National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) Reauthorization

The document is a letter to the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs advocating for a robust reauthorization of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). The authors argue that reforms must be based on the latest science and lessons from catastrophic flooding to ensure the program's long-term viability. They highlight critical gaps in the House bill H.R. 3167, including the need for better management of repetitive loss properties, risk-based rate phasing, and affordability protections for low-income households. Additionally, the letter calls for the resolution of FEMA's $20.5 billion debt to the US Treasury and the implementation of a private insurance fee to support flood risk management functions.

• The NFIP is listed on the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) 2019 High Risk List because Congress has failed to enact reforms in six key areas: program debt, full-risk-rates, affordability, consumer participation, private-sector involvement, and flood mitigation.
• FEMA owes $20.5 billion to the US Treasury, resulting in annual interest payments of approximately $400 million since Hurricane Katrina, which diverts funds away from claims and mitigation.
• The authors argue that the 'Discretionary Acceptance Rule' allows private flood policies to bypass NFIP consumer protections, such as requirements for coverage to meet current codes after disasters and protections against excessive deductibles.
• The coalition's priorities for NFIP reform include increasing investment in pre-flood mitigation, enhancing nature-based infrastructure incentives, improving public disclosure of flood risk, and reauthorizing the National Flood Mapping Program.

APA

Union of Concerned Scientists (2019). National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) Reauthorization. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/attach/2019/07/Flood-Alliance-NFIP-letter-7-17-19.pdf

Chicago

Union of Concerned Scientists. National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) Reauthorization. 2019. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/attach/2019/07/Flood-Alliance-NFIP-letter-7-17-19.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Union of Concerned Scientists |title=National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) Reauthorization |date=17 July 2019 |url=https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/attach/2019/07/Flood-Alliance-NFIP-letter-7-17-19.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{unionofconcernedscientists2019national, author = {{Union of Concerned Scientists}}, title = {{National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) Reauthorization}}, publisher = {Union of Concerned Scientists}, year = {2019}, month = jul, url = {https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/attach/2019/07/Flood-Alliance-NFIP-letter-7-17-19.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }