funded project that has been reviewed for compli21 ance with Executive Order 11988 and approved by the ap22 propriate agency before the date of the enactment of this 

23 Act. 

Æ 


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