Democrats press FEMA on the future of US flood insurance

Two Democratic lawmakers are pressing the Trump administration about its management of the National Flood Insurance Program after cuts at the agency that runs it, the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

In a letter to FEMA’s Acting Administrator David Richardson that was shared with Bloomberg , Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Andy Kim of New Jersey said the agency’s shifting priorities and loss of staff could destabilize a program that 4.7 million Americans rely on.

“FEMA is failing to adequately manage NFIP,” the lawmakers wrote. They asked Richardson to explain how staff changes at the agency are affecting the insurance program.

The letter comes as the NFIP is also facing another major risk: the law authorizing its operation is set to expire Tuesday. That deadline coincides with the date Congress must reauthorize the entire federal budget.

FEMA and the Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the letter.

U.S. home insurance policies don’t cover flood damage, and the vast majority of Americans who hold separate flood coverage get it through the NFIP. Since its inception in 1968, the program has also mapped hazard zones and developed floodplain management standards to try to reduce flood dangers nationwide.

In their letter dated Friday, Kim and Warren said a weakened NFIP could translate into higher premiums and reduced coverage for homeowners as well as a dearth of reliable data for private insurers, who consult FEMA’s hazard modeling. Insurance costs have already been climbing for U.S. homeowners, and in some high-risk regions, insurers have dropped policies or pulled out altogether.

Since the beginning of Trump’s second term, FEMA’s staff has shrunk by more than 2,000. Trump has talked of eliminating the agency, saying that states and communities should take more responsibility for recovering from disasters. Last month, current and former FEMA staffers wrote a letter to Congress warning that cuts have left the agency unprepared to deal with a major catastrophe.

If the federal government shuts down Wednesday, NFIP’s authorization will lapse.

Should that happen, current policyholders would be able to get payouts but the program would stop issuing new policies and renewing them. That could impact home sales around the U.S., the National Association of Realtors said.