{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://price.house.gov/newsroom/press-releases/reps-price-zeldin-introduce-bipartisan-flood-resiliency-and-taxpayer-savings", "Reps. Price, Zeldin Introduce Bipartisan Flood Resiliency and Taxpayer Savings Act", "2020-09-30", "2020", "2020-09", "Democrat", "Senate", "NC", "David Price", "P000523", "price.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, DC (September 30, 2020)  Today, Representatives David E. Price (NC-04) and Lee Zeldin (NY-01) introduced the bipartisan Flood Resiliency and Taxpayer Savings Act of 2020. Flooding is the most common and expensive natural disaster in the United States, straining the resources of governments at all levels. Recent catastrophic flooding events underscore the need for a cost-effective disaster risk management strategy to safeguard the nation's infrastructure, businesses and communities, as well as conserve taxpayer resources.\nRepresentatives Price and Zeldin released the following statements upon introduction:\nCoastal and inland flooding have plagued North Carolina communities in recent years, many of which are still struggling to recover after unprecedented levels of destruction, said Representative David Price, Chairman of the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Subcommittee. These major flooding events will only become more common. The Flood Resiliency and Taxpayer Savings Act modernizes the longstanding review process for federally funded projects to account for future flood risk and incorporates resiliency and mitigation measures to prevent potential damage. I thank Representative Zeldin for joining me to introduce this commonsense legislation that will help protect communities and livelihoods while preserving federal resources.\n\"In a district almost completely surrounded by water, coastal resiliency and flood mitigation are critical in making sound investments in our community,\" said Congressman Lee Zeldin. \"I'm proud to introduce this bipartisan legislation with Congressman Price, which will help ensure that federal investments and resources in our communities stand the test of time and are able to continue serving the American people who need them most.\"\nSpecifically, the bill:\n Directs federal agencies to consider and plan for future flood risk as they evaluate spending federal dollars, including the entire lifespan of a project.\n\tRequires agency leaders, for projects that are currently or in the future will be in flood-prone areas, to use the best available data about current and future flood risk including FEMA maps, state and local data, hydrologic studies, and other information.\n\tIn the absence of concrete data, ensures agencies incorporate appropriate safeguards to shield communities (and federal investment) from future damage and losssuch as structure elevation, hardening, nature-based systems, or other mitigation strategies.\n \nA summary of the bill can be found here. The full text of the legislation can be found here.\nQuotes from organizations in support of Flood Resiliency and Taxpayer Savings Act:\nAs floods continue to grow in frequency and costs, the Flood Resiliency and Taxpayer Savings Act of 2020 is vital for shoring up the strength of the nation's infrastructure and communities. The bill would ensure that taxpayer dollars are invested in projects that take into account the flood risk from events such as sea level rise and heavier downpourswhich will help Americans, and the infrastructure we depend on, better withstand the next storm.\n-- Laura Lightbody, Director of The Pew Charitable Trusts' flood-prepared communities initiative\n\nResilience requires investments at all levels of society  homeowners, businesses, communities, states, and the federal government. Those investments in resilience need to be long lasting. TheFlood Resiliency and Taxpayer Savings Act of 2020 is a critical step in that direction. When federal dollars are invested, there needs to be a reasonable assertion that the first dollars will be the last. We shouldn't need to pay twice for the same project.\nRoy Wright, CEO of the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety and the former lead of FEMA's insurance and mitigation programs.\n\n\"Taxpayers have been made to shell out hundreds of billions of dollars in disaster-related spending over the past decade. It is essential that flood risks be considered and mitigated whenever federal funds are used to build or rebuild infrastructure. Rising sea levels and more frequent and severe rainfall events caused by climate change make this an urgent priority to ensure taxpayers' investments are long-lasting.\"\nR.J. Lehmann, Senior Fellow, R Street Institute\n\nFar too many federally-funded affordable homes are located in floodplains and other areas susceptible to damage from disasters. This puts America's lowest-income and most marginalized seniors, people with disabilities, families with children, and others at greater risk of displacement and, in worst cases, homelessness when disasters strike. Congress should work quickly to protect lives and prevent displacement by enacting the Flood Resiliency and Taxpayer Savings Act of 2020 Act to ensure that federal investments in affordable housing and infrastructure can withstand future disasters.\nDiane Yentel, President and CEO of the National Low Income Housing Coalition\n\nOur current approach to managing flood risk is wrong - we use yesterday's data to build tomorrow's housing and infrastructure and much of that may have a useful life of 80,90 or 100+ years. What will flood risk be like then? The Flood Resiliency and Taxpayer Savings Act of 2020 would do much to ensure that we aren't wasting taxpayer dollars and burdening future generations.\nChad Berginnis, Executive Director, Association of State Floodplain Managers\n\n\"Congress owes it to taxpayers to ensure their dollars are not wasted on federally funded projects that need to be repaired and rebuilt over and over again. Federal standards should ensure projects take account of flood risk, so that appropriators do not spend good money after bad.\"\nBrandon Arnold, Executive Vice President, National Taxpayers Union\nSupporting Organizations:\nAmerican Institute of Architects\nAmerican Planning Association\nAmerican Property Casualty Insurance Association\nAmerican Public Works Association\nAmerican Society of Civil Engineers\nAmerican Society of Landscape Architects\nAssociation of State Floodplain Managers\nCenter for American Progress\nConservAmerica\nCouncil of Insurance Agents & Brokers\nEnterprise Community Partners, Inc.\nEnvironment and Energy Study Institute\nFreedomWorks\nInsurance Institute for Business & Home Safety\nNational Association of Mutual Insurance Companies\nNational Institute of Building Sciences\nNational Low Income Housing Coalition\nNational Taxpayers Union\nNational Wildlife Federation\nNatural Resources Defense Council\nR Street Institute\nReinsurance Association of America\nRise to Resilience\nSmart Home America\nTaxpayers for Common Sense\nTaxpayer Protection Alliance\nThe Alliance for National and Community Resilience\nThe Nature Conservancy\nThe Pew Charitable Trusts\nU.S. Resiliency Council\nUnion of Concerned Scientists\nWaterfront Alliance", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://price.house.gov/newsroom/press-releases/reps-price-zeldin-introduce-bipartisan-flood-resiliency-and-taxpayer-savings"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.0546189732849598, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}