Federal agencies must now plan for future floods, not just today's.
H.R. 9291 — Federal Flood Risk Management Act of 2026 · Filed by Kevin Mullin (D-CA) · 2 cosponsors · Introduced Jun 11, 2026 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill establishes a federal standard requiring all federal agencies to evaluate flood risk before undertaking projects in floodplains, using climate-informed science and elevated safety margins (2–3 feet above the base flood level depending on project criticality). Agencies must avoid floodplain development where practicable, notify state and local governments, and apply flood-proofing measures to federal structures. The bill strengthens existing Executive Order 11988 by codifying a higher, science-based flood standard and requiring regular reassessment. Ordinary citizens benefit through reduced federal investment in flood-prone areas, better-informed public disclosure, and infrastructure designed to withstand future flooding.
Why we flagged it
The bill's core mechanism is a mandatory federal flood-risk standard applied to all agency actions in floodplains, informed by climate science and requiring public notice. It is a regulatory framework for resilience, not a subsidy, carve-out, or commemorative measure. The operative effect is to constrain federal spending in high-risk areas and improve transparency.
What the text implies
- Agencies may face increased compliance costs and project delays as they evaluate floodplain impacts and solicit public comment; projects in marginal floodplain areas may be redesigned or relocated, raising construction costs.
- The 2–3 foot freeboard requirement may make some federally funded projects (e.g., affordable housing, infrastructure in flood-prone regions) economically infeasible, potentially reducing federal investment in vulnerable communities unless budgets increase.
- Annual reassessment and 5-year updates to the Standard create ongoing regulatory uncertainty; agencies must track evolving climate science and adjust procedures, increasing administrative burden.
- The bill does not explicitly fund implementation; compliance depends on agency budgets and OMB appropriations, creating a gap between mandate and resources.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
The bill mandates that federal agencies use best-available climate science to avoid or minimize flood risk in federally funded projects, requires public notice and comment before floodplain actions, and strengthens resilience of federal infrastructure. Citizens in flood-prone areas gain transparency, earlier warning of federal decisions, and reduced exposure to federally-funded projects that may fail catastrophically. The higher elevation standard (2–3 feet above base flood) reflects future clim
Who stands to gain
- engineering and design firms (floodproofing, elevation design)
- construction contractors (elevated/modified structures)
- climate science consultants and hydrologic modeling firms
Named in the bill
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Water Resources Council, Federal Interagency Floodplain Management Task Force, Council on Environmental Quality, Executive Order 11988, Executive Order 13690, National Flood Insurance Program, National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973, Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, Housing and Community Development Act of 1974
Where it stands
2 cosponsors: 2 Democrats.
- Jun 11, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Jun 11, 2026 — Referred to House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and House Committee on Financial Services · Congress.gov: “Referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committee on Transportation and…”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Money around this bill
1 lobbying clients named this bill on 1 disclosure filings across 1 quarter, Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $303,370 in lobbying spend. A filing names 61 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.
More lobbying clients named this bill than 0% of bills with at least one filing.
Kevin Mullin, the sponsor, reported $505,911 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.
- American Society of Civil Engineers — $303,370 on 1 filing
Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 17, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (17,111 characters) on Sep 28, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
Money — Senate Lobbying Disclosure Act filings whose specific-issue field names this bill for quarters ending Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. A filing's amount is reported whole beside the median number of bills a filing names; it is never divided across them. PAC receipts are FEC-reported contributions to the sponsor's candidate committee in the 2026 cycle.
As of — lobbying records through Jul 17, 2026 · page rendered 2026-10-20.
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