# 119-hr-5500: National Flood Insurance Program Administrative Reform Act of 2025 119-hr-5500, National Flood Insurance Program Administrative Reform Act of 2025, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Velázquez, Nydia M. [D-NY-7] (D-NY); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-04-21). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-5500 - As of: 2026-04-21 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: 119-hr-5500 - Congress: 119 - Title: National Flood Insurance Program Administrative Reform Act of 2025 - Status: introduced - Introduced: 2025-09-18 - Sponsor: Rep. Velázquez, Nydia M. [D-NY-7] (D-NY) - Cosponsors: 0 - Policy area: Finance and Financial Sector - Touches household money: yes - Last recorded action: 2026-04-21 ## Summary **Tightening NFIP claims rules and oversight to speed payments and boost transparency.** This bill would create faster claim deadlines, a formal administrative appeal track, stronger fraud penalties, a pilot to inspect preexisting structural conditions, and a new Federal Flood Insurance Advisory Committee to advise the NFIP Administrator. - Policyholders and families would see quicker decisions and clearer information. Initial claim determinations would be required within 120 days after a signed proof of loss, with a 30 day extension for extraordinary circumstances, and the bill would require a standard policy disclosure and acknowledgment sheet plus broader access to unredacted technical assistance reports on request. - Write Your Own insurers would be allowed to run a voluntary pilot to investigate preexisting structural conditions and may levy a surcharge to cover investigation costs, with interim reporting due by December 31, 2027 and a final report due March 31, 2029; the pilot would stop issuing new policies after December 31, 2028. - Oversight and integrity rules would tighten. The bill would create a criminal penalty for knowingly false flood-claim statements, require exhaustion of administrative remedies before litigation and toll the one-year statute of limitations during appeals, limit reliance on noncompliant technical reports, prohibit hiring suspended or disbarred attorneys, strengthen litigation cost oversight for WYOs, require adequate staffing for the Office of the Flood Insurance Advocate, and establish a Federal Flood Insurance Advisory Committee with diverse stakeholder representation and annual reporting to Congress. ## Provisions PRIA read - Tougher anti-fraud and legal oversight: benefit, medium. If enacted, it would be a crime to knowingly make false statements or forge reports to get NFIP claim payments. Administrative remedies would need to be used before going to court, and violators would be referred to State licensing boards. The NFIP Administrator would oversee lawsuits handled by in… - Faster decisions and formal claim appeals: benefit, low. If enacted, the NFIP would have 120 days to approve or deny your claim after you submit a signed proof of loss, with possible 30‑day extensions for extraordinary cases. Approved claims would be paid as soon as possible. You would need to use a new administrative appeal before suing, and the appeal… - More transparency in flood claims and policies: benefit, low. If enacted, you could request a full, unredacted copy of any technical report used to decide your claim. The NFIP would rely only on final reports prepared in line with State and Federal licensing rules. Every policy would include a plain‑language disclosure, and applications would ask you to accep… - New advisory panel for flood insurance: benefit, low. If enacted, a Federal Flood Insurance Advisory Committee would advise on rates, risk, claims, sales, and operations. Members would include insurers, a State insurance regulator, an actuary, agents, a claims expert, a consumer advocate, and an academic, with geographic balance. The committee would m… - Optional pre-flood home checks, possible surcharge: mixed, medium. If enacted, participating insurers could offer a voluntary check for preexisting structural issues that might later lead to a claim denial. You would have to request it; if the first review is unclear, they could do an on‑site inspection. A surcharge set by the NFIP Administrator could be added to… - Repeal two 2004 flood insurance rules: mixed, medium. If enacted, Sections 202 and 203 of the 2004 Flood Insurance Reform Act would be repealed. This would remove the rules in those sections; this summary does not include replacements. The effect on policyholders and program duties could vary depending on what those sections currently require. - Shift funds into NFIP reserve: mixed, low. If enacted, certain amounts collected under section 1310A could be credited to the NFIP Reserve Fund. Those funds would then be available for the uses listed in section 1310(d)(1). This is an internal finance change and does not set new household fees. ## Related bills - 119-hr-9877: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026 - 119-hr-6644: 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act - 119-hr-7977: Energy Bills Relief Act - 119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act - 119-hr-5658: Child Care for Every Community Act - 119-hr-3971: Domestic Workers Bill of Rights Act ## Sources - [119-hr-5500 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/5500) ## Related - [119-hr-9877: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9877) - [119-hr-6644: 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-6644) - [119-hr-7977: Energy Bills Relief Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7977) - [119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7973) - [119-hr-5658: Child Care for Every Community Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-5658) - [119-hr-3971: Domestic Workers Bill of Rights Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3971) - [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-5500 (as of 2026-04-21).