Transparent Insurance Standards Act of 2016

Floor Speech

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Mr. Speaker, I am proud to cosponsor H.R. 5143, the Transparent Insurance Standards Act of 2016, with my good friend and colleague from the State of Missouri, Representative Blaine Luetkemeyer.
Dodd-Frank reversed a nearly 150-year precedent of the U.S. insurance
industry being regulated primarily by the States. From property- casualty, life, reinsurance, health, and even auto, the Obama administration and Dodd-Frank created a more invasive role for the Federal Government to intervene in this industry.
Where this has become apparent is during the negotiations of international agreements regarding insurance standards, where our foreign counterparts, particularly in the European Union, are trying to force us to adopt their standard and forgo our State-based insurance regime.
Most concerning is that many of these meetings take place behind closed doors with little accountability or transparency while our Federal Government says they are negotiating on behalf of our best interests.
H.R. 5143 would enhance congressional oversight into these deliberations by establishing requirements to be met before the Federal Government can agree to the adoption of any final international insurance standards or covered agreements. Setting these procedures in place ensures that Missouri policyholders and customers will be protected from premium increases by having to adopt international standards that don't apply or make sense here in the United States.
Americans are sick and tired of the Federal Government making choices on their behalf without proper input and oversight. Congress needs to be more involved in these negotiations that could have substantial impacts on policyholders across the country.
I have two letters of support from companies in Missouri that represent over 40,000 customers and employees in the State. The companies state that this bill will help prevent costs from being driven up in Missouri, and I would like to include these letters in the Record.

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Mr. Speaker, I simply ask my colleagues to support this commonsense piece of legislation that instills transparency and accountability for our government when negotiating with their foreign counterparts.

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