H.R. 8439

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8439 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8439

To establish a nonpartisan commission on natural disaster risk 
management, insurance, and other financial and economic protections, 
and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

April 22, 2026

Mr. Carbajal (for himself, Mr. Evans of Colorado, Mr. Carter of 
Louisiana, and Mr. Ezell) introduced the following bill; which was 
referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in 
addition to the Committee on Financial Services, for a period to be 
subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration 
of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 
concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

To establish a nonpartisan commission on natural disaster risk 
management, insurance, and other financial and economic protections, 
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 ``Commission on Natural Disaster Risk 
Management and Insurance Act''.

SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT.

There is established an independent, nonpartisan Commission on 
Natural Disaster Risk Management and Insurance (in this Act referred to 
as the ``Commission'').

SEC. 3. MEMBERSHIP AND STRUCTURE.

(a) Appointment.--The Commission shall be composed of--
(1) 8 members who shall have general knowledge and 
expertise in insurance, reinsurance, insurance regulation, 
policyholder concerns, emergency management, risk management, 
public finance, financial markets, actuarial analysis, flood 
mapping and planning, structural engineering, building 
standards, land use planning, natural disasters, meteorology, 
seismology, environmental issues, quantitative catastrophic 
risk modeling, or other pertinent qualifications, of which--
(A) 2 members shall be appointed by the majority 
leader of the Senate;
(B) 2 members shall be appointed by the minority 
leader of the Senate;
(C) 2 members shall be appointed by the Speaker of 
the House of Representatives; and
(D) 2 members shall be appointed by the minority 
leader of the House of Representatives;
(2) 8 members who shall have knowledge and expertise in 
insurance, reinsurance, policyholder concerns, risk management, 
financial markets, urban development or other pertinent 
financial services or housing qualifications, of which--
(A) 2 members shall be appointed by the Chair of 
the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of 
the Senate;
(B) 2 members shall be appointed by the Ranking 
Member of the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban 
Affairs of the Senate;
(C) 2 members shall be appointed by the Chair of 
the Committee on Financial Services of the House of 
Representatives; and
(D) 2 members shall be appointed by the Ranking 
Member of the Committee on Financial Services of the 
House of Representatives;
(3) 8 members who shall have knowledge and expertise in 
disaster response and preparedness, emergency management, 
public financing, structural engineering, building standards, 
and other pertinent government response and investment 
qualifications, of which--
(A) 2 members shall be appointed by the Chair of 
the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of 
the House of Representatives;
(B) 2 members shall be appointed by the Ranking 
Member of the Committee on Transportation and 
Infrastructure of the House of Representatives;
(C) 2 members shall be appointed by the Chair of 
the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
Affairs of the Senate; and
(D) 2 members shall be appointed by the Ranking 
Member of the Committee on Homeland Security and 
Governmental Affairs of the Senate; and
(4) 2 members who shall be State insurance commissioners, 
to be appointed by a selection process determined by the State 
insurance commissioners.
(b) Limitations.--Members of the Commission appointed under--
(1) subsection (a)(1) through (a)(3) shall not be officers 
or employees of the United States Government or any State 
government; and
(2) subsection (a)(4) shall not be from the same political 
party.
(c) Period of Appointment.--
(1) In general.--Each member of the Commission shall--
(A) be appointed not later than 30 days after the 
date of the enactment of this Act; and
(B) serve for the duration of the Commission.
(2) Vacancies.--A vacancy on the Commission--
(A) shall not affect the powers and duties of the 
Commission; and
(B) shall be filled in the same manner as the 
original appointment.
(d) Basic Pay.--Members of the Commission shall serve without pay.
(e) Quorum.--
(1) Majority.--A majority of the members of the Commission 
shall constitute a quorum, but a lesser number, as determined 
by the Commission, may hold hearings.
(2) Approval actions.--All recommendations and reports of 
the Commission required by this Act shall be approved only by a 
majority vote of all of the members of the Commission.
(f) Chairperson.--The Commission shall, by majority vote of all of 
the members of the Commission, select 1 member of the Commission to 
serve as the Chairperson of the Commission.
(g) Meetings.--The Commission shall meet at the call of the 
Chairperson of the Commission or a majority of the members of the 
Commission.
(h) Information.--
(1) Access.--
(A) In general.--The Commission may enter into 
information-sharing agreements with Federal, State, 
local and Tribal government entities related to 
relevant information, including nonpublicly available 
data.
(B) Limitation.--The Commission may not enter into 
an information sharing-agreement described in 
subparagraph (A) with respect to information that 
contains personal identifiable information.
(2) Confidentiality.--
(A) Retention of privilege.--The sharing or 
submission of any nonpublicly available data and 
information to the Commission shall not constitute a 
waiver of, or otherwise affect, any privilege arising 
under Federal or State law (including the rules of any 
Federal or State court) to which the data or 
information is otherwise subject.
(B) Continued application of prior confidentiality 
agreements.--Any requirement under Federal or State law 
to the extent otherwise applicable, or any requirement 
pursuant to a written agreement in effect between the 
original source of any nonpublicly available data or 
information and the source of such data or information 
to the Commission, regarding the privacy or 
confidentiality of any data or information in the 
possession of the source to the Commission, shall 
continue to apply to such data or information after the 
data or information has been provided to the 
Commission.
(3) Limitation.--Nothing in this Act shall be construed 
to--
(A) require any Federal, State, local or Tribal 
government agency to share data or information to the 
Commission;
(B) authorize the Commission to require data or 
information from any stakeholder; or
(C) allow any Federal, State, local or Tribal 
government to collect information for which they do not 
already have for the sole purpose of the work of the 
Commission.
(i) Gifts.--The Commission may not receive gifts to assist it in 
carrying out its duties without a specific authorization.

