I 
113TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3218 
To delay increases in flood insurance premium rates under the national 
flood insurance program until completion of the pending study regarding 
the affordability of such rates and congressional consideration of reforms 
to make such rates affordable, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 28, 2013 
Mr. NUGENT (for himself, Ms. CASTOR of Florida, Mr. ROONEY, Ms. ROS- 
LEHTINEN, Mr. BILIRAKIS, Mr. GARCIA, Mr. YOUNG of Florida, Mr. 
MILLER of Florida, Mr. POSEY, Mr. WEBSTER of Florida, Mr. ROSS, and 
Mr. YOHO) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committee on Rules, 
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 delay increases in flood insurance premium rates under 
the national flood insurance program until completion 
of the pending study regarding the affordability of such 
rates and congressional consideration of reforms to make 
such rates affordable, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Flood Insurance Fair-
ness Act of 2013’’. 
SEC. 2. DELAY IN FLOOD INSURANCE PREMIUM CHANGES 
UNTIL 
COMPLETION 
OF 
AFFORDABILITY 
STUDY. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi-
sion of law, the amendments made by sections 100205 and 
100207 of the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform 
Act of 2012 (Public Law 112–141; 126 Stat. 917) to sec-
tions 1307 and 1308 of the National Flood Insurance Act 
of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4014 and 4015) shall not take effect 
until the expiration of the 180-day period beginning on 
the date that the House of Representatives and the Senate 
have both completed consideration of a qualified joint res-
olution pursuant to section 4. 
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Subsection (a) shall take ef-
fect as if enacted as part of the Biggert-Waters Flood In-
surance Reform Act of 2012. 
SEC. 3. DETERMINATION OF AFFORDABILITY; SUBMISSION 
OF PROPOSED LEGISLATIVE CHANGES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of the Federal 
Emergency Management Agency shall submit to the Con-
gress, and to the Secretary of the Senate if the Senate 
is not in session and to the Clerk of the House of Rep-
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resentatives if the House is not in session, together with 
the report referred to in section 2(a) of this Act— 
(1) a determination of whether risk premium 
rates for flood insurance coverage under the national 
flood insurance program resulting from the amend-
ments referred to in section 2(a) of this Act are sub-
stantially affordable for all homeowners; and 
(2) if the determination under paragraph (1) of 
this subsection is that such premium rates are not 
substantially affordable for all homeowners— 
(A) recommendations for legislative modi-
fications, including any modifications necessary 
to the amendments referred to in section 2(a), 
sufficient to ensure that risk premium rates for 
flood insurance coverage under the national 
flood insurance program resulting from the 
amendments referred to in section 2(a) of this 
Act are substantially affordable for all home-
owners; and 
(B) a proposed joint resolution that pro-
vides for the legislative modifications under 
subparagraph (A). 
(b) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The Administrator shall 
make the matter submitted to the Congress pursuant to 
subsection (a), including the proposed joint resolution, 
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publicly available, and shall publish in the Federal Reg-
ister a notice of the matter and information on how it can 
be obtained. 
SEC. 4. EXPEDITED CONSIDERATION OF RECOMMENDA-
TIONS FOR REFORMS. 
(a) QUALIFIED JOINT RESOLUTION.—For purposes 
of this section, the term ‘‘qualified joint resolution’’ means 
only a joint resolution described in section 3(2)(B) of this 
Act. 
(b) INTRODUCTION.—A proposed qualified joint reso-
lution transmitted by the Administrator of the Federal 
Emergency Management Agency under section 3(a) shall 
be introduced in the Senate (by request) on the next day 
on which the Senate is in session by the majority leader 
of the Senate or by a Member of the Senate designated 
by the majority leader of the Senate and shall be intro-
duced in the House of Representatives (by request) on the 
next legislative day by the majority leader of the House 
or by a Member of the House designated by the majority 
leader of the House. 
(c) NO REFERRAL.—A qualified joint resolution shall 
not be referred to a committee in either House of Congress 
and shall immediately be placed on the calendar. 
