House Committee Wants Audit of FEMA Flood Insurance

A House committee is calling for an audit of whether FEMA is effective at preventing its flood insurance program from paying out multiple claims on homes that flood often.

The bill asks for the Government Accountability Office to investigate the efficacy of the agency’s buyout program, which provides subsidies to state and local governments to help them purchase properties that have suffered flood damage multiple times.

The buyouts are a way to limit the costs to the National Flood Insurance Program, which is run by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Bailing Out

Natural disasters, including Hurricanes Katrina, ...