IB 

Union Calendar No. 224 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4973 

[Report No. 109–410] 

To restore the financial solvency of the national flood insurance program, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 16, 2006 

Mr. BAKER (for himself and Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts) introduced the 

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

APRIL 6, 2006 

Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union 

and ordered to be printed 

A BILL 

To restore the financial solvency of 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 AND TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

5 ‘‘Flood Insurance Reform and Modernization Act of 

6 2006’’. 


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

2 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title and table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Findings and purposes. 

Sec. 3. Study regarding status of pre-FIRM properties and mandatory purchase requirement for natural 100-year floodplain and nonFederally related loans. 

Sec. 4. Phase-in of actuarial rates for nonresidential properties and non-primary residences. 

Sec. 5. Reduction of waiting period for effective date of policies. 

Sec. 6. Enforcement. 

Sec. 7. Maximum coverage limits. 

Sec. 8. Coverage for additional living expenses, basement improvements, business interruption, and replacement cost of contents. 

Sec. 9. Increase in annual limitation on premium increases. 

Sec. 10. Increase in borrowing authority. 

Sec. 11. FEMA participation in State disaster claims mediation programs. 

Sec. 12. FEMA reports on financial status of insurance program. 

Sec. 13. Extension of pilot program for mitigation of severe repetitive loss properties. 

Sec. 14. Notice of availability of flood insurance and escrow in RESPA good 

faith estimate. 

Sec. 15. Reiteration of FEMA responsibilities under 2004 Reform Act. 

Sec. 16. Updating of flood maps and elevation standards. 

Sec. 17. National levee inventory. 

Sec. 18. Clarification of replacement cost provisions, forms, and policy language. 

Sec. 19. Authorization of additional FEMA staff. 

3 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 

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

5 (1) flooding has been shown to occur in all 50 

6 States; 

7 (2) the aggregate amount of the flood insurance 

8 claims resulting from Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane 

9 Rita, and other recent events has exceeded the ag10 gregate amount of all claims previously paid in the 

11 history of the national flood insurance program, re12 quiring a significant increase in the program’s bor13 rowing authority; 


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1 (3) flood insurance policyholders have a legiti2 mate expectation that they will receive fair and time3 ly compensation for losses covered under their poli4 cies; 

5 (4) substantial flooding has occurred, and will 

6 likely occur again, outside the areas designated by 

7 the Federal Emergency Management Agency as 

8 flood hazard areas; 

9 (5) properties located in low- to moderate-risk 

10 areas are eligible to purchase flood insurance policies 

11 with premiums as low as $112 a year; 

12 (6) about 450,000 vacation homes, second 

13 homes, and commercial properties are subsidized 

14 and are not paying actuarially sound rates for flood 

15 insurance; 

16 (7) phasing out subsidies currently extended to 

17 vacation homes, second homes, and commercial 

18 properties would result in estimated average savings 

19 to the taxpayers of the United States and the na20 tional flood insurance program of $335,000,000 

21 each year; 

22 (8) the maximum coverage limits for flood in23 surance policies should be increased to reflect infla24 tion and the increased cost of housing; 


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1 (9) significant reforms to the national flood in2 surance program required in the Bunning-Bereuter3 Blumenauer Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2004 

4 have yet to be implemented; and 

5 (10) in addition to reforms required in the 

6 Bunning-Bereuter-Blumenauer Flood Insurance Re7 form Act of 2004, the national flood insurance pro8 gram requires a modernized and updated adminis9 trative model to ensure that the program is solvent 

10 and the people of the United States have continued 

11 access to flood insurance. 

12 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are— 

13 (1) to protect the integrity of the national flood 

14 insurance program by fully funding existing legal ob15 ligations expected by existing policyholders who have 

16 paid policy premiums in return for flood insurance 

17 coverage; 

18 (2) to increase incentives for homeowners and 

19 communities to participate in the national flood in20 surance program and to improve oversight to ensure 

21 full participation in the program for owners of prop22 erties for which such participation is mandatory; and 

23 (3) to increase awareness of homeowners of 

24 flood risks and improve the quality of information 

25 regarding such risks provided to homeowners. 


