I 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5846 

To require the Comptroller General of the United States to conduct a study 

regarding the buyout practices of the Federal Emergency Management 

Agency, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 16, 2018 

Mr. BLUMENAUER (for himself, Mr. SANFORD, Mr. DUFFY, and Mr. DEFAZIO) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Transportation and Infrastructure 

A BILL 

To require the Comptroller General of the United States 

to conduct a study regarding the buyout practices of 

the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and for 

other purposes. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Promoting Flood Risk 

5 Mitigation Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. GAO STUDY REGARDING BUYOUT PRACTICES. 

7 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 


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1 (1) the term ‘‘Administrator’’ means the Ad2 ministrator of the Federal Emergency Management 

3 Agency; 

4 (2) the term ‘‘appropriate committees of Con5 gress’’ means— 

6 (A) the Committee on Banking, Housing, 

7 and Urban Affairs of the Senate; 

8 (B) the Committee on Homeland Security 

9 and Governmental Affairs of the Senate; 

10 (C) the Committee on Financial Services of 

11 the House of Representatives; and 

12 (D) the Committee on Transportation and 

13 Infrastructure of the House of Representatives; 

14 (3) the terms ‘‘buyout practice’’ and ‘‘buyout 

15 program’’ mean a practice or program, as applicable, 

16 under which the Administrator provides assistance 

17 to State and local governments so that those entities 

18 may acquire flood-damaged properties; 

19 (4) the term ‘‘eligible property owner’’ means a 

20 policyholder under the National Flood Insurance 

21 Program with a household income that is not more 

22 than 120 percent of the mean household income for 

23 the community in which the primary residence of the 

24 policyholder is located; 


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1 (5) the term ‘‘National Flood Insurance Pro2 gram’’ means the program established under the Na3 tional Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4001 

4 et seq.); 

5 (6) the term ‘‘repetitive loss structure’’ has the 

6 meaning given the term in section 1370(a) of the 

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

8 4121(a)); and 

9 (7) the term ‘‘severe repetitive loss structure’’ 

10 has the meaning given the term in section 1366(h) 

11 of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 

12 U.S.C. 4104c(h)). 

13 (b) STUDY REQUIRED.—The Comptroller General of 

14 the United States shall conduct a study to assess— 

15 (1) the efficacy of buyout practices, as in effect 

16 on the date on which the study is conducted; and 

17 (2) ways to streamline the buyout practices de18 scribed in paragraph (1) in order to provide more 

19 timely assistance to a larger number of State and 

20 local governments. 

21 (c) CONSIDERATIONS AND ANALYSIS.—The study 

22 conducted under subsection (b) shall consider and analyze 

23 the following: 

24 (1) To the extent possible, current (as of the 

25 date on which the study is conducted) and future 


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1 trends with respect to repetitive loss structures and 

2 severe repetitive loss structures that are insured 

3 under the National Flood Insurance Program, in4 cluding, with respect to both inland and coastal 

5 areas— 

6 (A) changes in flood risk, flood frequency, 

7 and flood magnitude since the inception of the 

8 National Flood Insurance Program; and 

9 (B) projections for changes in flood risk, 

10 flood frequency, and flood magnitude by 2025, 

11 2050, and 2075. 

12 (2) To the extent possible, buyout practices (as 

13 of the date on which the study is conducted), includ14 ing— 

15 (A) the availability of funding sources for 

16 buyout programs through various grant pro17 grams; 

18 (B) the total number of properties ac19 quired though buyout programs; 

20 (C) the average length of time for a State 

21 or local government to acquire a flood-damaged 

22 property under a buyout program, with that pe23 riod beginning on the date on which the State 

24 or local government, as applicable, begins par25 ticipating in the buyout program; 


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1 (D) an estimate of the number of flood2 damaged properties that could be acquired from 

3 willing property owners under buyout programs 

4 with the full cooperation of State and local gov5 ernments; 

6 (E) the socioeconomic status of recipients 

7 of buyouts under buyout programs; and 

8 (F) examples of successful buyout pro9 grams, including best practices employed. 

10 (3) Administrative, financial, or temporal con11 straints that may impede the timely acquisition of 

12 properties under a buyout program, including— 

13 (A) a lack of communication or coopera14 tion between the Administrator and the State 

15 and local governments that purchase properties 

16 under a buyout program; 

17 (B) pressures to redevelop a property after 

18 acquiring a property through a buyout pro19 gram; and 

20 (C) a lack of adequate funding. 

21 (4) Potential options, methods, and strategies 

22 to address the constraints identified under para23 graph (3), including evaluating the feasibility of— 

24 (A) a pilot program under which— 


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1 (i) an eligible property owner may 

2 agree, before a flood event occurs, to have 

3 the primary single-family residence of the 

4 eligible property owner purchased after the 

5 residence has been substantially damaged 

6 by a flood; 

7 (ii) the Administrator may provide— 

8 (I) financial assistance to State 

9 and local governments that are willing 

10 to participate in the program to pur11 chase and acquire the properties of 

12 owners that have incurred substantial 

13 damage from a flood event; and 

14 (II) a premium credit as an in15 centive to eligible property owners to 

16 agree to participate in the program; 

17 (iii) properties that are acquired— 

18 (I) shall be maintained as open 

19 space in accordance with buyout prac20 tices that are in effect as of the date 

21 on which the property is acquired; and 

22 (II) may be used for non-struc23 tural mitigation, conservation, and 

24 recreational purposes; and 


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1 (iv) not fewer than 5 and not more 

2 than 10 State and local governments shall 

3 participate; and 

4 (B) the role that nonprofit organizations 

5 could play in making buyouts more readily 

6 available or more efficient, similar to the role 

7 that those organizations play in the acquisition 

8 of properties for conservation purposes. 

9 (5) The ecological, financial, and flood risk re10 duction benefits that buyout practices, as in effect 

11 on the date on which the study is conducted, pro12 vide, which shall— 

13 (A) take into account the differences be14 tween inland and coastal areas; and 

15 (B) include— 

16 (i) examples in which ecosystem res17 toration and other nature-based ap18 proaches have enhanced the reduction of 

19 flood risk; and 

20 (ii) recommendations for best prac21 tices. 

22 (6) To the extent possible, an assessment of 

23 how the Administrator may use buyout programs to 

24 reduce future flood disaster recovery costs that are 

25 attributable to future projections of flood risk as a 


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1 result of sea level rise, population changes, subsid2 ence, and other factors. 

3 (d) REPORT.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

5 the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller 

6 General of the United States shall submit to the ap7 propriate committees of Congress and the Adminis8 trator a report that sets forth the analysis, conclu9 sions, and recommendations resulting from the study 

10 conducted under subsection (b). 

11 (2) CONTENTS.—The report submitted under 

12 paragraph (1) shall detail the feasibility of the Ad13 ministrator establishing, and the processes required 

14 for the Administrator to establish, an alternative 

15 buyout program, such as the pilot program described 

16 in subsection (c)(4)(A). 

Æ 


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