Planning for a Changing Climate

Statement

New Jersey home and business owners are continuing to recover from the devastation caused by Superstorm Sandy more than a year ago. Even for property owners not directly affected by Sandy, premium increases under the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) have proven unaffordable and unsustainable.

I have been working for many months on legislation to rein in these increases, including cosponsoring a proposal that would have capped the maximum increase to 10 percent annually. This week brought good news: the House passed a bipartisan compromise that limits increases to 15 percent annually -- a higher cap than I would have preferred, but still a significant victory for homeowners. The legislation also restores "grandfathered" rates for homes and businesses that were remapped into higher-risk areas.

I expect that the Senate will pass and the President will sign the bill shortly. Yet we must not ignore the need to plan for a changing climate, sea level rise, and an increased risk of extreme weather and flooding. For those living in flood prone areas the risk of flood will only increase, stressing the limited resources available under the NFIP, and continuing to devastate communities and families.

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