Tom Reed Votes Against Flood Insurance Reauthorization

Press Release

Congressman Tom Reed voted against extending the National Flood Insurance Program today as a protest against the lack of resolution of Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) flood mapping issues in the Southern Tier.

"I want to be clear that I am supportive of the National Flood Insurance Program," Reed said. "We must ensure that Upstate New York has adequate protection against major flooding. However, I am very frustrated that this extension does nothing to address a fundamental problem in the new flood mapping process that determines the areas in which people are required to purchase flood insurance. That is why I voted against the extension. We need to force action on this levee issue."

"The maps don't accurately reflect the flood risks, or lack thereof," Reed explained. "The FEMA maps will force many Southern Tier residents to purchase mandatory flood insurance costing thousands of dollars a year when they have never had to do so before. This is despite the fact that they are protected by a sound levee system."

Reed hosted a January meeting in Elmira with local officials, New York State and FEMA to discuss the matter. There has been no movement yet by FEMA. "That is unacceptable and irresponsible," Reed declared, calling the process another example of how a one-size fits all approach from Washington has unintended negative consequences in the real world.

"I have walked the levees myself," Reed said. "They exist. They were built by the Army Corps of Engineers. For FEMA not to include the levees on flood maps is nonsense."

Approximately 100,000 miles of existing levees throughout the United States are impacted by the FEMA mapping issue. Reed is vowing to keep pressure on FEMA to resolve the mapping issue and recognize the existing levees.

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