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1 SEC. 3. STUDY REGARDING STATUS OF PRE-FIRM PROP2 ERTIES AND MANDATORY PURCHASE RE3 QUIREMENT FOR NATURAL 100-YEAR FLOOD4 PLAIN AND NON-FEDERALLY RELATED 

5 LOANS. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Comptroller General shall 

7 conduct a study as follows: 

8 (1) PRE-FIRM PROPERTIES.—The study shall 

9 determine the status of the the national flood insur10 ance program, as of the date of the enactment of 

11 this Act, with respect to the provision of flood insur12 ance coverage for pre-FIRM properties (as such 

13 term is defined in section 578(b) of the National 

14 Flood Insurance Reform Act of 1994 (42 U.S.C. 

15 4014 note)), which shall include determinations of— 

16 (A) the number of pre-FIRM properties 

17 for which coverage is provided and the extent of 

18 such coverage; 

19 (B) the cost of providing coverage for such 

20 pre-FIRM properties to the national flood in21 surance program; 

22 (C) the anticipated rate at which such pre23 FIRM properties will cease to be covered under 

24 the program; and 

25 (D) the effects that implementation of the 

26 Bunning-Bereuter-Blumenauer Flood Insurance 


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1 Reform Act of 2004 will have on the national 

2 flood insurance program generally and on cov3 erage of pre-FIRM properties under the pro4 gram. 

5 (2) MANDATORY PURCHASE REQUIREMENT FOR

6 NATURAL 100-YEAR FLOODPLAIN.—The study shall 

7 assess the impact, effectiveness, and feasibility of 

8 amending the provisions of the Flood Disaster Pro9 tection Act of 1973 regarding the properties that are 

10 subject to the mandatory flood insurance coverage 

11 purchase requirements under such Act to extend 

12 such requirements to properties located in any area 

13 that would be designated as an area having special 

14 flood hazards but for the existence of a structural 

15 flood protection system, and shall determine— 

16 (A) the regulatory, financial and economic 

17 impacts of extending such mandatory purchase 

18 requirements on the costs of homeownership, 

19 the actuarial soundness of the national flood in20 surance program, the Federal Emergency Man21 agement Agency, local communities, insurance 

22 companies, and local land use; 

23 (B) the effectiveness of extending such 

24 mandatory purchase requirements in protecting 

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1 tecting the financial soundness of the national 

2 flood insurance program; and 

3 (C) any impact on lenders of complying 

4 with or enforcing such extended mandatory re5 quirements. 

6 (3) MANDATORY PURCHASE REQUIREMENT FOR

7 NON-FEDERALLY RELATED LOANS.—The study shall 

8 assess the impact, effectiveness, and feasibility of, 

9 and basis under the Constitution of the United 

10 States for, amending the provisions of the Flood 

11 Disaster Protection Act of 1973 regarding the prop12 erties that are subject to the mandatory flood insur13 ance coverage purchase requirements under such Act 

14 to extend such requirements to any property that is 

15 located in any area having special flood hazards and 

16 which secures the repayment of a loan that is not 

17 described in paragraph (1), (2), or (3) of section 

18 102(b) of such Act, and shall determine how best to 

19 administer and enforce such a requirement, taking 

20 into consideration other insurance purchase require21 ments under Federal and State law. 

22 (b) REPORT.—The Comptroller General shall submit 

23 a report to the Congress regarding the results and conclu24 sions of the study under this subsection not later than the 


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1 expiration of the 6-month period beginning on the date 

2 of the enactment of this Act. 

3 SEC. 4. PHASE-IN OF ACTUARIAL RATES FOR NONRESIDEN4 TIAL PROPERTIES AND NON-PRIMARY RESI5 DENCES. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1308(c) of the National 

7 Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4015(c)) is 

8 amended— 

9 (1) by redesignating paragraph (2) as para10 graph (4); and 

11 (2) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol12 lowing new paragraphs: 

13 ‘‘(2) NONRESIDENTIAL PROPERTIES.—Any non14 residential property. 

15 ‘‘(3) NON-PRIMARY RESIDENCES.—Any residen16 tial property that is not the primary residence of an 

17 individual.’’. 

18 (b) TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.—Section 1308 of the 

19 National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4015) 

20 is amended— 

21 (1) in subsection (c)— 

22 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), 

23 by striking ‘‘Subject only to the limitations pro24 vided under paragraphs (1) and (2), the’’ and 

25 inserting ‘‘The’’; and 


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1 (B) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘, ex2 cept’’ and all that follows through ‘‘subsection 

3 (e)’’; and 

4 (2) in subsection (e), by striking ‘‘paragraph 

5 (2) or (3)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraph (4)’’. 

