Reforming Intelligence and Securing America Act--Motion to Proceed--

Floor Speech

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Mr. CASSIDY. Mr. President, last week, we saw terrible flooding in parts of Louisiana. Here, as the charts will show--water shouldn't be up to the bottom of a vehicle. Here you see people getting on a bus, wearing waders. So people's lives were disrupted, just like with any serious flood. Now families are turning to FEMA, the National Flood Insurance Program, to help lift them out of the hole that last week's storms have left them in.

Moments like these are why people buy insurance. But what about after we have recovered and the Sun shines once more? There is increasing concern among Americans that they will not be able to afford their flood insurance for when the next storm hits.

A house is the biggest purchase most people make in their lifetime. Unless you are among the wealthiest, you are taking out a mortgage to make that purchase. After you have bought your home, imagine if FEMA changes the rules and your flood insurance now costs more than that mortgage? No American should have to pay more in flood insurance than their mortgage, but that is the story I am hearing frequently from people in Louisiana.

There is a cost-of-living crisis being fueled by the inflation created by this administration. Inflation is costing Louisiana families $884 more a month compared to 2021. Everywhere they turn, they are frustrated with the fact that they are paying more and getting less.

When I speak to folks back home, they are not only worried about how to put food on their table but also how to pay for gas. They are worried about how they are going to be able to afford to stay in their homes and about how they can afford a good education for their children.

I would like to do something about some small part of it. Congress has the power to do something about it, and that is to make flood insurance affordable.

The National Flood Insurance Program was created as a safety net for the most vulnerable Americans. It covers 4.7 million American homes, but those millions of homes are at risk of losing their protection because of skyrocketing premiums caused by FEMA's new risk assessment system, Risk Rating 2.0.

Let's briefly talk about the history of NFIP Risk Rating 2.0 and how we got here. FEMA introduced Risk Rating 2.0 in October of 2021. It was slated to take effect in 2022 for new policies and in 2023 for existing policyholders.

Since then, Americans who rely on flood insurance have been held in a state of uncertainty. Before they were hit with that first bill, many families didn't know if their premiums would jump up; if they did, how much; and when the rate hikes would end.

FEMA told us that 77 percent of policyholders would see a premium hike but refused to publicly disclose how the Agency calculates individual policy rates. So now FEMA is sending Americans a bill and won't tell them how they came up with the price. If you were the American getting that bill, you would be incredibly frustrated. You wouldn't accept it if your mechanic stuck you with a crazy bill but didn't tell you what was wrong with the car. Why should we just accept from a government Agency that same kind of model? Theoretically, the government Agency is here to serve us.

Louisiana is one of the States getting hit the hardest. NFIP premiums in Louisiana are expected to go up by 234 percent, with some ZIP Codes seeing as much as an 1,100-percent increase--that is 1,100 percent. In real terms, some ZIP Codes will see an increase from around $600 to more than $8,000 annually. Couple that with the homeowner's insurance crisis. Couple that with inflation across the country. Couple that with the cost to heat your home. Couple that with the cost to go to the grocery store. It is clear why Americans feel they cannot keep their heads above water.

Insurance, just like everything else, has become less affordable. When folks can't afford flood insurance, they begin to drop that coverage, and the pool of policyholders shrink. The amount of risk is then placed on a smaller number of policyholders, which increases their premiums, which makes them drop their policies, and then we enter what is called an actuarial death spiral.

FEMA itself forecasted that over 20 percent of policyholders will leave the program because of higher premiums within the next 10 years. We are setting the program up for collapse and leaving Americans and American taxpayers holding the bucket.

Some groups will be hit even harder than others. FEMA won't tell us how they came up with the numbers of what they expect Americans to pay, but we do know they do not factor in income or the ability to pay. There is no discount or consideration for an elderly couple who is retired and living on a fixed income, bought their home in 1957, never had it flooded, and now their insurance premiums are rising. This is a real human condition.

Congress has the power to address it, and we need to step up now. If my colleagues and our friends in the House of Representatives wish to honor the people we serve, let's start with the 4.7 million policyholders being--I don't know if the word is ``mistreated''-- mishandled by the National Flood Insurance Program, certainly poorly served.

I urge my colleagues to read our NFIP Reauthorization and Reform Act. Come talk to us about it. It is something which is bipartisan, which is reasonable and sensible, and which will actually address this need. Our goal is to make the National Flood Insurance Program more affordable for the homeowner, more accountable to the taxpayer, and more sustainable for society. Our bill does that, but we can only do so by working together.

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