Congressman Pallone Leads Bipartisan Letter Urging Full Funding for FEMA’s Risk MAP Program

Washington, D.C.- Today, Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06) led a bipartisan letter with members of the New Jersey Congressional delegation to Chairman John Carter and Ranking Member Lucille Roybal-Allard of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security to voice their support for full funding of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Risk Mapping, Assessment, and Planning (Risk MAP) program. The Trump Administration’s proposal to eliminate funding for the program would weaken the crucial National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and increase the burden on New Jersey communities.

Representatives Josh Gottheimer (NJ-05), Leonard Lance (NJ-07), Frank LoBiondo (NJ-02), Tom MacArthur (NJ-03), Donald Norcross (NJ-01), Bill Pascrell (NJ-09), Donald M. Payne, Jr. (NJ-10), Albio Sires (NJ-08), Christopher H. Smith (NJ-04), and Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12) all signed the letter.

Ensuring accurate flood mapping for communities participating in NFIP is necessary to guarantee appropriate premiums and to improve resiliency.  Without sufficient funding, NFIP policy holders shoulder the burden, bearing much of the program’s cost.  Lack of adequate funding also prevents FEMA from using the most advanced technologies and methods to map communities.  This leads to many inaccurate flood maps, eroding trust in the program, and unnecessary costs and delays in accurate mapping.

Text of the letter can be found below:

June 12, 2017

The Honorable John Carter                                         The Honorable Lucille Roybal-Allard

Chairman                                                                     Ranking Member

House Appropriations Subcommittee                         House Appropriations Subcommittee

on Homeland Security                                                            on Homeland Security

Washington D.C. 20515                                             Washington D.C. 20515

Dear Chairman Carter and Ranking Member Roybal-Allard:

We write in support of full funding for the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Risk Mapping, Assessment, and Planning (Risk MAP) program. The President’s proposal to eliminate funding for this important program in his Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 budget would weaken the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and overburden New Jersey communities.

Ensuring that communities participating in NFIP have accurate flood maps, known as Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs), is important to ensuring appropriate premiums and improving resiliency. Currently, the program is not adequately funded, with much of the cost being borne by NFIP policyholders. This has prevented FEMA from using the most advanced technology and methods to map communities, and has contributed to many flood maps being inaccurate, eroding trust in the program, and resulting in unnecessary costs and delays in accurate mapping.

To highlight one important example, in October 2016, New York City successfully appealed its flood maps. The City had submitted its own technical analysis, arguing that FEMA’s mapping process, which had added 35,000 buildings to the highest flood-risk areas, was misguided. Now, FEMA has to reevaluate its mapping procedures for the entirety of Region II. Many New Jersey communities are now placing their own mapping processes on hold until FEMA completes its reevaluation. If the Risk MAP program was fully funded, and the best possible technologies and methods were used, it is possible that this situation could have been avoided.

Fully funding the Risk MAP program will both increase the accuracy of mapping and restore the public’s trust in NFIP. The President’s proposal to eliminate funding for the program is short-sighted, will further weaken the long-term viability of NFIP, and will undoubtedly cause premiums to continue to rise.

We urge continued funding for FEMA’s Risk MAP program, and thank you for your consideration of this request.

Sincerely,

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