Shenandoah Valley News

WASHINGTON, D.C. –  On April 27, Congressman Ben Cline (R-VA) reintroduced the Federal Insurance Office Elimination Act. This legislation will restore the oversight duties of the state insurance regulators by eliminating the Federal Insurance Office (FIO), an unnecessary federal agency created by the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.

Continuing the FIO’s ever-expanding reach, the Biden Administration issued a 2021 Executive Order that instructs the FIO to assess climate-related factors in its oversight of insurance companies, examine the potential effects of climate change on financial institutions, and determine whether climate change could affect insurers’ financial stability.

Congressman Cline was joined by Congressmen Alex Mooney (R-WV), Ralph Norman (R-SC), Andy Biggs (R-AZ), Randy Weber (R-TX), and Glenn Grothman (R-WI) as original cosponsors. This bill is endorsed by the National Association of Professional Insurance Agents (PIA).

“The Federal Insurance Office’s (FIO) burdensome regulations and oppressive federal oversight of each state’s insurance market are glaring examples of the federal government’s excessive overreach,”said Cline.“Worse, the Biden Administration has weaponized the FIO to implement its woke Green New Deal agenda in the regulation of insurance. State laws protecting the availability of insurance for millions of Americans should be defended, not used as a political football. Defunding the ever-expanding agency is a good step towards draining the D.C. swamp and returning oversight back to the states.”

“In 2010, advocates of federal insurance regulation succeeded in getting the Federal Insurance Office (FIO) established as part of the 2010 Dodd-Frank law–but PIA has never given up on repealing it,”said Jon Gentile, vice president of government relations for the National Association of Professional Insurance Agents (PIA).“Many of the FIO’s duties are examples of federal overreach in the context of our system of state insurance regulation. In addition, the FIO has consistently sought new ways to expand its mandate beyond the intent of Congress, which put specific limits on its authority. As long as the office continues to exist, it will remain a very real threat to the successful state-based system of insurance regulation. To do nothing and allow this office to accrue more power over time is tantamount to endorsing an increased federal role in the regulation of insurance. PIA draws a line in the sand on this issue and will not back down from this effort.”

Read the full text of the bill Federal Insurance Office Elimination Act and an article from Daily Callerhere.

Congressman Ben Cline represents the Sixth Congressional District of Virginia. He previously was an attorney in private practice and served both as an assistant prosecutor and Member of the Virginia House of Delegates. Cline and his wife, Elizabeth, live in Botetourt County with their two children.

Original source can be found here