SEC. 4. DUTIES OF THE COMMISSION.

(a) Assessment.--The Commission shall examine the risks posed to 
the United States (both nationally and to individual States, 
localities, tribes and other geographic areas) by natural disasters and 
means for mitigating the risks and financial costs associated with 
losses caused by natural disasters, including the assessment of--
(1) the current exposure of the United States to natural 
disasters, including wildfires, hurricanes, earthquakes, 
volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, severe storms (including 
tornados, hail, and damaging winds), extreme heat, winter 
storms, flooding, droughts, and other natural disasters;
(2) demographic trends, including population migration to 
high-risk areas and the associated development of the built 
environment, and the impact such trends could have on the cost 
of losses inflicted by future natural disasters;
(3) the current efforts of States, communities, and 
individuals to mitigate their natural disaster risks, including 
the affordability and effectiveness of such mitigation;
(4) the impact and benefits of strengthened land use 
regulations and building codes in areas at high risk for 
natural disasters, and methods to strengthen enforcement of 
structural mitigation and vulnerability reduction measures, 
such as zoning and building code compliance;
(5) the role of Federal, State, and local governments in 
providing incentives for feasible risk mitigation efforts;
(6) the current condition of, as well as the outlook for, 
the availability and affordability of property and casualty 
insurance in all regions of the country and an analysis of 
factors that may be adversely impacting such availability and 
affordability;
(7) the impact of Federal and State laws, regulations, and 
policies (including rate regulation, market access 
requirements, reinsurance, accounting and tax policies, State 
residual markets, and State disaster funds) on--
(A) the affordability and availability of insurance 
for losses resulting from natural disaster;
(B) the capacity of the private insurance market to 
cover losses resulting from natural disasters;
(C) the commercial and residential development of 
high-risk areas; and
(D) the costs of natural disasters to Federal and 
State taxpayers;
(8) the present and long-term financial condition of State 
residual markets and natural disaster funds in high-risk 
regions, including the likelihood of insolvency following a 
natural disaster, the concentration of risks within such funds, 
the reliance on post-event assessments and State funding, and 
the adequacy of rates;
(9) the various risk-sharing mechanisms for natural 
disasters (including the private insurance and reinsurance 
markets, State residual insurance markets, catastrophe bond 
markets, and government insurance programs) and the relevant 
benefits, risks and practices for providing insurance 
protection to different sectors of the population of the United 
States;
(10) the role that innovation in financial services could 
play in improving the financial risk-sharing of the costs of 
natural disasters, specifically addressing measures that could 
foster the development of financial products designed to cover 
natural disaster risk, such as alternative risk transfer 
mechanisms, including parametric insurance and catastrophe 
bonds;
(11) whether, and how, such risk-sharing mechanisms can be 
modified to resolve key obstacles currently impeding broader 
take-up rate of catastrophic risk management and financing;
(12) the ability of the United States private insurance 
market to cover insured losses caused by natural disasters, 
including an estimate of the maximum amount of insured losses 
