WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Troy A. Carter, Sr. (D-LA), alongside Reps. Cleo Fields (D-LA), Mike Ezell (R-MS), and Rob Bresnahan (R-PA) introduced the NFIP Premium Transparency Act. This bill will require the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to provide comprehensive, transparent flood insurance information to property owners and the public through enhanced policy documents and a new online tool.

“Since FEMA’s Risk Rating 2.0 program went into effect, Louisiana families have opened their flood insurance bills with more questions than answers: why their premium jumped and what discounts they're missing,” said Rep. Carter. “Louisiana has more riding on this than almost any state in the country. This legislation gives homeowners the information they've always deserved: a clear breakdown of their rates, real savings from mitigation, and a roadmap to full-risk pricing. This isn't a partisan issue. It's about giving working families the tools to protect their homes, their budgets, and their futures.”

The NFIP Premium Transparency Act requires FEMA to overhaul how flood insurance information is shared with property owners, a change with outsized stakes for Louisiana, which holds more than 470,000 National Flood Insurance Program policies. Within 12 months, the bill mandates enhanced information on the declaration pages of each flood insurance policy issued under the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) to clearly show current premiums, available discounts, claim history, rating factors, mitigation savings, and the timeline to full-risk pricing, giving coastal homeowners facing rising premiums clarity on why and when increases are coming. Additionally, the bill requires FEMA to launch a public online tool that allows property owners to access detailed flood risk data, including premium calculations, replacement costs, and flood history, along with an interactive feature showing how mitigation efforts, such as elevation, could lower both risk and cost.

“Louisiana families pay more flood insurance premiums than almost anyone in the United States, and for too long they've been handed a bill with no explanation. They] deserve to know why their rates went up, when they'll go up again, and what they can do about it. This bill does exactly that,” said Rep. Fields.

“Families deserve to know exactly how their flood insurance premiums are determined and what steps they can take to lower their costs,” said Rep. Ezell. “The NFIP Premium Transparency Act gives homeowners greater access to the information they need to make informed decisions, invest in mitigation, and better protect their property. For coastal communities like those in South Mississippi, improving transparency within the National Flood Insurance Program is a common-sense step that will help strengthen resilience while making the program more accountable to the people it serves.”

“Too many families in Northeastern Pennsylvania struggle with the impact flooding can have on their homes, businesses, and livelihoods. Flood insurance continues to go up, making it harder for families to sell and first-time homeowners to buy,” said Rep. Bresnahan. “For many homeowners in our region, the NFIP is the only realistic option for protecting their property, but rising premiums are making that coverage increasingly difficult to afford. This legislation ensures that our families, small businesses, and non-profits are not priced out of the peace of mind that flood insurance brings.”

The NFIP Premium Transparency Act is endorsed by the Americans for Financial Reform, National Association of Counties (NACo), Coalition for Sustainable Flood Insurance, United Policyholders, American Policyholders Association, Greater New Orleans, Inc., Home Builders Association of Greater New Orleans (HBAGNO), Northshore Business Council, Fair Insurance Rates for Monroe (FIRM), Greater New Orleans Housing Alliance (GNOHA), and HousingNOLA.

“In Southeast Louisiana, flood insurance isn’t optional - it’s a reality that directly impacts housing affordability and community resilience. By requiring clear, detailed information on how premiums are calculated, the NFIP Premium Transparency Act empowers consumers and strengthens the market by bringing much-needed transparency to a complex system,” said Dan Mills, CEO of the Home Builders Association of Greater New Orleans.

“With climate change driving greater flood risk across the country, it's critical that homeowners, renters, and prospective buyers and residents understand a property's flood history, the long-term trajectory of the flood risk they face, and what they can do to protect their homes and lower their insurance costs. The NFIP Premium Transparency Act would give people the information they need to better protect themselves physically and financially from floods,” said Alex Martin, climate finance policy director at Americans for Financial Reform.

“As President of FIRM, I am writing to express our strong support for the NFIP Premium Transparency Act introduced by Congressman Fields. This legislation takes a meaningful step forward by requiring clear, detailed information on declaration pages and creating an interactive Flood Insurance Information Tool. These changes will help policyholders better understand their premiums, discounts, and mitigation options, which we believe will improve trust in the program,” said Mel E. Montagne, President, Fair Insurance Rates for Monroe (FIRM).

