Menendez Leads Bipartisan Flood Insurance Reform Bill to Fix Problems Exposed by Sandy

Press Release

U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), chair of the Sandy Task Force and a senior member of the Senate Banking Committee that oversees the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), today introduced comprehensive, bipartisan legislation to extend the NFIP for six years while instituting a series of sweeping reforms to address the waste, abuse and mismanagement plaguing the system that led to delayed recovery for Sandy survivors. The bill is cosponsored by Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.).

"Americans deserve a National Flood Insurance Program that is sustainable for taxpayers, affordable for homeowners, and accountable to everyone," said Sen. Menendez. "If we want a more sustainable system, the answer isn't to slam homeowners with even higher premiums. This legislation puts the lessons we learned after Superstorm Sandy into action, levels the playing field for policyholders, and attacks the NFIP's rampant waste and abuse to create real savings and greater investment in mitigation and resiliency efforts to make our residents and communities safer."

"Hurricane Sandy underscored how vital the National Flood Insurance Program is to helping people rebuild their lives," said Sen. Booker. "Unfortunately, this devastating storm also revealed the need to reform the NFIP and make sure FEMA better serves New Jerseyans by eliminating agency waste and mismanagement. This legislation takes common sense steps toward making coverage more affordable, extending coverage to those who need it most, and investing in pre-disaster flood control and mitigation efforts that will help protect New Jersey families."
The Sustainable, Affordable, Fair, and Efficient (SAFE) National Flood Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2017 tackles systemic problems with flood insurance, puts it back on solid fiscal ground, and reframes our nation's entire disaster paradigm to one that focuses more on prevention and mitigation to spare the high cost of rebuilding after flood disasters. Congress must reauthorize the NFIP, which expires on Sept. 30, 2017.

The bill is also cosponsored by Sens. John Kennedy (R-La.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Thad Cochran (R-Miss.), all members of the Senate Banking and Appropriations Committees that are ultimately charged with writing the NFIP reauthorization legislation, and Bill Nelson (D-Fla.).

SAFE NFIP addresses critical problems with the program, administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), following Superstorm Sandy and other disasters: unsustainability, low participation rates, inaccurate flood maps, an indifference to the benefits of flood control infrastructure, agency mismanagement, unsustainable debt service costs and contractor profiteering.

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