H.R. 7862

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7862 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 7862

To amend the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 to limit the 
application of the Endangered Species Act with respect to certain 
actions under the national flood insurance program, and for other 
purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

March 9, 2026

Mr. Bentz introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Financial Services

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

To amend the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 to limit the 
application of the Endangered Species Act with respect to certain 
actions under the national flood insurance program, and for other 
purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``National Flood Insurance Program 
Clarification Act of 2026''.

SEC. 2. APPLICATION OF THE ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT WITH RESPECT TO 
CERTAIN ACTIONS UNDER THE NATIONAL FLOOD INSURANCE 
PROGRAM.

Section 1317 of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 
4024) is amended--
(1) by striking ``In'' and inserting the following:
``(a) In General.--In''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(b) Application of Endangered Species Act.--Section 7(a) of the 
Endangered Species Act (16 U.S.C. 1536(a)) shall not apply to any 
actions by the Administrator pursuant to sections 1305(c), 1306, 1360, 
1361(c), 1363 of this title, and section 100216 of the Biggert-Waters 
Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012.
``(c) Biological Opinions Under the Endangered Species Act.--Not 
later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this subsection, 
the Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and the 
Assistant Administrator for Fisheries shall withdraw any existing 
biological opinions under section 7(a)(2) of the Endangered Species Act 
(16 U.S.C. 1536(a)(2)) that evaluate the impacts of the national flood 
insurance program. Biological opinions withdrawn under this subsection 
shall have no effect and shall not be reissued.''.

SEC. 3. CRITERIA FOR LAND MANAGEMENT AND USE WITH RESPECT TO THE 
NATIONAL FLOOD INSURANCE PROGRAM.

Section 1361(c) of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 
U.S.C. 4102(c)) is amended by inserting after ``local measures which'' 
the following: ``are for the sole purpose of protecting property and 
human health, and''.
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