Warren, Kim Sound Alarm on FEMA's Failure to Manage National Flood Insurance Program During Hurricane Season as Americans Face Rising Housing and Insurance Costs

Warren, Kim Sound Alarm on FEMA's Failure to Manage National Flood Insurance Program During Hurricane Season as Americans Face Rising Housing and Insurance Costs

"By gutting these investments, the administration is not only jeopardizing lives, but driving up costs for families across the country."

Text of Letter (PDF)

Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ranking Member of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, and Andy Kim (D-NJ), Ranking Member of the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee's Subcommittee on Disaster Management, sent a letter to David Richardson, Acting Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, expressing deep concerns about FEMA's unpreparedness for hurricane season and the risk of driving up Americans' housing and insurance costs. FEMA manages the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), which was created to provide affordable primary flood insurance and reduce flood risk.

"Across the United States, hurricanes contribute to the deaths of thousands of people every year, costing billions of dollars, and these storms have become increasingly destructive and costly," the Senators wrote. "However, rather than prioritizing disaster preparedness, the Trump Administration has cut staff at FEMA and slashed funding for critical disaster mitigation programs. By gutting these investments, the administration is not only jeopardizing lives, but driving up costs for families across the country."

The Senators continued: "FEMA has lost approximately a third of its total full-time staff. Staff stated that FEMA's readiness for the hurricane season 'has been derailed this year due to other activities like staffing and (staff-cutting) contracts.' Staff also noted that the 'quality of people lost cannot be replaced right away.'"

The Senators continued: "Simultaneously, FEMA is failing to adequately manage the NFIP. One former FEMA official stated, '(w)ith all this talk about dismantling FEMA, the current administration doesn't seem to have a plan for the National Flood Insurance Program. No plan to protect people from flooding, the number one disaster, is a really big concern.'"

The Senators are seeking answers by October 13, 2025 on how FEMA plans to address the potential effects of natural disasters on homeowners' insurance costs.

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