118TH CONGRESS BEGINS WITH HOUSE LEADERSHIP CHANGES

THE 118TH CONGRESS BEGAN JANUARY 3RD, 2023, bringing divided leadership to Washington, D.C. The Republican party is now in control of the U.S. House of Representatives, which is made up of 222 Republicans and 212 Democrats (and one vacancy). The U.S. Senate will continue to be led by the Democratic party, which has 48 Senate seats. The Republicans have 49, but the Senate includes three independents who all caucus with the Democrats, which is how the Democrats have retained their majority with an effective split of 51-49.

After 15 attempts, and taking up most of the week the House of Representatives finally elected Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) as Speaker. The Democrats also elected as their new leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY). Senate leadership will remain the same, with Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) serving as majority leader and Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) as minority leader.

In addition, many of the committees important to independent agents have changed leadership. 2023 is a busy year for crop insurance as the Farm Bill is up for reauthorization, and the Agriculture Committee will now be Chaired by Rep. GT Thompson (R-PA), with the former Democratic Chair David Scott (D-GA) moving to Ranking Member. The Senate Agriculture Committee will continue to be led by Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) with Sen. John Boozman (R-AR) continuing as the top Republican. The House Financial Services Committee is chaired by Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC), with Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) moving from chair to the top Democrat on the panel. On the Senate side, the Senate Banking Committee will continue to be led by Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), with a new ranking member for the Republicans, Senator Tim Scott (R-SC).

Rep. Jason Smith, who has championed legislation in previous Congresses to make permanent the 20 percent tax deduction for qualifying passthrough entities, will serve as chairman of the tax committee, the Committee on Ways and Means. Rep. Richard Neal will continue as the top Democrat on the Ways and Means panel. The Senate Finance Committee will continue to be led by Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) as chair and Sen. Mike Crapo (R-ID) as ranking republican.

A new Congress means that all legislation introduced in the last Congressional session but not passed and signed into law is now effectively erased. PIA has already started working with congressional allies to begin reintroducing bills important to independent insurance agents.

PIA will continue to advocate for policies that help independent insurance agents protect consumers: reauthorizing the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP); supporting the repeal of the Federal Insurance Office (FIO), in favor of continued tax relief for small business owners, and working with Congress on reauthorizing the Farm Bill, particularly with regard to crop insurance.

Capitol Fully Reopens

For months, PIA has been supporting efforts to convince House and Senate leadership to reopen the Capitol office buildings to the public, and we are pleased that, beginning with the new 118th Congress, Capitol Hill office buildings have reopened to the public.

Since the pandemic began two years ago, access to the Capitol complex has been limited. While it has been possible, at times, for very small groups to meet in Congressional offices, health and security concerns over the last couple of years have led to ongoing restrictions. For instance, for the past couple of years, members of the public have needed an appointment to enter the Capitol complex and their representatives’ congressional offices, and, even with an appointment, security personnel were only authorized to check visitors in at select entrances.

Additionally, visitors were required to wait outside the House or Senate building where their appointment was until the visiting group was met by a congressional staff member, who escorted each individual or group into the building and all the way to their meeting space.

Upon their departure, visitors similarly required escorts to accompany them from the meeting location to the outside of the building. In most cases, visitors were prohibited from venturing beyond the location of their pre-planned meeting within the Capitol complex without a staff escort.

This process made visiting congressional offices extremely burdensome. Thankfully, beginning with the start of the 118th Congress earlier this month, these restrictions have finally been lifted.

PIA looks forward to welcoming independent insurance agents to a fully “open” Capitol Hill throughout the year, particularly during our 2023 Advocacy Day visits on May 9 and 10.