Ben Cline was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2018 to represent Virginia’s 6th Congressional District. Before he was elected to Congress, Rep. Cline was an attorney in private practice and a member of the Virginia House of Delegates for 16 years. He also served as Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney for Rockingham County and the City of Harrisonburg from 2007-2013.

Rep. Cline grew up in Rockbridge County, Virginia, and received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Bates College and his law degree from the University of Richmond.

Why He’s Important to Agents

Rep. Cline serves on the House Appropriations and Budget committees, which are responsible for federal funding. For PIA, Rep. Cline is a key ally in our effort to repeal the Federal Insurance Office (FIO). On July 30, 2021, Rep. Cline, along with Rep. Tom Tiffany (R-WI), introduced H.R. 4866, the Federal Insurance Office Abolishment Act of 2021. A Senate bill was introduced earlier in 2021 with PIA’s full support.

The Federal Insurance Office Abolishment Act will protect the successful state insurance regulatory system by repealing the FIO, an unnecessary federal bureaucracy created by the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank). PIA opposed the creation of the FIO from the outset and we firmly believe its very existence is a threat to the successful state insurance regulatory system.

Rep. Cline recognizes the importance of ensuring the FIO not supplant the regulation of insurance at the state level, and his leadership in putting forward a bill to repeal the office brings action in support of an issue when in the past there have often only been words.