Reps. Budd, Heck Issue Statements After Introducing International Insurance Standards Act

WASHINGTON, Sept. 27 -- Reps. Ted Budd, R-North Carolina, and Denny Heck, D-Washington, issued the following statements after introducing the International Insurance Standards Act:

"The U.S. state-based system of insurance regulation has long been the gold standard for protecting consumers. And with half of U.S. states representing roughly half of the top 50 insurance marketplaces in the world, acknowledging the equivalence of our regulatory system should be prioritized in any discussions for an international capital standard agreement.

"Our bipartisan legislation is timely for a number of reasons, but I'd like to highlight again a point I made in an op-ed from earlier this month. The European Insurance and Occupational Authority are already taking a victory lap in their recent annual report, presuming that the European system will be made the global standard instead of America's. Given that the European model, Solvency II, is completely different than the U.S. regulatory system that protects consumers and ensures a vibrant American insurance industry, that's quite a victory for our European friends.

"For that reason, we are introducing this bill now because it's vital that Members of Congress apply pressure to our representatives at this upcoming meeting and remind them to stand up and forcefully oppose any deal that excludes formal recognition of the U.S. regulation system.

"I'd like to thank Representative Denny Heck for his consistent leadership on this issue and am glad to be introducing this bipartisan legislation with him."

Rep. Heck said in a statement:

"The U.S. state-based system for insurance regulation has protected American consumers for more than 150 years.

"We need to continue to protect our state-based system, and ensure that when international agreements cover insurance, they also involve our primary insurance regulators, and that is the states.

"We must work to preserve America's proven insurance model and protect our industry from imprudent regulatory standards that could disrupt our marketplace. I thank my colleague Representative Ted Budd for joining with me in sponsoring this important bill."

This bill is similar to legislation from the 115th Congress (Duffy-Heck) that passed the House twice last year with near unanimous support.

You can view the text of the bill here (https://budd.house.gov/UploadedFiles/HECKWA_046_xml.pdf).