Cassidy Calls for Risk Rating 2.0 Delay, Hurricane Disaster Relief on Senate Floor

Press Release

Madam President,

As I did last week, I once again come to the Senate floor to explain the urgent need to support a supplemental disaster assistance bill. This time it was not just for Hurricane Laura which devastated southwest Louisiana over a year ago. Since then, we've had additional storms, including the fifth most powerful storm to hit the United States made landfall in southeast Louisiana last month.

Now is not the time to play games. All of south Louisiana needs supplemental disaster aid.

We cannot afford to allow the impact of an entire years' -- now nearly two years' -- worth of natural disasters go unaddressed.

It's been over a year since Hurricane Laura wreaked havoc on Lake Charles. We're only a couple of weeks shy of the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Delta, a category 2 storm that similarly brought tremendous rains and flooding to southwest Louisiana.

Louisiana was not spared last year, nor this year. We had unprecedented winter storms which unleashed catastrophic damage to livestock, crops and structures for Louisiana farmers. And then Hurricane Ida and Tropical Storm Nicholas.

In light of these storms, I would be remiss if we didn't talk about the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), which is set to roll out Risk Rating 2.0 on October 1 while many policy holders are recovering from hurricane damage.

FEMA said policy holders were supposed to be able to get information on their premiums by August 1, and they missed their deadline. They only just recently made the information available. That's less than one month's advance notice.

Despite the lack of transparency, we know Risk Rating 2.0 will increase costs.

In Louisiana, 80% of policyholders will see increases in the first year. For some, premiums may become unaffordable and could collapse the value of their homes.

These costs will be borne by middle class families. This clearly violates the President's pledge not to increase costs on people making less than $400,000 a year.

Congress never passed any law requiring that FEMA implement Risk Rating 2.0. President Biden alone is responsible. As President, he should direct FEMA to delay implementation of Risk Rating 2.0 if not reconsider it altogether. At the end of the day, flood insurance should be affordable and accessible.

We need time for Congress to conduct thorough oversight.

The people of Louisiana deserve better. South Louisiana has been pounded. My job is to do what I can to help this region get fully back on its feet.

Louisianans are strong. Louisianans are resilient. We are rebuilding, but you see blue tarps on top of roofs across south Louisiana. You see downed power lines.

I urge my colleagues to pass a clean, separate supplemental disaster assistance bill.

The formal request from the White House includes $2.3 billion for the Community Development Block Grant -- Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) Program, $275 million for the Emergency Watershed Protection Program, $9 billion for the Wildfire and Hurricane Indemnity Program, $100 million for Reclamation Projects to Address Western Drought, and $2.6 billion for Federal Highway Emergency Relief. This request includes initial, though informal, estimates of what may also be needed from damage inflicted by Hurricane Ida. Specifically, they expect the costs and needs stemming from Hurricane Ida to likely exceeding an additional $10 billion in the form of CDBG-DR, Federal Highway Emergency Relief, Federal Transit Emergency Relief, Small Business Administration Disaster Loans, and the Disaster Relief Fund among other programs.

Pass the bill for the people of Lake Charles. Pass the bill for the people of Terrebonne, Lafourche parishes and southeast Louisiana. Pass the bill for the people impacted by Ida in the northeast. Pass the bill for the people impacted by wildfires in the west.

It's really simple: don't let politics hold up the supplemental disaster assistance bill.

With that, I yield the floor.

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