,,ii  #aahth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #caec  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,october #bf1  
#bjbc,mr4 ,kennedy introduced the       
following bill2 which was read twice and
 referred to the ,committee on ,banking1
 ,housing1 and ,urban ,affairs  ,a      
,,bill  ,to amend the ,national ,flood  
,insurance ,act of #aifh to establish a 
pilot program to increase the allowable 
amounts of advance payments under the   
,national ,flood ,insurance ,program1   
and for other purposes4  #a4 ,short     
title ,this ,act may be cited as the    
,emergency ,advance ,payments           
,modernization ,act4  #b4 ,sense of     
,congress ,it is the sense of ,congress 
that-- 7#a7 advance payments made by the
 ,federal ,emergency ,management ,agency
 7referred to in this section as ,,fema7
 have proven to be beneficial to those  
impacted by disasters2  7#b7 ,,fema has 
provided millions of dollars in advance 
payments to policyholders under the     
,national ,flood ,insurance ,program who

 have started the claims process under  
that ,program2  7#c7 the payments       
described in paragraph 7#b7 are critical
 in helping policyholders as they begin 
to clean up and repair homes that have  
been devastated by natural disasters2   
7#d7 while advance payments have proven 
to be beneficial to those impacted by   
disasters1 there are still significant  
limitations to the process2 and  7#e7   
there are technological advances that   
can enhance the advance payments        
program1 and ,,fema should harness those
 advances to improve the customer       
experience and streamline ,,fema's      
payments program with the overall goal  
of easing burdens on those whose lives  
have been shattered by natural          
disasters4  #c4 ,pilot program for      
remote ,national ,flood ,insurance      
,program claims ,part ,c of chapter ,,ii
 of the ,national ,flood ,insurance ,act
 of #aifh 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #djha et seq47 
is amended by adding at the end the     
following3  #acdi4 ,advance payments    

pilot program  7a7 ,definitions ,in this
 section3 7#a7 ,covered data ,the term  
covered data means real-time1 rapid     
monitoring data1 including data obtained
 through remote sensing technology4     
7#b7 ,covered property ,the term covered
 property means a property for which the
 ,administrator has received covered    
data indicating that flooding has       
occurred4  7#c7 ,eligible policyholder  
,the term eligible policyholder means a 
person holding coverage made available  
under the national flood insurance      
program1 where the property that is the 
subject of that coverage is a covered   
property4  7b7 ,pilot program  7#a7     
,establishment ,not later than #ahj days
 after the date of enactment of this    
section1 the ,administrator shall       
establish a pilot program that uses     
covered data to-- 7,a7 increase the     
speed with which claims payments under  
the national flood insurance program are
 delivered to eligible policyholders2   
7,b7 increase the amount1 and enhance   

the delivery1 of advance claims payments
 under the national flood insurance     
program made to eligible policyholders2 
and  7,c7 further explore how covered   
data can be used to enhance customer    
service and efficiency with respect to  
the claims process under the national   
flood insurance program4  7#b7          
,termination ,the pilot program         
established under paragraph 7#a7 shall  
terminate on the date that is #a year   
after the date on which the             
,administrator establishes the pilot    
program4  7c7 ,report ,not later than   
#ahj days after the date on which the   
pilot program established under         
subsection 7b7 terminates1 the          
,administrator shall submit to ,congress
 a report that describes any measurable 
changes that such pilot program has had 
on-- 7#a7 administrative costs with     
respect to the national flood insurance 
program2 or  7#b7 the timeliness with   
which the ,administrator pays claims    
under the national flood insurance      

program4  7d7 ,overpayment forgiveness  
,notwithstanding any provision of       
section #acaj1 the ,administrator may   
use amounts in the ,national ,flood     
,insurance ,fund to forgive any amounts 
overpaid to an eligible policyholder as 
a result of a pre-inspection advance    
payment provided under this section4  4