The U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on Financial Services’ Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance held a hearing, “The Reauthorization of the National Flood Insurance Program: FEMA’s Perspective,” on April 28. The hearing, which featured David Maurstad, assistant administrator of FEMA’s Federal Insurance Directorate, covered recommendations submitted last year by FEMA to improve the affordability and sustainability of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), clear the program’s existing debt, and reauthorize the program for 10 more years.
The NFIP is a government-sponsored provider of flood insurance. Because of the threat of repeat flooding, many private insurance companies find it difficult to maintain policies regarding flood risk, which initially prompted the creation of the FEMA-run NFIP. In recent years, the program has suffered from significant debt, a lack of affordability provisions for households with low incomes, and confusion over flood mapping and mandatory requirements for purchasing.
Remarks by committee members focused on the affordability of the program. Assistant Administrator Maurstad pointed to FEMA’s proposal for linking affordability provisions to the ability of a household to pay, which the agency holds it is unable to do without a change in law. In addition, committee members touched on the relationship between flood insurance held by property owners and the renters who occupy a property, the importance of informing renters and homebuyers of a home’s flood risk, and how recent mapping changes have affected the premiums of flood insurance policy holders in their districts.
Notably, several members of the Subcommittee’s Democratic minority lambasted committee leadership for failing to hold hearings on housing affordability and the housing crisis. The hearing was the second hearing on NFIP already held this year.
Read Assistant Administrator Maurstad’s opening statement at: https://bit.ly/3AAdB95
Listen to the hearing at: https://bit.ly/41OsvV3