Panetta, Curbelo Introduce Flood Resiliency Legislation

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressmen Jimmy Panetta (D-CA-20) and Carlos Curbelo (R-FL-26) introduced a bipartisan bill to ensure federal agencies complete implementation of a Federal Flood Risk Management Standard (FFRMS) for government-funded infrastructure projects to reduce exposure to flooding.

In 2015, Executive Order 13690 directed government agencies to incorporate future flooding standards when planning and constructing federal infrastructure projects by establishing a Federal Flood Risk Management Standard (FFRMS). The FFRMS is meant to ensure that taxpayer dollars are spent wisely and communities are protected, while giving agencies the flexibility to select the best approach for complying with the standard.

In August, Executive Order 13690 was revoked, preventing agencies from implementing FFRMS. Congressmen Panetta's and Curbelo's legislation would give the Executive Order the force and effect of law so that agencies complete implementation of a FFRMS to make federally funded infrastructure more resilient to flooding.

"As Congress prepares to make historic investments to rebuild communities devastated by recent historic hurricanes, as well as to reauthorize the National Flood Insurance Program, it is critical that mitigation policies are adopted," said Congressman Panetta. "Ensuring federally-funded roads, highways, bridges, railways, housing, and other infrastructure projects are better protected from potential future loss due to flooding is central to that effort, and can best be done by passing the Federal Infrastructure Flood Resiliency Act."

"As we've seen with the recent storms in Texas, Florida, Louisiana, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, sea level rise and the risk of severe flooding are a reality for communities across the country," Congressman Curbelo said. "When you're on the front lines like the residents of South Florida, we know the importance of having more resilient building codes to protect our infrastructure, especially when taxpayer dollars are used. The decision to rescind the Federal Flood Risk Management Standard was irresponsible and could lead to billions of taxpayer dollars being wasted on projects not built to endure the severe flooding we have experienced and know is only getting worse. I'm proud to introduce this bill with Congressman Panetta to ensure our communities are prepared for any possible flooding to come and that taxpayer dollars are spent in a fiscally responsible way."

Flooding is the most common weather-related event occurring in 90 percent of natural disasters in the United States. Federal flood-related disasters have cost American taxpayers approximately $51 billion between 2005 and May 2017 in FEMA Public Assistance spending alone. According to the National Institute for Building Sciences, every dollar invested in mitigation results in $4 saved in recovery costs. Making the proper investments now to prevent the higher costs of flooding in the future represents sound fiscally responsible public policy.