Although it’s cold comfort to Florida residents dealing with the massive flooding that has resulted from Tropical Storm Fay, the slow moving storm could have done much worse. With higher wind speeds, Fay—which will probably make four landfalls in Florida—could have turned into a Katrina-sized $300 billion disaster.

This matters because major storms impact everyone—even those who live miles inland. A new report provides the best evidence yet, revealing that given one more hurricane season like that of Katrina and Rita, American taxpayers will be looking at billion dollar burdens if pending “natural catastrophe” legislation is enacted. The report’s authors—former Clinton appointee Robert Shapiro and American Enterprise Institute research fellow Aparna Mathur—have some mind-boggling figures about the national costs of a bad storm season: the bills could hit $19 billion for Californians, $11 billion for New Yorkers, and $6 billion for Pennsylvania residents. The study shows that proposed legislation to provide state reinsurance loans, create a federal “backstop” to cover state losses, or expand the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) to cover wind damage would probably impose massive new taxpayer liabilities without doing much to help the country.

That said, the problems are real and members of Congress from both parties have offered plenty of measures intended to make the country safer. Some make sense: Members ideologically as diverse as Banking Committee Chair Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-CT), Homeland Security Committee Chair Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS) and Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS) have proposed bills that would help homeowners make their properties more storm resistant. Other worthwhile ideas include preserving wetlands and barrier islands (nature’s buffers against hurricane-induced flooding), improving standards and reinforcing infrastructure, and eliminating subsidies for hurricane-prone development.

But bad ideas also abound. The House, for example, has passed legislation that would add wind coverage to the struggling National Flood Insurance Program. This would impose massive potential costs on the Treasury (NFIP already owes almost $18 billion), and would likely encourage even more unwise development. House-passed proposals to sell government-backed reinsurance to states, likewise, would make things even worse.

As Congress moves towards a conference on NFIP reforms, members need to keep not only costs in mind, but public safety, fairness, budgetary priorities and sound environmental stewardship as well. Government has a role in making the country more storm resistant but, the new cost figures should remind Congress that it shouldn’t mortgage the country to provide subsidies for coastal residents.