Edward Conner's testimony before The United States House of Representatives Committee on Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity June 12, 2007 is available at the link below.  He is the Deputy Assistant Administrator, Mitigation Directorate, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security.   His summary of his testimony is as follows:

This morning I would like to provide a context for how the NFIP has moved forward since the devastating hurricane season of 2005. My testimony will address (a) the NFIP’s financial status; (b) how the Bunning-Bereuter-Blumenauer Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2004 (Reform Act) has enabled the NFIP to operate more effectively; and (c) opportunities to fundamentally strengthen the NFIP’s financial underpinnings.

http://www.house.gov/apps/list/hearing/financialsvcs_dem/htconnor061207.pdf

KLS

This was a newspaper article in Houston about 2 weeks ago. A cattle ranch of 1,000 acres on Galvestons West Beach is being considered by a large Chicago group to build  4,000 single family home, five multi story condos, two multi strory hotels, a golf course, club house and MARINA.  This on land that is less than five miles wide from the gulf to the bay and about 7 feet above the sea level. Do you all think it would be built if the NFIP said. Nope we are not going to insure one stick of lumber ?

The NFIP has made great progress in the mitigation of flood loss in existing communities all across the country.  Many of the destroyed structures in New Orleans and along the Gulf Coast are now being rebuilt  at elevations at or exceeding the new base flood elevations recommended after the 2005 season.  Although many of these structures would still flood if a Katrina type event would reoccur, they would not be total losses and could be rebuilt (again) at a lower cost to the flood program.

With regards to the development on Galveston island, people want to live near water and that will never change.  I would like to see the NFIP behave more like an insurance concern and not a goverment "program" (i.e. a "National Flood Insurance Company" rather than a National Flood Insurance Program" and underwrite each structure on its own merit.  If you want to build on the beach in a "V" zone (and can afford it) you should pay more than a person living in Arizona in a "C" zone who has very little risk of flooding but happens to live in a subdivision built in a flood wash area. 

I would also like to see them cover basements like they did years ago.  Many folks in the northeast have finished basements because houses are small and expensive and the additional finished square footage is needed.  And again, underwrite finished basements (and their contents) and charge additional premium to those policyholders who want the coverage.

The NFIP isn't perfect but it does assist thousands of flood victims every year.  It's easy for the nay-sayers to Monday morning quarterback decisions that were made and implemented when the population of an entire region of our country were in desperate need of financial assistance.  A few months ago I saw a news story where the defense department sent a C-140 cargo plane to Iraq with millions of dollars of cash on board.  The money was given out to who knows who and now is gone and no one accounted for it.  IMHO, I would rather see tax dollars in the hands of our citizens when they need it the most.

Just my two cents....thanks for reading.