Dear Friend,

Today the President signed the Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act, H.R. 3370 into law. This law will bring relief to millions of people across the country and over 200,000 homeowners in Louisiana who have been suffering from the rising flood insurance premiums over the past two years. This legislation is an example of what we can accomplish when we work together. Many of you have shared your compelling stories with me about undue strain that exorbitant rates have placed on your homes and businesses. As a result, I immediately got to work on meaningful legislation that would address the issues you were facing. I co-authored this bill and wrote in many of the new benefits mentioned below. With the support of my colleagues in the House of Representatives, we garnered bipartisan support in both the House and Senate.  Having the President sign this bill into law is a clear demonstration of what we can accomplish by setting aside partisan differences and working on behalf of the American people.

When this law goes into effect you can expect more affordable rates, more accurate flood maps, and more accountability from FEMA. Before this legislation, FEMA had no limitations on how high they could raise rates on individual policyholders. Moving forward we established a cap on year—over—year rate increases for individuals, which before was unlimited, and brought the cap down to 18%. The law ensures that the models FEMA uses to create new flood maps are the best and use the most accurate data available. Furthermore, FEMA must now keep track of how many businesses, non-profits, and churches are policyholders within the program and monitor and report on affordability for those policies. If FEMA finds detrimental effects on these policyholders, it must provide recommendations to Congress that address those effects, in order to guarantee accountability.

The measures we have taken will be a real solution to a flawed flood insurance system. The work we have done on this issue goes beyond party affiliation and protects you and our community, which is the fundamental purpose of Congress. As issues such as these arise, be assured I will continue to heed your calls to action and be your voice in Washington.