(d) MOTION TO PROCEED.—A motion to proceed to 
a joint resolution is highly privileged in the House of Rep-
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resentatives and is privileged in the Senate and is not de-
batable. The motion is not subject to a motion to postpone, 
and all points of order against the motion are waived. A 
motion to reconsider the vote by which the motion is 
agreed to or disagreed to shall not be in order. If a motion 
to proceed to the consideration of a qualified joint resolu-
tion is agreed to, the qualified joint resolution shall remain 
the unfinished business of the respective House until dis-
posed of. 
(e) EXPEDITED CONSIDERATION IN THE HOUSE OF 
REPRESENTATIVES.—In the House of Representatives, a 
qualified joint resolution shall be considered as read. All 
points of order against the qualified joint resolution and 
against its consideration are waived. The previous ques-
tion shall be considered as ordered on the qualified joint 
resolution to its passage without intervening motion except 
2 hours of debate shall be divided equally between the ma-
jority and minority leaders or their designees. A motion 
to reconsider the vote on passage of the qualified joint res-
olution shall not be in order. A vote on final passage of 
the qualified joint resolution shall be taken in the House 
of Representatives on or before the close of the 10th legis-
lative day after the date of the introduction of the quali-
fied joint resolution in the House of Representatives. 
(f) EXPEDITED PROCEDURE IN THE SENATE.— 
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(1) CONSIDERATION.—In the Senate, consider-
ation of a qualified joint resolution, and on all de-
batable motions and appeals in connection therewith, 
shall be limited to not more than 10 hours, which 
shall be divided equally between the majority and 
minority leaders or their designees. A motion to fur-
ther limit debate is in order and not debatable. An 
amendment to, a motion to postpone, a motion to 
proceed to the consideration of other business, or a 
motion to commit the qualified joint resolution is not 
in order. 
(2) PASSAGE.—If the Senate has proceeded to 
a qualified joint resolution, the vote on passage of 
the qualified joint resolution shall occur immediately 
following the conclusion of consideration of the 
qualified joint resolution, and a single quorum call 
at the conclusion of the debate if requested in ac-
cordance with the rules of the Senate. A vote on the 
final passage of the qualified joint resolution shall be 
taken in the Senate on or before the close of the 
10th legislative day after the date of the introduc-
tion of the qualified joint resolution in the Senate. 
(3) RULINGS OF THE CHAIR ON PROCEDURE.— 
Appeals from the decisions of the Chair relating to 
the application of the rules of the Senate, as the 
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case may be, to the procedure relating to a qualified 
joint resolution shall be decided without debate. 
(g) POINTS OF ORDER.—In the Senate or the House 
of Representatives, a Member of the Senate or House of 
Representatives, respectively, may raise a point of order 
that a qualified joint resolution does not meet the defini-
tion of a qualified joint resolution under subsection (a). 
(h) AMENDMENT.—A qualified joint resolution shall 
not be subject to amendment in either the House of Rep-
resentatives or the Senate. 
(i) IN GENERAL.—If, before passing a qualified joint 
resolution, one House receives from the other a qualified 
joint resolution— 
(1) the qualified joint resolution from the other 
House shall not be referred to a committee; and 
(2) with respect to a qualified joint resolution 
of the House receiving the qualified joint resolu-
tion— 
(A) the procedure in that House shall be 
the same as if no qualified joint resolution had 
been received from the other House until the 
vote on passage; but 
(B) the vote on final passage shall be on 
the qualified joint resolution of the other 
House. 
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(j) EXERCISE OF RULEMAKING POWERS.—This sec-
tion is enacted by the Congress— 
(1) as an exercise of the rulemaking power in 
the Senate and House of Representatives, respec-
tively, and as such it is deemed a part of the rules 
of each House, respectively, but applicable only with 
respect to the procedure to be followed in that 
House in the case of a qualified joint resolution, and 
it supersedes other rules only to the extent that it 
is inconsistent with such rules; and 
(2) with full recognition of the constitutional 
right of either House to change the rules (so far as 
relating to the procedure of that House) at any time, 
in the same manner and to the same extent as in 
the case of any other rule of that House. 
Æ 
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