A crucial issue for the assessment of earthquake hazard in the New Madrid Seismic Zone (NMSZ) of the central United States is whether the small motions inferred from geodetic measurements are actually the result of strain accumulation that will eventually be released in damaging earthquakes. The interpretation of these measurements has led to an ongoing debate over the associated seismic risk and hazard assessment in the NMSZ. The gist of the debate is whether or not models of high seismic hazard in this region are supported by the geodetic data and historic earthquake data.