Update from Congressman Gene Taylor

Dear Friends,
In last week's newsletter, I mentioned that a subcommittee was going to hold a hearing on my Multiple Peril Insurance legislation H.R. 1264) Wednesday, April 21, the Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity held a hearing on my legislation and other reforms of the National Flood Insurance Program.
This week, the House Financial Services Committee approved my bill to allow homeowners and business owners to buy flood and wind insurance in one policy from the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). On Tuesday, April 27, the full House Financial Services Committee voted in favor of the Multiple Peril Insurance Act by a vote of 40-25.
The Multiple Peril Insurance Act should soon come to a vote in the full House of Representatives. Below are a number of articles that provide much detail on the committees' activities.
In addition to the news articles, I am providing links to my written testimony and a video of my questioning FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate during the April 21 hearing. (The National Flood Insurance Program is part of FEMA.) I pointed out to Administrator Fugate that federal taxpayers paid more than $54 billion after Katrina on NFIP claims, housing assistance, FEMA trailers, homeowner grants, and subsidized disaster loans. The federal government stepped in to provide necessary relief for thousands of homeowners who thought that they had the hurricane insurance coverage they needed but instead were denied legitimate coverage by their insurance companies.
I asked Administrator Fugate if he was aware of any FEMA investigations of fraud committed by the insurance companies that contract with NFIP. Those private companies have a contract with the nation that requires them to conduct a fair adjustment of flood and wind claims. However, these private insurance companies have an inherent conflict of interest when FEMA allows them to decide whether to blame damage on flooding and bill it to the taxpayers or blame it on wind coverage in their own policies.
As many South Mississippi families are well aware, the Multiple Peril Insurance Act would eliminate the insurance companies' conflict of interest and close the gaps between wind and flood coverage by allowing homeowners to buy insurance that will cover hurricane damage without any delays or disputes over the cause of the damage. This program would save taxpayers billions of dollars by reducing the need for FEMA trailers, homeowner grants, and subsidized loans after future hurricanes.
Sincerely,