6 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE AND TRANSITION.— 

7 (1) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 

8 by subsections (a) and (b) shall apply beginning on 

9 the publication by the Director of the Federal Emer10 gency Management Agency of the certification under 

11 section 16(b)(2), except as provided in paragraph 

12 (2) of this subsection. 

13 (2) TRANSITION.—In the case of any property 

14 described in paragraph (2) or (3) of section 1308(c) 

15 of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968, as 

16 amended by subsection (a) of this section, that, on 

17 the date of the enactment of this Act, is covered 

18 under a policy for flood insurance made available 

19 under the national flood insurance program for 

20 which the chargeable premium rates are less than 

21 the applicable estimated risk premium rate under 

22 section 1307(a)(1) for the area in which the prop23 erty is located, the Director of the Federal Emer24 gency Management Agency shall increase the 

25 chargeable premium rates for such property over 


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1 time to such applicable estimated risk premium rate 

2 under section 1307(a)(1). Such increase shall be 

3 made by increasing the chargeable premium rates 

4 for the property (after application of any increase in 

5 the premium rates otherwise applicable to such prop6 erty) by 15 percent (or such lesser amount as may 

7 be necessary so that the chargeable rate does not ex8 ceed such applicable estimated risk premium rate) 

9 once during the 12-month period that begins upon 

10 the date of the enactment of this Act and once every 

11 12 months thereafter until such increase is accom12 plished. The provisions of paragraphs (2) and (3) of 

13 such section 1308(c) shall apply to such a property 

14 upon the accomplishment of such increase and there15 after. 

16 SEC. 5. REDUCTION OF WAITING PERIOD FOR EFFECTIVE 

17 DATE OF POLICIES. 

18 Section 1306(c)(1) is amended by striking ‘‘30-day’’ 

19 and inserting ‘‘15-day’’. 

20 SEC. 6. ENFORCEMENT. 

21 Section 102(f) of the Flood Disaster Protection Act 

22 of 1973 (42 U.S.C. 4012a(f)) is amended— 

23 (1) in paragraph (5)— 

24 (A) in the first sentence, by striking 

25 ‘‘$350’’ and inserting ‘‘$2,000’’; and 


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1 (B) in the last sentence, by striking 

2 ‘‘$100,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$1,000,000’’; and 

3 (2) in paragraph (6), by adding after the period 

4 at the end the following: ‘‘No penalty may be im5 posed under this subsection on a regulated lending 

6 institution or enterprise that has made a good faith 

7 effort to comply with the requirements of the provi8 sions referred to in paragraph (2) or for any non9 material violation of such requirements.’’. 

10 SEC. 7. MAXIMUM COVERAGE LIMITS. 

11 Subsection (b) of section 1306 of the National Flood 

12 Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4013(b)) is amended— 

13 (1) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘$250,000’’ 

14 and inserting ‘‘$335,000’’; 

15 (2) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘$100,000’’ 

16 and inserting ‘‘$135,000’’; and 

17 (3) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘$500,000’’ 

18 each place such term appears and inserting 

19 ‘‘$670,000’’. 

20 SEC. 8. COVERAGE FOR ADDITIONAL LIVING EXPENSES, 

21 BASEMENT IMPROVEMENTS, BUSINESS 

22 INTERRUPTION, AND REPLACEMENT COST 

23 OF CONTENTS. 

24 Subsection (b) of section 1306 of the National Flood 

25 Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4013) is amended— 


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

2 end; 

3 (2) in paragraph (5)— 

4 (A) by inserting ‘‘pursuant to paragraph 

5 (2), (3), or (4)’’ after ‘‘any flood insurance cov6 erage’’; and 

7 (B) by striking the period at the end and 

8 inserting a semicolon; and 

9 (3) by adding at the end the following new 

10 paragraphs: 

11 ‘‘(6) in the case of any residential property, 

12 each renewal or new contract for flood insurance 

13 coverage shall provide not less than $1,000 aggre14 gate liability per dwelling unit for any necessary in15 creases in living expenses incurred by the insured 

16 when losses from a flood make the residence unfit to 

17 live in, which coverage shall be available only at 

18 chargeable rates that are not less than the estimated 

19 premium rates for such coverage determined in ac20 cordance with section 1307(a)(1); 