that could be sustained during a single year and the 
probability of natural disasters occurring in a single year 
that would inflict more insured losses than the United States 
insurance and reinsurance markets could sustain;
(13) the need for financial feasibility and sustainability 
of a national, regional, or other cooperation designed to 
promote adequate property and casualty insurance take-up, 
including in current impacted or constrained markets;
(14) the appropriate role, if any, for the Federal 
Government in the stabilization of property and casualty 
insurance, reinsurance, or other impacted markets following 
catastrophic loss events;
(15) methods to promote the take-up of flood insurance 
policies through the National Flood Insurance Program to reduce 
financial losses caused by natural disasters in the uninsured 
sectors of the population of the United States; and
(16) any unique needs of low-income communities to promote 
risk reduction and property and casualty insurance take-up in 
such communities.
(b) Consultation and Public Engagement.--In conducting the 
assessments required in subsection (a), the Commission shall--
(1) coordinate with State insurance commissioners, both 
individually and collectively, on all insurance matters;
(2) consult with relevant Federal agencies, as described in 
subsection (c), on matters related to the prevalence and cost 
of Federal financial assistance related to losses resulting 
from natural disasters; and
(3) engage with relevant public stakeholders, including--
(A) insurers, reinsurers, and insurance agents and 
brokers; and
(B) capital market participants with a focus on 
alternative risk transfer mechanisms.
(c) Executive Branch Assistance.--The heads of the following 
agencies shall advise and consult with the Commission on matters within 
their respective areas of responsibility:
(1) Federal Emergency Management Agency.
(2) U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
(3) National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
(4) Department of Housing and Urban Development.
(5) Department of Housing and Urban Development.
(6) Federal Housing Finance Agency.
(7) Federal Housing Administration.
(8) Department of the Treasury.
(9) Department of Agriculture.
(10) Environmental Protection Agency.
(11) Any other agency, as determined by the Commission.

SEC. 5. REPORT.

Not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
the Commission shall submit to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and 
Urban Affairs of the Senate, the Committee on Financial Services of the 
House of Representatives, Committee on Homeland Security and 
Governmental Affairs of the Senate, and the Committee on Transportation 
and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives a report that 
contains--
(1) a detailed statement of the findings and assessments 
conducted by the Commission pursuant to section 4; and
(2) any recommendations for legislative, regulatory, 
administrative, or other actions at the Federal, State, or 
local levels that the Commission considers appropriate to 
address the issues described in section 4.

SEC. 6. TERMINATION.

(a) In General.--The Commission shall terminate 90 days after the 
date on which the Commission submits the report under section 5.
(b) Data and Information.--Upon the termination of the Commission, 
all data and information in possession of the Commission and its 
members shall be destroyed or returned to the respective owners of such 
data and information.

SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

There are authorized to be appropriated to the Commission such sums 
as may be necessary to carry out this Act, to remain available until 
expended.
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