Americans worked until April 9^th last year just to pay for taxes and until May 17^th to pay for government spending.  The total costs of regulations are estimated by the Small Business Administration to be $1.75 trillion annually, and the national debt per taxpayer exceeds $127,000.  With Americans hurting due to high unemployment and facing the effects of trillion dollar deficits and the government takeover of health care, the last thing families need is to be forced to pay thousands of dollars in higher home owners insurance due to a reckless federal agency.  Yet, that is what is happening to many families. 

Many American families are now being hit with a $1,000 annual bill because of overzealous federal government maps.  Yes, the federal government is drafting maps that declare people as all of a sudden living in a flood zone, and this designation costs families $1,000 a year in new insurance charges.  If a family wishes to contest the bureaucrats’ determination, they will need to pay about $800 and submit a letter of map readjustment to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).  This anti-taxpayer routine is unfortunately typical of many federal government regulations; Americans are considered guilty until they can prove their innocence to bureaucrats.  This should not be the case in the United States of America.

The National Flood Insurance Program is necessary because, according to the National Association of Realtors, “Without the NFIP, more than 5.5 million home and business owners in 20,000 communities nationwide could not obtain a mortgage or flood insurance to protect their properties against flooding, the most common natural disaster in the U.S.”  The initiative is a much better alternative than taxpayers simply bailing out a region after a flood, but the program must be implemented correctly so families are not unjustly burdened with higher home insurance costs.

The current process clearly requires reform.  I introduced the Floodplain Maps Moratorium Act, H.R. 700, which enacts an immediate five year delay in the mandatory purchase requirements of insurance for homes newly considered to be in a flood zone.  My bill will require FEMA to notify homeowners of mandatory purchase requirements and Members of Congress of updated maps so they can properly advocate for their constituents.  Additionally, my legislation would implement a three year review period upon the issuance of new maps during which FEMA will work with affected communities to make necessary modifications to the maps.  By requiring collaboration with local families and communities, instead of a Washington-directed approach, the homeowners in actual flood areas will be able to purchase the appropriate insurance, and those families living outside of flood areas will avoid being forced to wrongly spend thousands of dollars in new insurance or go through an expensive appeals process.  We can do better for the American people, and the Floodplain Maps Moratorium Act is a necessary step to restrain Washington bureaucrats to protect hard-working taxpayers.

This editorial was published in the Battle Creek Enquirer on February 16, 2011.