21 ‘‘(7) in the case of any residential property, op22 tional coverage for additional living expenses de23 scribed in paragraph (6) shall be made available to 

24 every insured upon renewal and every applicant in 

25 excess of the limits provided in paragraph (6) in 


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1 such amounts and at such rates as the Director 

2 shall establish, except that such chargeable rates 

3 shall not be less than the estimated premium rates 

4 for such coverage determined in accordance with sec5 tion 1307(a)(1); 

6 ‘‘(8) in the case of any residential property, op7 tional coverage for losses, resulting from floods, to 

8 improvements and personal property located in base9 ments, crawl spaces, and other enclosed areas under 

10 buildings that are not covered by primary flood in11 surance coverage under this title, shall be made 

12 available to every insured upon renewal and every 

13 applicant, except that such coverage shall be made 

14 available only at chargeable rates that are not less 

15 than the estimated premium rates for such coverage 

16 determined in accordance with section 1307(a)(1); 

17 ‘‘(9) in the case of any commercial property, 

18 optional coverage for losses resulting from any par19 tial or total interruption of the insured’s business 

20 caused by damage to, or loss of, such property from 

21 a flood shall be made available to every insured upon 

22 renewal and every applicant, except that— 

23 ‘‘(A) for purposes of such coverage, losses 

24 shall be determined based on the profits the 

25 covered business would have earned, based on 


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1 previous financial records, had the flood not oc2 curred; and 

3 ‘‘(B) such coverage shall be made available 

4 only at chargeable rates that are not less than 

5 the estimated premium rates for such coverage 

6 determined in accordance with section 

7 1307(a)(1); and 

8 ‘‘(10) in the case of any residential property 

9 and any commercial property, optional coverage for 

10 the full replacement costs of any contents related to 

11 the structure that exceed the limits of coverage oth12 erwise provided in this subsection shall be made 

13 available to every insured upon renewal and every 

14 applicant, except that such coverage shall be made 

15 available only at chargeable rates that are not less 

16 than the estimated premium rates for such coverage 

17 determined in accordance with section 1307(a)(1).’’. 

18 SEC. 9. INCREASE IN ANNUAL LIMITATION ON PREMIUM IN19 CREASES. 

20 Section 1308(e) of the National Flood Insurance Act 

21 of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4015(e)) is amended by striking ‘‘10 

22 percent’’ and inserting ‘‘15 percent’’. 

23 SEC. 10. INCREASE IN BORROWING AUTHORITY. 

24 (a) BORROWING AUTHORITY.—The first sentence of 

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1 surance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4016(a)), as amended by 

2 the National Flood Insurance Program Further Enhanced 

3 Borrowing Authority Act of 2005 (Public Law 109–106; 

4 119 Stat. 2288), is amended by striking 

5 ‘‘$18,500,000,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$25,000,000,000’’. 

6 (b) FEMA REPORT.—Not later than the expiration 

7 of the 6-month period beginning on the date of the enact8 ment of this Act, the Director of the Federal Emergency 

9 Management Agency shall submit a report to the Congress 

10 setting forth a plan for repaying any amounts borrowed 

11 pursuant to increase in borrowing authority authorized 

12 under the amendments made by subsection (a). 

13 SEC. 11. FEMA PARTICIPATION IN STATE DISASTER CLAIMS 

14 MEDIATION PROGRAMS. 

15 The National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 is amend16 ed by inserting after section 1313 (42 U.S.C. 4020) the 

17 following new section: 

18 ‘‘SEC. 1314. FEMA PARTICIPATION IN STATE DISASTER 

19 CLAIMS MEDIATION PROGRAMS. 

20 ‘‘(a) REQUIREMENT TO PARTICIPATE.—In the case 

21 of the occurrence of a natural catastrophe that may result 

22 in flood damage claims under the national flood insurance 

23 program, upon a request made by the insurance commis24 sioner of a State (or such other official responsible for reg25 ulating the business of insurance in the State) for the parVerDate Aug 31 2005 22:20 Apr 06, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4973.RH H4973

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1 ticipation of representatives of the Director in a program 

2 sponsored by such State for nonbinding mediation of in3 surance claims resulting from a natural catastrophe, the 

4 Director shall cause appropriate representatives of na5 tional flood insurance program to participate in such State 

6 program to expedite settlement of any flood damage 

7 claims under the national flood insurance program result8 ing from such catastrophe. 

