I 
109TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4320 
To restore the financial solvency of the national flood insurance program, 
and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
NOVEMBER 15, 2005 
Mr. OXLEY (for himself and Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services 
A BILL 
To restore the financial solvency of the national flood 
insurance program, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Flood Insur-
ance Program Commitment to Policyholders and Reform 
Act of 2005’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 
(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that— 
(1) the amount of the flood insurance claims re-
sulting from Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita
will likely exceed the aggregate amount of all claims 
previously paid in the history of the national flood 
insurance program, and will require an increase in 
the program’s borrowing authority; 
(2) flood insurance policyholders have a legiti-
mate expectation that they will receive fair and time-
ly compensation for losses covered under their poli-
cies; 
(3) substantial flooding has occurred, and will 
likely occur again, outside of the areas designated as 
the 100-year floodplain; 
(4) to adequately and correctly assess potential 
flood damage and losses in all areas on the United 
States, the national flood insurance program will 
need to update its flood maps with the latest tech-
nology; 
(5) the maximum coverage limits for flood in-
surance policies should be increased to reflect infla-
tion and the increased cost of housing; 
(6) significant reforms to the national flood in-
surance program required in the Bunning-Bereuter- 
Blumenauer Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2004 
have yet to be implemented; and 
(7) despite reforms required in the Bunning- 
Bereuter-Blumenauer Flood Insurance Reform Act
of 2004, the national flood insurance program re-
quires a modernized and updated administrative 
model to ensure that the people of the United States 
have continued access to flood insurance. 
(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are— 
(1) to protect the integrity of the national flood 
insurance program by fully funding existing legal ob-
ligations expected by existing policyholders who have 
paid policy premiums in return for flood insurance 
coverage; 
(2) to increase incentives for homeowners and 
communities to participate in the national flood in-
surance program and to improve oversight to ensure 
full participation in the program for owners of prop-
erties for which such participation is mandatory; 
(3) to increase awareness of homeowners of 
flood risks and improve the quality of information 
regarding such risks provided to homeowners; and 
(4) to better mitigate future flood damage risks 
through a combination of enhanced protective meas-
ures, property elevation, and buyouts of flood-prone 
properties.
SEC. 3. MANDATORY PURCHASE REQUIREMENT FOR 500- 
YEAR FLOOD PLAIN. 
(a) FLOOD DISASTER PROTECTION ACT OF 1973.— 
Section 3(a) of the Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973 
(42 U.S.C. 4003(a)) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (10), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 
end; 
(2) in paragraph (11), by striking the period at 
the end and inserting a semicolon; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph: 
‘‘(12) ‘area having special flood hazards’ or 
‘flood hazard area’ means any area that is deter-
mined by the Director— 
‘‘(A) pursuant section 1360 of the Na-
tional Flood Insurance Act of 1968, to be sub-
ject to inundation by the flood that has a 0.2 
percent chance of being equaled or exceeded in 
any year; or 
‘‘(B) to be an area that would be an area 
described in subparagraph (A) of this para-
graph, but for the existence of a structural 
flood protection system;’’. 
(b) NATIONAL FLOOD INSURANCE ACT OF 1968.— 
The National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 is amended— 
(1) in section 1370(a) (42 U.S.C. 4121(a))—
(A) in paragraph (14), by striking ‘‘and’’ 
at the end; 
(B) in paragraph (15), by striking the pe-
riod at the end and inserting a semicolon; and 
(C) by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph: 
‘‘(16) the term ‘area having special flood haz-
ards’ and ‘flood hazard area’ mean an area that is 
determined by the Director— 
‘‘(A) pursuant section 1360, to be subject 
to inundation by the flood that has a 0.2 per-
cent chance of being equaled or exceeded in any 
year; or 
‘‘(B) to be an area that would be an area 
described in subparagraph (A) of this para-
graph, but for the existence of a structural 
flood protection system;’’; 
(2) 
in 
section 
1361A(g)(4) 
(42 
U.S.C. 
4102a(g)(4)), by striking ‘‘flood hazard area’’ and 
inserting ‘‘area having special flood hazards’’; and 
(3) in section 1366(m) (42 U.S.C. 4104c(m)), 
by striking ‘‘100-year’’ and inserting ‘‘500-year’’. 
(c) ANNUAL FLOOD MAP MODERNIZATION REPORTS 
AND CERTIFICATION OF COMPLETION.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—During the period that ends 
upon the completion by the Director of the Federal 
Emergency Management Agency of the updating 
and modernization of all floodplain areas and flood- 
risk zones, the Director shall submit a report annu-
ally to the Congress describing the extent to which 
such updating and modernization has been com-
pleted. Upon the completion of such updating, the 
Director shall submit to the Congress, and cause to 
be published in the Federal Register, a report certi-
fying such completion. 
(2) TIMING.— The first report under this sub-
section shall be submitted not later than June 30, 
2006, and successive reports required under this 
subsection during the period referred to in para-
graph (1) shall be submitted not later than June 30 
of each year during such period. 
(d) APPLICABILITY.—The amendments made by sub-
sections (a) and (b) shall take effect, and apply beginning 
on— 
(1) January 1, 2009, or 
(2) publication of the certification by the Direc-
tor pursuant to subsection (c), 
whichever occurs first.