Shelby Opening Statement on Oversight Review of the National Flood Insurance Program

WASHINGTON, DC – Tuesday, June 23, 2015 – U.S. Senator Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), Chairman of the United States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, today delivered opening remarks during a briefing by the Majority investigative staff of the Committee to discuss the findings of their oversight review of the National Flood Insurance Program.

 

The text of Chairman Shelby’s remarks, as prepared, is below.  

 

“Hurricane Sandy was the deadliest and most destructive Hurricane of the 2012 Atlantic hurricane season, and it ranks second only to Hurricane Katrina as the costliest hurricane in American history.  In particular, large stretches of the New York and New Jersey coastlines were inundated by the storm surge.

 

“As a result, more than 140,000 storm survivors filed claims on flood insurance offered through the National Flood Insurance Program, administered by FEMA.

 

“Unfortunately, serious concerns have been raised regarding how these policyholders have been treated.

 

“Specifically, many homeowners believe that they were underpaid on their flood claims or mistreated by FEMA’s appeals process.

 

“In an effort to understand whether reported problems may have been caused by structural flaws in FEMA’s flood insurance program, I tasked our investigative staff to conduct a thorough review of the program.

 

“Notably, however, the investigative team’s review does not include an examination of specific allegations of fraud, which are still in litigation.

 

“Their findings, based on extensive interviews and data analysis, are presented in a staff report, a copy of which Senators will find in front of them.

“I have invited the investigative staff here today to brief the Committee on their review, their conclusions, and their recommendations.”

 

To view the report, click here.

 

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