Central Louisiana News

U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) delivered a speech on the U.S. Senate floor urging Congress to reauthorize and reform the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). He called on Congress to take action before NFIP expires at the end of the fiscal year on September 30, 2024. He also urged Congress to roll back Risk Rating 2.0 to make NFIP affordable again. This is the sixth installment of a series of Senate floor speeches Cassidy is using to focus attention on unsustainable flood insurance premiums.

“Last week, Louisiana was hit by a hurricane. Nobody loves to hear that. But the good news is that the money our state and country have invested in resiliency is paying off,” said Dr. Cassidy. “Since Hurricane Katrina, we invested 15 billion dollars in the levee system protecting New Orleans. It’s paid dividends. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act provided over 367 million dollars in coastal resiliency grants and millions more in flood mitigation assistance grants for Louisiana.”

“There are two challenges facing Congress in regard to flood insurance,” continued Dr. Cassidy. “First, we must reauthorize the program so that it does not expire on September 30th at the end of the fiscal year. Second, we must reform the program to make it affordable again.”

“We are 12 days away from the September 30th expiration date. Every single member of this body has constituents who rely on the National Flood Insurance Program. We must reauthorize and reform NFIP before the opportunity has passed,” concluded Dr. Cassidy.

In January, the U.S. Senate Banking Committee held a hearing on NFIP at Cassidy's request, highlighting the urgent need for Congress to act and featuring a Louisiana witness. Cassidy also participated in a roundtable hosted by GNO, Inc., and the Coalition for Sustainable Flood Insurance before introducing the bill to hear from community leaders and advocates on this issue.

Cassidy traveled St. Bernard Parish last year to talk with residents about their flood insurance premiums, resulting in an episode of his series "Bill on the Hill."