About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

B-201394 1 (1981-04-23)

handle is hein.gao/gaobadjij0001 and id is 1 raw text is: DECISiON THE COMPTROLLER GENERAL OF THE UNITEO STATES WASHINGTON. D.C. 20548 FILE: B-201394 DATE:Aril 23, 1981 MATTER DIGEST: OF: Indemnification of agents and brokers under the National Flood Insurance-Act Indemnity clause obligating U.S. to reimburse agents under the National Flood Insurance Act for damages caused by acts or omissions of U.S. employees, where the agent did not contribute to the injury, is void under 31 U.S.C. S 665(a).and 41 U.S.C. § 11, since no appropriation is available for payments under the indemnity clause. In any event, the provision provides little protection to agents since it is unlikely that any judgment meeting those criteria would ever be entered. Any other indem- nity agreement which purported to broaden the United States' liability similarly would be void for lack of appropriated funds. However, the agency may request specific authorization from Congress to enter into in- demnity agreements, similar to that contained in the Federal Crop Insurance Act. -j The General Counsel of theCederal Eergency Management Agenc (FEMA) requests our opinion on FEMA's (authority to provide indemnifi- cation - under tb National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (Pub. L. No. 90-448, 82 Stat. 572, 42 U.S.C. § 4001 et seo.. For the reasons indicated below, we conclude that both the indemnity clause now in use and any expanded versions are unauthorized under 31 U.S.C. § 665(a) (1976) and 41 U.S.C. § 11 (1976). A national flood insurance program was authorized as part of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968. That Act establishes two al- ternate means of administering the program. Section 1331 of the Act, 42 U.S.C. § 4051, authorizes use of a pool of private insurance companies which would provide the insurance coverage. In the alterna- tive, section 1340, 42 U.S.C. S 4071, vests discretion in the Secre- tary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to assume administration A46-V of the insurance program. Until 1977, the program was operated by the National Flood Insurers Association (NFIA), in accordance with 42 U.S.C. § 4051. Ad- ministration of the program was assumed by HUD in 1977, and then was transferred to FEMA. (Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1978.) gOO7

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most