Press Releases
Hearing to Focus on Impacts of FEMA’s Implementation of Flood Insurance Program on Local Land Use DecisionsThe Transportation and Infrastructure Committee will hold a hearing next week to examine the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) role and limited authorities under the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), their impact on local land use development decisions, and the national implications of FEMA’s implementation of the NFIP. The NFIP is intended to make flood insurance reasonably available to those who need it, while encouraging state and local government land use decisions that help reduce the risk of damage in flood prone communities and areas. Although FEMA’s position that it is not a land use regulatory agency is consistent with the NFIP, other federal agency decisions with respect to the Endangered Species Act are essentially compelling FEMA to regulate local land use decisions through its implementation of the NFIP. Next week’s Full Committee hearing, entitled, “An Examination of FEMA’s Limited Role in Local Land Use Development Decisions,” is scheduled to begin at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, September 21, 2016, in 2167 Rayburn House Office Building. Witness List: More information about the hearing, including testimony, additional background information, and link to live webcast will be posted here as it becomes available. |