The Hill News

The recent Mississippi River flooding of communities and towns is a reminder that more than levees need reform and repair.  For a true 21st Century approach to flood safety, the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) also urgently needs a fix. It is imperative that Congress act immediately to reform the NFIP to better reflect the rising risks of flooding, shift more of this exposure from the public to the private sector, and explicitly seek to protect taxpayers nationwide.

The NFIP’s ability to provide flood insurance is in jeopardy â€" In fact, the program is in so much trouble that it cannot even cover its losses without borrowing from the U.S. Treasury and increasing the government’s debt burden. The NFIP’s growing $18 billion debt puts taxpayers across the country on the hook regardless of where they live. Moreover, experts warn that the NFIP’s rates and mapping fail to reflect the best available information and data regarding flood risk and might! even be inadvertently encouraging homeowners to put their families in harm’s way.

Fortunately, Congress has taken notice. Recently, the House Financial Services Committee on a bipartisan, unanimous basis approved reform legislation offered by Rep. Judy Biggert (R-Ill.), which would begin the process of fixing the NFIP. Though the legislation is a solid first step, its reinsurance provisions must be strengthened to restore soundness and fairness to this broken program. 

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