New report casts negative light on Rep. De La Cruz's congressional work on home insurance industry

MCALLEN, Texas - U.S. Rep. Monica De La Cruz has put the home insurance industry ahead of her constituents after taking nearly $50,000 in industry cash for her campaigns, according a new report that will be issued later today.

The report, prepared by an opposition research group, points out that the McAllen metro area that De La Cruz represents has the highest percentage of uninsured homes in the country.

The report also notes that the congresswoman is a former State Farm Insurance agent. It claims she has used her time in Congress "not to hold the industry accountable, as she once promised, but to side with home insurance companies over policyholders facing an unprecedented affordability crisis."

The report states: "Although she holds a leadership position on the House subcommittee responsible for overseeing and regulating the home insurance industry, Rep. De La Cruz has failed to hold the industry accountable. Her subcommittee has held only two hearings on the subject of home insurance affordability, which heard testimony mostly from representatives of industry associations. In neither case did the committee or De La Cruz exercise their authority to bring insurance company executives to testify on the record profits and compensation packages they've collected while homeowners suffer. Moreover, despite the widely-acknowledged need for reform of the National Flood Insurance Program, De La Cruz has been disengaged from all NFIP-related legislative efforts."

The report continues: "What oversight De La Cruz's committee has conducted has been supportive of industry priorities rather than cost reductions for policyholders. One hearing attempted to place the blame for rising costs on ESG principles, and in another additional hearing that was planned but canceled, the committee was even set to target a rule requiring replacement roof coverage on homes with federally-backed mortgages—the reversal of which is expected to leave homeowners with worse coverage and higher replacement costs."

The Rio Grande Guardian will post the report as soon as it is made available. It will also seek the reaction of Congresswoman De La Cruz.