Unlocking America’s Future to Hold Press Call Unveiling Report on Florida GOP’s Voting Record on Home Insurance, FEMA Funding, and Climate Action
FLORIDA – Unlocking America’s Future today released a new report detailing how Florida’s Republican House delegation has repeatedly voted against disaster preparedness funding and federal climate action — contributing to the worsening home insurance crisis facing Florida homeowners. The report, Florida Congressional Republicans Fail to Take Action on Worsening Home Insurance Crisis, documents a pattern of votes that have left Floridians more exposed to rising insurance costs, natural disasters, and an underfunded federal emergency response system. WATCH the full press call here.
Key findings include:
- Florida’s entire Republican House delegation voted for a March 2025 spending package that cut FEMA’s budget by $294 million and left the Disaster Relief Fund so depleted that FEMA was forced to defer expenses and rescind already-promised grants.
- A majority of Florida House Republicans voted against a September 2024 bill allocating $20 billion to FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund — just weeks before Hurricane Milton struck Florida and drove an 18% spike in home insurance premiums.
- Every Florida Republican voted for legislation to reverse the entirety of President Biden’s climate agenda, despite research showing climate change has made hurricanes significantly more intense and costly for Florida homeowners.
- Florida Republican House members have collectively accepted nearly $2 million in career contributions from the oil and gas industry, and four members have received donations directly from major property insurance interests.
“Florida has been the poster child for dysfunctional insurance markets and regulatory capture.
Policyholders are paying more and getting less. Coverage is degrading, claims denials are skyrocketing, while premiums are increasing. Florida consumers need to see their elected officials and regulators defending their interests rather than aligning with the insurance industry,” said Douglas Quinn, Executive Director of the American Policyholders Association.
“The Florida homeowners insurance market remains the most expensive in the nation and, worth noting, the most expensive auto insurance market as well. While the regulation of insurance is primarily a state responsibility, the federal government and members of Congress can either be helpful or not helpful in addressing the crisis. From our vantage point in D.C. too many policymakers in the federal government are both failing to take up the opportunity to assist homeowners and, in some instances, inflaming the crisis,” said Michael DeLong, Research and Policy Associate for the Consumer Federation of America.
“Make no mistake, Congress has a role to play in addressing the homeowners’ insurance affordability crisis. Florida’s Republican congressional delegation’s opposition to resilience and recovery funding before and after major hurricanes struck and overall inaction helped create a perfect storm of higher risks and higher costs for families. Every dollar invested in resilience and climate adaptation saves up to $13 in avoided damages,” said Jayson O’Neill, Unlocking America’s Future.
“There is a crisis facing Floridians right now. Housing prices are rising. Insurance costs are skyrocketing. And insurance companies continue to deny claims that threaten to make recovery from natural disasters financially impossible for thousands of Florida families. Meanwhile, Florida Congressional Republicans, like Maria Elvira Salazar, Anna Paulina Luna, Laurel Lee, and Cory Mills continue to do nothing, and are actively making this crisis worse,” said Nikki Fried, Chair of the Florida Democratic Party.
Read the full report here.
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