9 ‘‘(b) EXTENT OF PARTICIPATION.—Participation by 

10 representatives of the Director required under subsection 

11 (a) with respect to flood damage claims resulting from a 

12 natural catastrophe shall include— 

13 ‘‘(1) providing adjusters certified for purposes 

14 of the national flood insurance program who are au15 thorized to settle claims against such program re16 sulting from such catastrophe in amounts up to the 

17 limits of policies under such program; 

18 ‘‘(2) requiring such adjusters to attend State19 sponsored mediation meetings regarding flood insur20 ance claims resulting from such catastrophe at times 

21 and places as may be arranged by the State; 

22 ‘‘(3) participating in good-faith negotiations to23 ward the settlement of such claims with policy24 holders of coverage made available under the na25 tional flood insurance program; and 


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1 ‘‘(4) finalizing the settlement of such claims on 

2 behalf of the national flood insurance program with 

3 such policyholders. 

4 ‘‘(c) COORDINATION.—Adjusters representing the na5 tional flood insurance program who participate pursuant 

6 to subsection (b)(1) in a State-sponsored mediation pro7 gram with respect to a natural catastrophe shall at all 

8 times coordinate their activities with insurance officials of 

9 the State and representatives of insurers for the purpose 

10 of consolidating and expediting the settlement of claims 

11 under the national flood insurance program resulting from 

12 such catastrophe at the earliest possible time.’’. 

13 SEC. 12. FEMA REPORTS ON FINANCIAL STATUS OF INSUR14 ANCE PROGRAM. 

15 Section 1320 of the National Flood Insurance Act of 

16 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4027) is amended— 

17 (1) in the section heading, by striking ‘‘RE18 PORT TO THE PRESIDENT’’ and inserting ‘‘RE19 PORTS’’; 

20 (2) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘IN GEN21 ERAL’’ and inserting ‘‘BIENNIAL REPORT TO PRESI22 DENT’’; and 

23 (3) by adding at the end the following new sub24 section: 


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1 ‘‘(c) SEMIANNUAL REPORTS TO CONGRESS ON FI2 NANCIAL STATUS.—Not later than June 30 and December 

3 31 of each year, the Director shall submit a report to the 

4 Congress regarding the financial status of the national 

5 flood insurance program under this title. Each such report 

6 shall describe the financial status of the National Flood 

7 Insurance Fund and current and projected levels of 

8 claims, premium receipts, expenses, and borrowing under 

9 the program.’’. 

10 SEC. 13. EXTENSION OF PILOT PROGRAM FOR MITIGATION 

11 OF SEVERE REPETITIVE LOSS PROPERTIES. 

12 Section 1361A of the National Flood Insurance Act 

13 of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4102a) is amended as follows: 

14 (1) FUNDING.—In subsection (k)(1), by strik15 ing ‘‘and 2009’’ and inserting ‘‘2009, 2010, and 

16 2011’’. 

17 (2) TERMINATION.—In subsection (l), by strik18 ing ‘‘September 30, 2009’’ and inserting ‘‘September 

19 30, 2011’’. 

20 SEC. 14. NOTICE OF AVAILABILITY OF FLOOD INSURANCE 

21 AND ESCROW IN RESPA GOOD FAITH ESTI22 MATE. 

23 Subsection (c) of section 5 of the Real Estate Settle24 ment Procedures Act of 1974 (12 U.S.C. 2604(c)) is 

25 amended by adding at the end the following new sentence: 


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1 ‘‘Each such good faith estimate shall include the following 

2 conspicuous statements: (1) that flood insurance coverage 

3 for residential real estate is generally available under the 

4 National Flood Insurance Program whether or not the 

5 real estate is located in an area having special flood haz6 ards and that, to obtain such coverage, a home owner or 

7 purchaser should contact a property insurance agent, 

8 broker, or company; and (2) that the escrowing of flood 

9 insurance payments is required for many loans under sec10 tion 102(d) of the Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973, 

11 and may be a convenient and available option with respect 

12 to other loans.’’. 

13 SEC. 15. REITERATION OF FEMA RESPONSIBILITIES UNDER 

14 2004 REFORM ACT. 

