The main problem with insurance regulation is many states are not following federal regulations, which creates hurdles for consumers and prevents regulators from forming a cohesive, national system, said the American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI). A panel of witnesses testified before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs about a proposed optional federal charter (OFC) that would improve the situation.

Unified national insurance regulation and oversight are disrupted by the unwillingness of states to adapt federal policies, said John Pearson, CEO of Baltimore Life Insurance Company, who spoke on behalf of ACLI. For instance, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners supported a 1998 law that would require insurance companies to deliver buyer’s guides to consumers, but only 16 states have adopted this rule in the last ten years, Pearson said.

The United States needs to update its regulatory structure because companies like Zurich Financial Services Group, the third largest writer of commercial property and casualty insurance in the U.S., are impeded by the current system, said Alessandro Iuppa, Senior Vice President of Government and Industry Affairs for Zurich North America. The problem is when U.S. regulators meet with other countries to set standards, the U.S. representatives are unable to take the standards home and make states adopt them. This is a big problem because the international market requires the U.S. to adapt these standards quickly, Iuppa said.

Chairman Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) said three principles are at stake: Strong consumer protection, regulation structure must be implemented, but also promote competition among companies, and regulation must be efficient. Iuppa said consumers have trouble moving from state to state because they have to apply for new insurance when they move. With the OFC, consumers would be able to choose if they wanted the state or federal system, Iuppa said.

Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) responds to the news of Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska.) has been indicted by a federal grand jury for making false statements after a federal probe into ties between an energy company and lawmakers in his home state. (0:11)

 

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Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.) talks at the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions’ hearing on child obesity and says that the reasons are clear as to why childhood obesity is growing into an epidemic. Dodd explains that the lack of a nutritious diet, an increase in TV watching, and a decrease in physical activity has caused childhood obesity to become a problem that “affects us all.” (1:31)

 

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The Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee held a full committee hearing on the Federal Reserve’s semiannual monetary policy report to Congress. Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) presided over the hearing and said that in considering the state of the U.S. economy, it is important to distinguish between fear and facts. Dodd explained that in the country’s markets today, in particular during the turmoil of recent days, far too many actions are being driven by fear, and are ignoring crucial facts. This neglect of the facts, Dodd said, has caused Americans to experience unprecedented hardship and uncertainties, and now more than ever, they need to know when things will start to turn around and when the country will get back on track. (more…)

The Senate passed the update to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act that grants immunity to telecom companies from lawsuits with a 69-28 vote.

Before the vote, Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) said, in his opening statement, that 40 lawsuits are being litigated. Retroactive immunity should be given to phone companies, Specter said. There is a way to protect the phone companies without giving up the details of their programs, Specter said. (more…)

At a Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Children and Families Subcommittee hearing on the renewal of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA), Senator Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) says that domestic violence is involved in half of child abuse cases. He adds that the youngest children are the most abused.(0:54)

 

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The Senate Health. Education, Labor, and Pensions Children and Families Subcommittee held a hearing on the reauthorization of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA). Senator Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), Chairman of the Subcommittee, said that the Act provides grants to programs to prevent and treat child abuse, among many other things. He said that rates of physical abuse of children in the past few years have gone down, while rates of neglect have remained high. He added that half of child abuses cases involve domestic violence and that the very youngest children are the most abused and neglected. (more…)

Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) speaks to reporters on possible amendments to the FISA Bill currently before the Senate. Dodd supports measures to strike the FISA retroactive immunity and is planning to add his own amendment to the bill to do just that. (1:08)

 

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The Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee held a full committee hearing on the condition of the nation’s infrastructure with four mayors from around the country. The chairman of the Committee, Senator Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), said that a local perspective is necessary to determine how to invest in infrastructure. Dodd said that the current methods of investment are as obsolete as the investments themselves. (more…)

Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid (D-NV), Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Chairman, Chris Dodd, and Jared Bernstein of the Economic Policy Institute held a press conference today discussing the housing issue that has been the most discussed issue the past couple of weeks.

All three urged the White House and the Republicans to stop postponing the resolution of the conflict and act now. As each day passes the problem is becoming bigger. Senator Reid also mentioned that the White House should know what is to be done now and not in the future.

 

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