Bill Stripping FIO Subpoena Authority Included in Markup

The Insurance Data Protection Act, H.R.5535, is expected to be considered by the House Financial Services Committee Feb. 29 at a full committee markup meeting. These meetings are where committee members consider legislation, offer and debate amendments, and vote whether to advance bills to the full House of Representatives. While not officially scheduled yet, NAMIC anticipates the committee will also examine bills related to housing, national security, and digital assets.

Introduced in September 2023 by Reps. Scott Fitzgerald, R-Wis., Mike Flood, R-Neb., and Blaine Luetkemeyer, R-Mo., the bill would strip the Federal Insurance Office of its subpoena authority and prevent the office from being used as an enforcement agency or de facto regulator by this or any future administration seeking to collect data directly from an insurer.

The bill has taken on even greater importance as FIO moves forward with its climate data call, which was approved by the Office of Management and Budget in January but has not yet been issued. NAMIC has led vocal opposition to FIO’s unprecedented, duplicative climate data collection efforts and is supportive of the Insurance Data Protection Act. Advancing H.R. 5535 will send a message from industry allies in Congress that federal overreach on the state-based system of insurance regulation is being noticed, an important step in building a precedent for years to come as federal agencies continue to further attempt mission creep on the state-based model.

Once the bill moves out of committee, it will then be up for consideration by the full chamber as determined by House GOP leadership. The Insurance Data Protection Act is up to 22 co-sponsors in the House and 16 in the Senate as S.3349.