Flood insurance fees waived for wetland and floodplain restoration.

What it does

This bill changes federal flood insurance rules to help restore wetlands and floodplains. Communities no longer pay fees to update flood maps when they do restoration work. Communities can permit restoration projects that raise flood levels up to 1 foot. No buildings can be harmed. Communities must report results within 180 days.

Who it affects

People gain from restored wetlands and floodplains. These areas protect against floods and improve water quality. Groups that manage natural resources can do restoration work at lower cost.

One thing to notice

The bill lets the FEMA Administrator change the 1-foot limit later without new laws. The bill requires reports within 180 days but does not say what happens if groups do not report.

From the analysis of the bill text, linked under Primary records below.

Where it stands

3 cosponsors: 2 Republicans, 1 Democrats.

• May 1, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
• May 1, 2025 — Referred to Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs · Congress.gov: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs”
• Sep 30, 2026 — Reported out of committee · Congress.gov: “Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs discharged by Unanimous Consent”
• Sep 30, 2026 — Passed the Senate · Congress.gov: “Passed Senate without amendment by Unanimous Consent”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.

Money around this bill

6 groups reported lobbying about this bill. They filed 6 reports from Mar 2026 to Jun 2026.

Those reports show $2,417,000 in lobbying spending. Each report lists about 35 bills. So that money was not all for this bill.

More groups named this bill than 82% of bills with any report.

Patty Murray, who sponsored the bill, received $307,200 from PACs for the 2026 election.

• Mortgage Bankers Association — $1,220,000 in 1 report
• Nature Conservancy — $900,000 in 1 report
• American Rivers Action Fund — $120,000 in 1 report
• Trout Unlimited — $120,000 in 1 report
• Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership — $50,000 in 1 report

Lobbying is legal. These reports show who lobbied about this bill, not what changed.

Words to know

• floodplain — Land next to a river or stream that floods when water rises.
• wetland — Land that is wet most of the time, like a marsh or swamp.
• restoration — Work to bring back natural habitats and the plants and animals that live there.
• FEMA Administrator — The leader of the federal agency that handles disaster and flood insurance.
• lobbying — Trying to influence lawmakers about a bill. Companies and groups pay people to do this.
• PACs — Groups that collect money and give it to candidates for office.