15 (a) APPEALS PROCESS.—As directed in section 205 

16 of the Bunning-Bereuter-Blumenauer Flood Insurance 

17 Reform Act of 2004 (42 U.S.C. 4011 note), the Director 

18 of the Federal Emergency Management Agency is again 

19 directed to, not later than 90 days after the date of the 

20 enactment of this Act, establish an appeals process 

21 through which holders of a flood insurance policy may ap22 peal the decisions, with respect to claims, proofs of loss, 

23 and loss estimates relating to such flood insurance policy 

24 as required by such section. 


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1 (b) MINIMUM TRAINING AND EDUCATION REQUIRE2 MENTS.—The Director of the Federal Emergency Man3 agement Agency is directed to continue to work with the 

4 insurance industry, State insurance regulators, and other 

5 interested parties to implement the minimum training and 

6 education standards for all insurance agents who sell flood 

7 insurance policies that were established by the Director 

8 under the notice published September 1, 2005 (70 Fed. 

9 Reg. 52117) pursuant to section 207 of the Bunning-Be10 reuter-Blumenauer Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2004 

11 (42 U.S.C. 4011 note). 

12 (c) REPORT.—Not later than the expiration of the 6- 

13 month period beginning on the date of the enactment of 

14 this Act, the Director of the Federal Emergency Manage15 ment Agency shall submit a report to the Congress de16 scribing the implementation of each provision of the 

17 Bunning-Bereuter-Blumenauer Flood Insurance Reform 

18 Act of 2004 (Public Law 108–264) and identifying each 

19 regulation, order, notice, and other material issued by the 

20 Director in implementing each such provision. 

21 SEC. 16. UPDATING OF FLOOD MAPS AND ELEVATION 

22 STANDARDS. 

23 (a) FLOOD MAPPING PROGRAM.—Section 1360 of 

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


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1 4101) is amended by adding at the end the following new 

2 subsection: 

3 ‘‘(k) PROGRAM TO REVIEW, UPDATE, AND MAINTAIN

4 FLOOD INSURANCE PROGRAM MAPS.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director, in coordina6 tion with the Technical Mapping Advisory Council 

7 established pursuant to section 576 of the National 

8 Flood Insurance Reform Act of 1994 (42 U.S.C. 

9 4101 note) and section 16(c) of the Flood Insurance 

10 Reform and Modernization Act of 2006, shall estab11 lish a program under which the Director shall re12 view, update, and maintain national flood insurance 

13 program rate maps in accordance with this sub14 section. 

15 ‘‘(2) INCLUSIONS.— 

16 ‘‘(A) COVERED AREAS.—Each map up17 dated under this subsection shall include a de18 piction of— 

19 ‘‘(i) the 500-year floodplain; 

20 ‘‘(ii) areas that could be inundated as 

21 a result of the failure of a levee, as deter22 mined by the Director; and 

23 ‘‘(iii) areas that could be inundated as 

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1 fied under the National Dam Safety Pro2 gram Act (33 U.S.C. 467 et seq.). 

3 ‘‘(B) OTHER INCLUSIONS.—In updating 

4 maps under this subsection, the Director may 

5 include— 

6 ‘‘(i) any relevant information on 

7 coastal inundation from— 

8 ‘‘(I) an applicable inundation 

9 map of the Corps of Engineers; and 

10 ‘‘(II) data of the National Oce11 anic and Atmospheric Administration 

12 relating to storm surge modeling; 

13 ‘‘(ii) any relevant information of the 

14 Geographical Service on stream flows, wa15 tershed characteristics, and topography 

16 that is useful in the identification of flood 

17 hazard areas, as determined by the Direc18 tor; and 

19 ‘‘(iii) a description of any hazard that 

20 might impact flooding, including, as deter21 mined by the Director— 

22 ‘‘(I) land subsidence and coastal 

23 erosion areas; 

24 ‘‘(II) sediment flow areas; 

25 ‘‘(III) mud flow areas; 


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1 ‘‘(IV) ice jam areas; and 

2 ‘‘(V) areas on coasts and inland 

3 that are subject to the failure of 

4 structural protective works, such as 

5 levees, dams, and floodwalls. 

6 ‘‘(3) STANDARDS.—In updating and maintain7 ing maps under this subsection, the Director shall 

8 establish standards to— 

9 ‘‘(A) ensure that maps are adequate for— 

10 ‘‘(i) flood risk determinations; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) use by State and local govern12 ments in managing development to reduce 

13 the risk of flooding; and 

14 ‘‘(B) facilitate the Director, in conjunction 

15 with State and local governments, to identify 

16 and use consistent methods of data collection 

17 and analysis in developing maps for commu18 nities with similar flood risks, as determined by 

19 the Director. 

