Photo by Sveta K on Pexels.com Last week, the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs held a hearing examining the value of disaster mitigation as a means of strengthening the American insurance markets. Witnesses included representatives of the American Property Casualty Insurance Association (APCIA); the Center for Industrial Progress, and the Insurance Institute …
Continue reading Senate Banking Hearing Homes in on Disaster Mitigation
Photo by Beate Vogl on Pexels.com In April, PIA sent a letter to Representatives Brett Guthrie (R-KY) and John Joyce (R-PA), the chairman and vice-chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, in response to their Request for Information (RFI) to explore the development of a federal data privacy and security framework. Earlier this year, the two established …
Continue reading PIA to Congress: Let States Regulate Insurance Data Privacy
On April 3, PIA sent a letter to Congressional leaders urging them to require the Risk Management Agency (RMA) to reinstate the annual administrative and operating (A&O) inflation adjustment for crop insurance agents in the ongoing budget reconciliation process. For several years, the RMA would provide annual adjustments to crop insurance agent compensation to account …
Continue reading PIA Urges Congress to Reinstate Inflation Adjustment for Crop Agents
Last month, Louisiana Sens. Bill Cassidy (R) and John Kennedy (R) introduced S. 1015, a bill to extend the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) until December 31, 2026. PIA strongly supports this legislation, which would provide much needed certainty to the NFIP while Congress works towards a long-term reauthorization. In 2017, more than seven years …
Continue reading Bill to Extend NFIP Through 2026 Introduced in Senate
As the sponsor of the Federal Insurance Office Elimination Act, Congressman Troy Downing is at the forefront of efforts to reshape federal oversight of the insurance industry. Formerly Montana’s State Auditor, Rep. Downing oversaw the state’s insurance industry and brings firsthand regulatory experience to Capitol Hill. Now serving in Congress, he sits on the House …
Continue reading A Conversation with Congressman Troy Downing (R-MT)
On March 14, the federal government avoided a shutdown following the Senate’s passage of a continuing resolution (CR) to fund the federal government for the remainder of the fiscal year. Included in the CR was an extension of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) until September 30. This latest extension marks the 33rd short-term extension of …
Without Congressional action, the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) will expire after March 14. With the deadline quickly approaching, your legislators need to hear from you, the members of the independent agent community, that the NFIP urgently needs to be reauthorized. The history of NFIP extensions has been messy. In 2017, the NFIP’s last five-year …
Earlier this week, PIA, along with a coalition of fellow crop insurance stakeholders, sent Congressional leaders a letter urging them to protect crop insurance from funding cuts in Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26) budget and appropriations process. Despite the critical role crop insurance plays in protecting farmers from natural and economic disasters, and its value in …
Continue reading PIA Urges Congress to Protect Crop Insurance in Budget and Appropriations Process
The PIA Government Relations staff has reviewed PIA’s past policy positions and Congress’s current priorities, and, in consultation with PIA members across the country, we have developed our 2025 Policy Priorities. While the items below are our top priorities for this year, PIA is always working to promote the interests of our independent agent members, …
On January 23, two bills backed by PIA were reintroduced in the 119th Congress. The Main Street Tax Certainty Act (H.R. 703/ S.1149), sponsored by Rep. Lloyd Smucker (R-PA) and Senator Steve Daines (R-MT), would make permanent the 20% tax deduction available to some S Corporations, known as passthroughs. Without Congressional action, this important tax …
Continue reading Two PIA-Supported Bills Reintroduced in 119th Congress
