WASHINGTON-U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), today announced guidance from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development allowing the use of nearly $16 billion in mitigation funds that Senator Cassidy took a leading role in securing as part of the Balance Budget Act of 2018. The funds are to support mitigation activities in nine states that experienced presidentially declared disasters from 2015 through 2017. As previously announced, Louisiana will receive $1.2 billion of those funds.
“This money, secured by the congressional delegation, is essential to increase our state’s resiliency to flooding,” said Dr. Cassidy. “This money needs to go towards flood mitigation projects that will reduce flood risk and lower flood insurance premiums for Louisiana families.”
New National Flood Insurance Program in conjunction to FEMA’s Risk Rating 2.0 are scheduled to be announced in April, 2020 and go into effect in October, 2020. In 2014, Cassidy’s Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act was signed into law, which (Sec. 19) allows planned mitigation projects to be taken into account when determining future flood insurance premiums.
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