Biggert-Waters: Why is the Affordability Study so important?

Some groups opposed to the idea of delaying and/or amending provisions of the Biggert-Waters Act of 2012 are advising Congress  that many of the properties receiving  subsidies are in affluent areas or areas posing significant flood risks.

For example, the Heartland Institute, founded in Chicago in 1984, a national non-profit research organization, has advised Congress in writing that...

“29 percent of the properties located where NFIP operates are in counties with the highest 10 percent of income, and 43 percent of subsidized properties are in counties in the top 10 percent of all home values. Extending subsidies to these homes for an additional year is simply not justifiable."

Additionally, the Heartland Institute also advised Congress in writing that...

"The universe of homes facing large hikes is very small and consists mostly of areas with extraordinary risk resulting in a total loss roughly once every ten years, properties for which mitigation or buyouts might be appropriate.” 

In short the proponents of Biggert-Waters are maintaining, without verified and public documentation that a large percentage of NFIP covered properties are in wealthy areas while only a small number of properties nationwide are faced with large premium increases.

I mention this only because just this past Wednesday, at the Senate Hearing on the implementation of Biggert-Waters, FEMA Administrator William Craig Fugate clearly indicated that both he and his agency (FEMA) did not have the current and verified data necessary to respond to questions regarding  the numbers of homes facing drastic rate increases or the per-capita income data of NFIP insured areas throughout the nation.

If Administrator Fugate and FEMA does not have the data, how is it that organizations such as the Heartland Institute or even the Taxpayers for Common Sense organization, which was represented at last Wednesday's hearing by Mr. Stephen Ellis are able to throw such numbers around?

The simple answer to that question is that at the present time, apparently nobody knows the correct data regarding these issues.  

FEMA must complete, verify and make public the "affordability study" mandated by the Biggert-Waters Act so that all of us can examine the data prior to any rate increases going into effect.

Unfortunately, according to Administrator Fugate, the affordability study which was due this past April, will not be competed until some time in 2015 yet the increases will go forward as planned.

This law is seriously flawed and must be delayed so that our legislators can go back and seriously review all of its provisions and the impacts they will have on hundreds of thousand of homeowners nationwide.

As Senator David Vitter (La.) said last Wednesday during the Senate Hearing, "This is a movie coming to a theater near you real soon and it does not have a happy ending!"

Please make it a point to attend the Stop FEMA Now rally in the Broad Channel American Legion Hall on September 28th at 12 noon to make your voice heard in this issue.

As Senator David Vitter (La.) said last Wednesday during the Senate Hearing, "This is a movie coming to a theater near you real soon and it does not have a happy ending!"