20 ‘‘(4) HURRICANES KATRINA AND RITA MAPPING

21 PRIORITY.—In updating and maintaining maps 

22 under this subsection, the Director shall— 

23 ‘‘(A) give priority to the updating and 

24 maintenance of maps of coastal areas affected 

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1 vide guidance with respect to hurricane recovery 

2 efforts; and 

3 ‘‘(B) use the process of updating and 

4 maintaining maps under subparagraph (A) as a 

5 model for updating and maintaining other 

6 maps. 

7 ‘‘(5) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than June 

8 30 of each year, the Director shall submit a report 

9 to the Congress describing, for the preceding 12- 

10 month period, the activities of the Director under 

11 the program under this section and the reviews and 

12 updates of flood insurance program rate maps con13 ducted under the program. Each such annual report 

14 shall contain the most recent report of the Technical 

15 Mapping Advisory Council pursuant to section 

16 576(c)(3) of the National Flood Insurance Reform 

17 Act of 1994 (42 U.S.C. 4101 note). 

18 ‘‘(6) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

19 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Direc20 tor to carry out this subsection $300,000,000 for 

21 each of fiscal years 2007 through 2012.’’. 

22 (b) REVIEW AND UPDATING OF ALL FLOOD ZONES

23 AND ANNUAL MAP MODERNIZATION REPORTS.— 

24 (1) REQUIRED REVISION.—In carrying out the 

25 program under subsection (k) of section 1360 of the 


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1 National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (as added by 

2 subsection (a) of this section), the Director of the 

3 Federal Emergency Management Agency shall, as 

4 soon as possible after the date of the enactment of 

5 this Act, conduct a review of all floodplain areas and 

6 flood-risk zones identified, delineated, or established 

7 pursuant to such section 1360 and shall revise and 

8 update all such areas and zones. 

9 (2) CERTIFICATION OF COMPLETION.—Upon 

10 completing the review, revision, and updating re11 quired under paragraph (1), the Director shall sub12 mit to the Congress a report certifying such comple13 tion. 

14 (3) ANNUAL REPORTS.—During the period that 

15 ends upon certification under paragraph (2) of this 

16 subsection by the Director, the Director shall include 

17 in the annual report required under section 

18 1360(k)(5) of the National Flood Insurance Act of 

19 1968 (as added by subsection (a) of this section) a 

20 description of the extent to which the review and up21 dating required under paragraph (1) of this sub22 section has been completed. 

23 (c) REESTABLISHMENT OF TECHNICAL MAPPING

24 ADVISORY COUNCIL.— 


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1 (1) REESTABLISHMENT.—There is reestab2 lished the Technical Mapping Advisory Council, in 

3 accordance with this subsection and section 576 of 

4 the National Flood Insurance Reform Act of 1994 

5 (42 U.S.C. 4101 note). 

6 (2) MEMBERSHIP.—Paragraph (1) of section 

7 576(b) of the National Flood Insurance Reform Act 

8 of 1994 (42 U.S.C. 4101 note) is amended— 

9 (A) by redesignating subparagraphs (E), 

10 (F), (G), (H), (I), and (J) as subparagraphs 

11 (F), (G), (H), (K), (M), and (N), respectively; 

12 (B) by inserting after subparagraph (D) 

13 the following new subparagraph: 

14 ‘‘(E) a representative of the Corps of Engi15 neers of the United States Army;’’; 

16 (C) by inserting after subparagraph (H) 

17 (as so redesignated by subparagraph (A) of this 

18 paragraph) the following new subparagraphs: 

19 ‘‘(I) a representative of local or regional 

20 flood and stormwater agencies; 

21 ‘‘(J) a representative of State geographic 

22 information coordinators;’’; and 

23 (D) by inserting after subparagraph (K) 

24 (as so redesignated by subparagraph (A) of this 

25 paragraph) the following new subparagraph: 


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1 ‘‘(L) a representative of flood insurance 

2 servicing companies;’’. 

3 (3) APPOINTMENT.—The Director of the Fed4 eral Emergency Management Agency, or the Direc5 tor’s designee, shall take action as soon as possible 

6 after the date of the enactment of this Act to ap7 point the members of the Technical Mapping Advi8 sory Council pursuant to section 576(b)(1) of the 

9 National Flood Insurance Reform Act of 1994, as 

10 amended by paragraph (2) of this subsection. 

