Cleaver calls for 'bold' congressional response to hurricanes

WASHINGTON — Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II, ranking member of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance, says the policy response to hurricanes Helene and Milton should be as wide-ranging and impactful as the storms that hit the Southeast.

“I think we’ve got to be bold,” the Missouri Democrat said in an interview with CQ about Congress’ next steps following the disasters. “A lot of forward-thinking people realize these two hurricanes may be a cautionary tale. What’s coming down the road may make these look like a spring rain shower. We are not prepared for that.”

That vision may clash with the stance of the Republican majority, which sees a narrower mission to recover from the storms’ immediate damage.

Cleaver is first seeking to reauthorize the National Flood Insurance Program for several years, as opposed to the series of short-term extensions Congress has enacted since 2017, including in the current fiscal 2025 continuing resolution that funds the government through Dec. 20.

“If we reauthorize for one year or two years, that’s not being bold,” Cleaver said. “If we could get it reauthorized for seven, I think we would be producing actions based on bold decisions.”

The next step, he said, would bolster the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s ability to analyze areas most vulnerable to floods.

“We desperately need to initiate a massive mapping program to help forecast changes in the environment which can inform us about necessary congressional decision-making on flood risk,” Cleaver said. “Rivers move, water plains actually move and sometimes they even go backward.”

And, in what would be a major change, Cleaver suggests creating a single pool of disaster insurance for floods, terrorism and crops.

Some of these ideas mirror those promoted by House Financial Services ranking member Maxine Waters, D-Calif. Waters on Oct. 3 called for debt forgiveness and long-term reauthorization for the flood insurance program, modernization of flood-mapping technologies and other steps to address climate-related disasters.

Recovery focus

The Republican majority on House Financial Services isn’t suggesting an equally expansive response in the wake of the hurricanes. Chair Patrick T. McHenry, R-N.C., is “focused on the immediate recovery effort,” spokesperson Laura Peavey said in an emailed statement.

She noted that the NFIP can draw on about $5 billion in cash on hand and $9.9 billion in remaining borrowing authority from the Treasury Department.

“That means the program has almost $15 billion in resources to pay affected policyholders,” Peavey said. “If and when those resources are depleted, Congress will act to ensure all legitimate NFIP claims are paid in full, as it is legally obligated to do.”

The first point of order when Congress returns after the election is likely to involve supplemental disaster assistance, said a Democratic congressional aide who asked not to be identified.

“The question is what will be the topline spending number,” the aide said. “It all depends on the political appetite in the lame duck.”

Beyond immediate needs, though, the insurance industry is seeking stability for the NFIP.

“We have called on Congress to enact a long-term [NFIP] reauthorization — possibly five years or longer than that,” said Brett Hewitt, vice president of federal government relations at the American Property Casualty Insurance Association. “The need for this program is not going to go away in five years. We’re looking at the long term.”

Bolstering the government’s mapping ability is another priority.

“The last several major flood events show that risks go beyond areas identified by FEMA as being high-risk using their current modeling,” Hewitt said.

Cleaver said the government needs to rethink coverage of homes built in high-risk areas.

“People say to me over and over and over again, ‘Why are we taking money out of the U.S. Treasury to bail out people who built $5-, $10-, $15-, $20-million homes in areas that are flood prone,’” Cleaver said. “We ought to have a discussion about it.”

‘Audacity committee’

Political differences on flood insurance have been hard to bridge, which has led to the short-term flood renewals.

“I would love for the speaker of the House and the president to put together an audacity committee,” Cleaver said. “I’d like to be on that committee to do this thing right instead of half doing it and then coming back to argue about it at the end of every year.”

The vast majority of insurance regulation, including oversight of coverage and premiums, is done at the state level. The effort to reevaluate insurance policy should involve state insurance officials and others, Cleaver said.

“I don’t want to change the system,” he said. “The states have been doing a great job. I think it will be of some value to sit down with state insurance directors. We don’t want to leave anybody out.”

Congress needs to strike while the memory of the hurricanes is still vivid, he said.

“Maybe with all the devastation that we’re experiencing, my colleagues and I will come to the conclusion that it may be now or never,” Cleaver said. “We can’t shush these storms away. Anybody can see we’re in a unique moment. We can’t handle this new moment the way we flunked previous moments.”