“It's no secret that in Louisiana we desperately need comprehensive reform of the National Flood Insurance Program. We know that won’t happen quickly, and in the interim, the NFIP Premium Transparency Act gives homeowners the opportunity to arm themselves with information about costs and risks, and what can be done to address both.  While we wait on reform, knowledge is power, and that gives families the opportunity to make the best choices possible. We are grateful that the Louisiana congressional delegation continues to take the lead on critical matters such as this legislation—helping Louisiana families take meaningful steps to #PutHousingFirst,” said Andreanecia M. Morris, President, Greater New Orleans Housing Alliance (GNOHA).

“The bill is a common-sense measure that brings visibility to property owners' risk factors.  At long last, it empowers NFIP policyholders to better understand how NFIP sets premiums, and how to mitigate risk and cost simultaneously.  With an NFIP deadline of September 30 nearing, and with a pressing need to reconsider the federal role in insurance through a congressional commission, this bill is an important step forward in bringing light to the insurance crisis,” said Michael Hecht, President & CEO of Greater New Orleans, Inc. (GNO, Inc.) and founder of the Coalition for Sustainable Flood Insurance (CSFI).

Background:

The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) is a federal program administered by FEMA that provides flood insurance to homeowners and businesses, aiming to reduce the financial impact of flooding. The program is vital for Louisiana, a state with extensive low-lying areas and frequent exposure to hurricanes and heavy rainfall. The NFIP helps protect residents from devastating financial losses due to flood damage, encourages responsible development in flood-prone areas, and supports rebuilding efforts after disasters—making it a critical safety net for Louisiana’s communities.

Since 2021, Risk Rating 2.0 has been FEMA's flood insurance pricing methodology, replacing the older system that largely based premiums on flood zone and elevation with a more granular model that factors in distance to water, elevation, construction type, and individual property flood risk. Many policyholders saw rates rise sharply without an intuitive explanation tied to flood zone maps they were used to, and FEMA's reluctance to release the full underlying methodology made it hard for homeowners and agents to understand or verify why their specific premium changed

In December, Rep. Carter authored the National Flood Insurance Program Automatic Extension Act of 2025. The bill ensures that the NFIP automatically continues its core operations even if Congress misses a scheduled reauthorization deadline.

Rep. Carter and Ezell also introduced H.R. 2822, the National Flood Insurance Program Authorization Extension Act in April to avoid a lapse in program authorization resulting from a government shutdown. This bill would have extended the program through December 31, 2026. They also introduced H.R. 5848, the NFIP Retroactive Renewal and Reauthorization Act in November, legislation to backdate reauthorization of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) to September 30, 2025, while extending the program’s authorization until December 31, 2026. This bill ensures that policyholders who plan to renew are not penalized for the lapse in NFIP reauthorization caused by the Republican government shutdown.

Rep. Carter serves as Co-Chair of the Bipartisan Congressional Flood Resilience Caucus and the Bipartisan Congressional Disaster Preparedness & Recovery Caucus. He continues to advocate for common-sense, bipartisan reforms to strengthen and sustain the NFIP for Louisiana and other flood-prone communities. 

Read the full bill text here.

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Troy A. Carter, Sr. (D-LA) and Congresswoman Dina Titus (D-NV) introduced the Establishing and Developing University Cannabis Agriculture Techniques and Excellence (EDUCATE) Act. This bill creates pathways for minority students to explore and study jobs in cultivation, research, business, and policy sectors of the legal marijuana market.

“As the legal cannabis market continues to grow, this bill helps guarantee that local economies, not just large corporations, benefit from new jobs, new businesses, and new research,” said Rep. Carter. “By strengthening programs at HBCUs and HSIs, we can ensure students from historically underserved communities can enter high‑growth fields in agriculture, research, and advanced manufacturing.”

