Summary#
This bill would abolish the Federal Insurance Office (FIO) inside the U.S. Department of the Treasury and eliminate the Director position for that office. It also removes or replaces references to the FIO in several existing federal laws and shifts some named roles to the Secretary of the Treasury or the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. The bill says it does not reduce any authority the Secretary of the Treasury has over insurance matters.
- Main change: Strikes the statutory section that creates the Federal Insurance Office and ends the Director role.
- Legal edits: Removes or replaces references to the FIO in parts of the Dodd‑Frank Act and a provision of the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act.
- Reassignments in text: Some functions or approvals that previously involved the FIO are changed to involve the Secretary of the Treasury or the Board of Governors instead, or the FIO is removed from lists of participating agencies.
- Preservation clause: The bill says it should not be read to repeal or limit the Secretary of the Treasury’s authority on insurance.
What it means for you#
- FIO staff and Director: The Federal Insurance Office and the Director position would be abolished. Staff would likely be reassigned, separated, or otherwise affected by the office closure, though the bill does not detail personnel actions.
- Department of the Treasury: The Department would no longer host a separate Federal Insurance Office. Some insurance-related duties may be shifted to the Secretary’s office or handled differently, but the bill does not spell out specific transfers.
- Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve: The bill changes several statutory references so the Board may take on or lead actions where the FIO had been named or consulted.
- Federal agencies and interagency processes: Laws that list the FIO among member agencies or participants would be altered so the FIO is removed or replaced. This may change which offices are formally consulted in certain federal financial and insurance-related processes.
- State insurance regulators and insurance industry: The bill removes a federal office that previously had a specific, named federal role on insurance matters. This could change how federal coordination with states or international engagements occur. The bill itself does not specify new procedures for those interactions.
- General public and policy users: The bill mostly affects government structure. There is no direct change in taxes, benefits, or individual legal rights stated in the bill text.
Expenses#
No publicly available information.
- The bill text does not include a fiscal note or budget estimate.
- Likely budget effects could include costs to close an office (severance, record transfer, administrative actions) and possible savings from eliminating staff payroll, but the bill gives no numbers or schedules.
- There may be administrative costs to update statutes, interagency agreements, and ongoing programs that referenced the FIO. The bill does not explain how ongoing FIO work or contracts would be transferred or ended.
Proponents' View#
(The bill text does not include statements of purpose beyond the title. The following are possible arguments that supporters might make, inferred from the bill’s actions.)
- The bill appears intended to remove a standalone Federal Insurance Office and fold or leave its roles to other federal authorities, which supporters may say reduces duplication in federal financial oversight.
- Supporters may argue this simplifies the government structure by having the Secretary of the Treasury or the Board of Governors handle matters formerly named to the FIO.
- Abolishing the office could be presented as a way to reduce federal administrative overhead or consolidate decision-making on insurance matters.
If you need direct statements from the bill sponsors or supporters, that information is not included in the provided text.
Opponents' View#
(These are possible concerns based on the bill text and the changes it makes.)
- One concern is that abolishing the FIO removes a specialized office focused on insurance policy, oversight coordination, and reporting. The bill does not clearly say how the FIO’s specific duties will be reassigned.
- The bill does not detail what will happen to ongoing work, data collections, contracts, or international engagements handled by the FIO, which may cause gaps or delays.
- Shifting roles to the Secretary or the Board of Governors could reduce the explicit federal insurance voice in multi-agency processes, depending on how duties are actually carried out.
- There may be short-term costs and administrative burdens to close the office and update statutes, interagency arrangements, and program authority; the bill provides no cost estimates or transition plan.
- It is unclear whether state insurance regulators and industry stakeholders will have the same point of contact and coordination mechanisms after the FIO is abolished.
What is unclear: The bill removes the FIO and edits statutes that named it, but it does not list the specific functions that will be transferred, the timeline for abolishment, or how staff, records, and contracts will be handled. No fiscal estimate or sponsor statements are included in the bill text provided.