11 (4) DUTIES.—Subsection (c) of section 576 of 

12 the National Flood Insurance Reform Act of 1994 

13 (42 U.S.C. 4101 note) is amended to read as fol14 lows: 

15 ‘‘(c) DUTIES.—The Council shall— 

16 ‘‘(1) make recommendations to the Director for 

17 improvements to the flood map modernization pro18 gram under section 1360(k) of the National Flood 

19 Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 41010(k)); 

20 ‘‘(2) make recommendations to the Director for 

21 maintaining a modernized inventory of flood hazard 

22 maps and information; and 

23 ‘‘(3) submit an annual report to the Director 

24 that contains a description of the activities and rec25 ommendations of the Council.’’. 


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1 (5) TERMINATION.—Subsection (k) of section 

2 576 of the National Flood Insurance Reform Act of 

3 1994 (42 U.S.C. 4101 note) is amended by striking 

4 ‘‘under subsection (b)(1)’’ and inserting ‘‘pursuant 

5 to subsection (b)(1) of this section and section 

6 16(c)(3) of the Flood Insurance Reform and Mod7 ernization Act of 2006’’. 

8 (d) POST-DISASTER FLOOD ELEVATION DETER9 MINATIONS.—Section 1363 of the National Flood Insur10 ance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4104) is amended by adding 

11 at the end the following new subsection: 

12 ‘‘(h) EXPEDITED COMMUNITY ADOPTION OF POST13 DISASTER ADVISORY FLOOD ELEVATIONS.—If the Direc14 tor determines that it is appropriate to examine flood ele15 vation determinations after flood-related disasters, to in16 corporate data gathered since the publication of an effec17 tive flood insurance rate map or other flood hazard map 

18 and to issue advisory flood elevations, the Director shall 

19 expedite the notification and publication procedures in this 

20 section. The Director shall require community adoption of 

21 the advisory flood elevation information under such expe22 dited procedures for the purposes of local land use and 

23 control measures and for the purposes of facilitating flood24 resistant reconstruction when Federal funds are made 

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1 cedures shall be accomplished to preserve all rights to sub2 mit information and to appeal the Director’s findings.’’. 

3 SEC. 17. NATIONAL LEVEE INVENTORY. 

4 To identify levees for the national flood insurance 

5 program, the Director of the Federal Emergency Manage6 ment Agency shall maintain and periodically publish an 

7 inventory of levees in the United States, and shall consult 

8 with the Secretary of the Army as necessary to maintain 

9 such inventory. 

10 SEC. 18. CLARIFICATION OF REPLACEMENT COST PROVI11 SIONS, FORMS, AND POLICY LANGUAGE. 

12 Not later than the expiration of the 3-month period 

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

14 Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency 

15 shall— 

16 (1) issue regulations, and revise any materials 

17 made available by such Agency, to clarify the appli18 cability of replacement cost coverage under the na19 tional flood insurance program; 

20 (2) revise any regulations, forms, notices, guid21 ance, and publications relating to the full cost of re22 pair or replacement under the replacement cost cov23 erage to more clearly describe such coverage to flood 

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1 erage, and to avoid providing misleading information 

2 to such policyholders; and 

3 (3) revise the language in standard flood insur4 ance policies under such program regarding rating 

5 and coverage descriptions in a manner that is con6 sistent with language used widely in other home7 owners and property and casualty insurance policies, 

8 including such language regarding classification of 

9 buildings, basements, crawl spaces, detached ga10 rages, enclosures below elevated buildings, and re11 placement costs. 

12 SEC. 19. AUTHORIZATION OF ADDITIONAL FEMA STAFF. 

13 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Di14 rector of the Federal Emergency Management Agency 

15 may employ such additional staff of such Agency as may 

16 be necessary to carry out all of the responsibilities of the 

17 Director pursuant to this Act and the amendments made 

18 by this Act. There are authorized to be appropriated to 

19 Director such sums as may be necessary for costs of em20 ploying such additional staff. 


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Union Calendar No. 224 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4973 

[Report No. 109

–410] 

A BILL 

To restore the financial solvency of the national 

flood insurance program, and for other purposes. 

APRIL 6, 2006 

Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 

State of the Union and ordered to be printed 


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