The federal government issues virtually all primary flood insurance for homeowners and businesses, and the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) owes nearly $25 billion to the U.S. Treasury and taxpayers for covering claims. Beyond this alarming debt, the NFIP cannot keep up with risk assessments and its subsidies actually promote development in flood zones, which worsens the devastation of natural disasters. Congress is now debating reforms to the NFIP. The best course of action is to phase out the deeply flawed program and enable private insurance to replace it.