,i #aafth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,h4 ,r4 #hfaf ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,october #af1 #bjbj,mr4 ,peters 7for himself and ,mr4 ,barr7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,financial ,services ,a ,,bill ,to eliminate any subsidies for flood insurance coverage under the ,national ,flood ,insurance ,program for new construction1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,build for ,future ,disasters ,act of #bjbj4 #b4 ,congressional findings ,the ,congress makes the following findings3 7#a7 ,according to the ,national ,oceanic and ,atmospheric ,administration1 since #bjjj1 flooding has become the most common and costly natural disaster in the ,united ,states1 impacting all #ej ,states and causing more than #hde billion in damage4 7#b7 ,a #bjai report from the ,california-based analytics company ,core,logic found that #g4c million homes along the ,atlantic and ,gulf ,coasts alone are at risk from storm surge1 with a potential #a4h trillion in reconstruction costs4 7#c7 ,research from ,new ,york ,university's ,furman ,center for ,real ,estate and ,urban ,policy estimated that1 in #bjae1 #ae million people nationwide lived in the #ajj-year floodplain spread across coastal and inland ,states4 7#d7 ,the ,national ,flood ,insurance ,program 7,,nfip71 administered by the ,federal ,emergency ,management ,agency 7,,fema71 provides federally backed flood insurance in over #bb1jjj communities in #ef ,states and jurisdictions in the ,united ,states with more than #e million policies providing over #a4c trillion in coverage4 7#e7 ,in #aiff1 while calling for the creation of the ,,nfip1 the ,task ,force on ,federal ,flood ,control ,policy provided a caution on flood insurance that if incorrectly applied1 it could exacerbate the whole problem of flood losses44 ,the report warned that insurance coverage not proportionate to risk would invite economic waste of great magnitude ''' aggravate flood damages and constitute gross public irresponsibility4 7#f7 ,according to the ,government ,accountability ,office 7,,gao71 the ,,nfip offers #bj percent of policyholders heavily subsidized rates that ,,fema estimates may be #de to #ej percent below a full-risk rate4 7#g7 ,since #bjje1 the ,,nfip has borrowed nearly #dj billion from taxpayers to meet policyholder insurance claims4 7#h7 ,in #bjag1 the ,congressional ,budget ,office estimated that under its current model the ,,nfip is expected to lose #a4c billion a year4 7#i7 ,historically1 repeatedly flooded properties have accounted for just #a percent of properties with ,national ,flood ,insurance ,program policies but about #be to #cj percent of flood claims4 ,nationwide more than #aej1jjj properties have repeatedly flooded at a cost to the ,,nfip of more than #ab4e billion4 7#aj7 ,on ,may #bf1 #bjai1 four former ,,fema ,administrators wrote a letter to ,congressional leaders stating3 ,change is needed to allow the ,,nfip to pay off its debt and serve its purposes of reducing ,federal disaster spending following flood events1 minimizing flood losses1 and discouraging unwise building in flood-prone areas44 #c4 ,sense of ,congress ,it is the sense of the ,congress that the ,federal ,government should-- 7#a7 discourage regulation and policies that result in building and rebuilding homes located in high flood-risk areas2 7#b7 limit the availability of federally subsidized flood insurance for construction of new homes1 business1 and infrastructure2 7#c7 coordinate with floodplain managers1 city planners1 administrators1 and local elected officials to ensure that structures built in flood-prone areas comply with building and elevation codes and regulations that are designed to reduce their risk of damage from flooding2 and 7#d7 prioritize increased mitigation funding through new and existing programs to help communities better prepare for future flood disasters before they happen4 #d4 ,elimination of subsidies for new construction ,subsection 7c7 of section #acjh of the ,national ,flood ,insurance ,act of #aifh 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #djae7;c77 is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph3 7#c7 ,new construction ,any property the construction or substantial improvement of which the ,administrator determines has been started on or after ,january #a1 #bjbe1 and the appropriate actuarial rate shall be adjusted with any changes to the flood zone or base flood elevation reflected in relevant flood insurance rate map1 regardless of the previous rating2 in determining whether a property is subject to this paragraph1 the ,administrator shall consider the issue date for any relevant building permit or occupancy certificate issued by the community in which such property is located2 for purposes of this paragraph only1 a determination regarding substantial improvement may exclude the costs of any improvement to a structure or the structure's associated land area for which the primary purpose is flood mitigation or floodproofing2 such improvements may include elevation of the building or utilities1 floodproofing1 or other site-specific mitigation activities that would otherwise meet the eligibility requirements established by the ,administrator under authority of section #acff7;c7 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #dajd;c7c774 4 #e4 ,,gao study and report ,the ,comptroller ,general of the ,united ,states shall conduct a study to determine the feasibility and effects of-- 7#a7 eliminating1 by ,january #a1 #bjbg1 all subsidies that reduce premiums for coverage under the ,national ,flood ,insurance ,program of the ,federal ,emergency ,management ,agency to amounts that are less than the amount that is actuarially necessary for such ,program to operate without a deficit2 and 7#b7 prohibiting any subsidy described in paragraph 7#a7 for any property unless mitigation activities to decrease the risk of flood damage to such property have been completed4 ,not later than the expiration of the #ab-month period beginning on the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,comptroller ,general shall submit a report to the ,congress that describes the findings of the study pursuant to this section4