Fighting for Our Flood Protection Priorities

I continue to work every day to see that Sacramento's flood protection needs are met and flood insurance is affordable. This week on the House floor, we considered two bills that are of the utmost importance not only to Sacramento families and businesses, but to the needs of families and businesses all across the nation.

The first, H.R. 1309, the National Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2011, reauthorizes the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) for five years. In the case of a major flood, flood insurance provides home and business owners with the financial security and the opportunity to rebuild after a disaster.

At my urging, language from a bill that I introduced earlier this year, H.R. 902, was included in the National Flood Insurance Program reauthorization. My provision will update current law to take local, state and federal funding into account when determining flood zone designations. This means that the investments local taxpayers, SAFCA and the State of California have made to improve Sacramento's levees will now be recognized by FEMA and taken into account when determining flood zones.

Additionally, the final language for H.R. 1309 included an amendment I introduced that would phase-in the higher cost of full priced flood insurance over five years for recently remapped areas. This would make the starting point for remapped areas begin at the Preferred Risk Policy (PRP) rate, as opposed to the 50 percent of a full-priced policy starting point that the earlier version of H.R. 1309 established. This amendment will make flood insurance more affordable, and will save many homeowners over $800 over five years. The graph below demonstrates how my amendment will help many Sacramento families better afford flood insurance.

*Data analyzed and prepared by the Office of Congresswoman Doris Matsui

Of course, the best insurance against a flood is a strong flood protection system. This week, the House also considered H.R. 2354, the Energy and Water Development Appropriations Bill for 2012. I am pleased to report that, even in this austere budget environment, Sacramento's top flood protection priorities were funded in this bill. In our current economic climate, several regions throughout the country are seeing significant project cuts or are not receiving funding at all. The Sacramento region is slated for only very modest decreases in our projects from the amount President Obama requested in his FY12 budget, and under the House-passed bill, will receive 90 percent of requested funding. Unfortunately, due to changes by the Republican leadership to the House budget process, I was not allowed to offer an amendment to increase funding for our flood protection projects.

While I am pleased about this commitment by the federal government to our local needs, I have continued to argue that Sacramento needs full funding of our flood protection projects to give each of us the peace of mind and the protection we need and deserve. I spoke on the House floor to reiterate this point, and will continue working to see that Sacramento's flood protection projects are given the federal support necessary to be completed on time and on budget.

Please know that I will continue working to see that our region's infrastructure meets the needs of our community. Sacramento families deserve no less.