The 1890 Land-Grant Institutions are historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) that offer high-quality agricultural research, education, and extension programs to prepare students from diverse backgrounds to participate meaningfully in the agriculture industry. Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) are colleges and universities where at least 25% of the undergraduate student body identifies as Hispanic and play a key role in expanding educational access. The cannabis industry has grown at a significant rate, projecting to generate $100 billion in revenue by 2030. As more states continue to implement or expand marijuana legalization policies, job growth will continue, serving as a pathway to economic empowerment for communities that have often been left out.

“The legal, responsible use of cannabis has been a major economic driver in Nevada and across the country and deserves further research,” said Rep. Titus. “The EDUCATE Act would enable students to explore and study jobs in the cultivation, research, business, and policy sectors of the legal marijuana market by providing federal funding to institutions of higher education.”

“As the cannabis plant becomes an increasingly prominent part of America's agricultural landscape, it is vital that we develop robust research and educational systems to grow our knowledge base, improve public health, maintain leadership on the global stage, and train the next generation of farmers and experts. The EDUCATE Act significantly facilitates these goals while creating opportunities for the communities that have been disproportionately impacted by cannabis prohibition. NORML is grateful for the introduction of this legislation, and we urge members of Congress to support it and call for its consideration without delay,” said Morgan Fox, Political Director, National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML).

“We are proud to endorse this legislation that will cultivate the next generation of cannabis industry leaders. Black and Latino communities have been most impacted by marijuana criminalization yet have been largely boxed out of the legal industry.  This bill will help change that, bringing us one step closer to an equitable marijuana industry,” said Maritza Perez Medina, Director of Federal Affairs, Drug Policy Alliance.

“HBCUs have played a critical role in developing and educating future leaders in our country, from Thurgood Marshall to Kamala Harris. This bill is an opportunity to bolster these historic institutions by providing the resources necessary to empower the next generation of students to study careers in the cultivation, research, business, and policy sectors of the legal cannabis market. For far too long, people of color bore the brunt of an overly punitive criminal justice system that relished the opportunity to throw jail time their way for cannabis. This bill represents an opportunity for those same communities to reap the benefits of the burgeoning billion-dollar cannabis industry, and we are proud to support it,” said Stephanie Shepard, Executive Director, Last Prisoner Project and former federal cannabis prisoner.

Background:

The EDUCATE Act will:

• Provide $5,000,000 in annual research and operational funding to HBCU 1890 Land-Grant Institutions and HSIs to assist in developing the infrastructure needed to support student engagement and learning in cannabis agriculture.
• Create a $100,000 scholarship annually for undergraduate and graduate students to pursue studies in cannabis agriculture.

Full text of the bill can be found here.

Congressman Carter is a member of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus and is a leader on cannabis policy. He is the author of the Marijuana Misdemeanor Expungement Act which would deliver justice for countless Americans whose lives have been disrupted and deprived because of a misdemeanor Marijuana offense. He also introduced the RESPECT Resolution that outlines steps and practices to create an equitable cannabis industry that addresses, reverses, and repairs the consequences of the failed “War on Drugs.” Finally, his bipartisan CLIMB Act will allow state-legal American cannabis companies, including small, minority, and veteran-owned businesses the ability to access critical lending and investment opportunities currently available to other domestic and regulated industries.

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Troy A. Carter, Sr. (D-LA) issued the following statement:

“This ruling is a win for Louisianians and for every American who just wants to breathe clean air. The court was clear: the EPA's arguments for walking away from this rule simply did not hold up. That matters. The 2024 standard was grounded in science and built through a public process, and it's projected to prevent thousands of premature deaths and tens of thousands of asthma attacks every single year. Louisianans deserve those protections as much as anyone.

“I understand the concerns raised by industry about compliance costs, and I will always fight for policies that keep Louisiana businesses competitive and our energy workforce strong. But protecting public health and supporting a responsible energy and manufacturing sector are not mutually exclusive goals. Cleaner air doesn't have to come at the expense of good jobs, and an EPA that simply refuses to enforce the law isn't doing right by the people it's supposed to serve.

“I'm glad the courts stepped in here. I'll continue pushing the EPA to implement this standard fully and fairly, and to work with us on a realistic path to compliance that protects both our families and our economy.”

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