International Insurance Standards Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 4592 To preserve the State-based system of insurance regulation and provide great- er oversight of and transparency on international insurance standards setting processes, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OCTOBER 1, 2019 Mr. HECK (for himself and Mr. BUDD) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services A BILL To preserve the State-based system of insurance regulation and provide greater oversight of and transparency on international insurance standards setting processes, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘International Insur- 4 ance Standards Act of 2019’’. 5 SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS. 6 The Congress finds the following: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:52 Oct 07, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4592.IH H4592 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 4592 IH (1) The State-based system for insurance regu- 1 lation in the United States has served American con- 2 sumers well for more than 150 years and has fos- 3 tered an open and competitive marketplace with a 4 diversity of insurance products to the benefit of pol- 5 icyholders and consumers. 6 (2) Protecting policyholders by regulating to en- 7 sure an insurer’s ability to pay claims has been the 8 hallmark of the successful United States system and 9 should be the paramount objective of domestic pru- 10 dential regulation and emerging international stand- 11 ards. 12 (3) The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and 13 Consumer Protection Act (Public Law 111–203) re- 14 affirmed the State-based insurance regulatory sys- 15 tem. 16 SEC. 3. REQUIREMENT THAT INSURANCE STANDARDS RE- 17 FLECT UNITED STATES POLICY. 18 (a) REQUIREMENT.— 19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Parties representing the 20 Federal Government in any international regulatory, 21 standard-setting, or supervisory forum or in any ne- 22 gotiations of any international agreements relating 23 to the prudential aspects of insurance shall not 24 agree to, accede to, accept, or establish any proposed 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:52 Oct 07, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4592.IH H4592 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 4592 IH agreement or standard if such parties determine 1 that the United States system of insurance regula- 2 tion would not satisfy such proposals. 3 (2) INAPPLICABILITY.—Paragraph (1) shall not 4 apply to any forum or negotiations relating to a cov- 5 ered agreement (as such term is defined in section 6 313(r) of title 31, United States Code). 7 (b) FEDERAL INSURANCE OFFICE FUNCTIONS.— 8 Subparagraph (E) of section 313(c)(1) of title 31, United 9 States Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘Federal Govern- 10 ment’’ after ‘‘United States’’. 11 (c) NEGOTIATIONS; REGULATORY DIALOGUES.— 12 (1) NEGOTIATIONS.—Nothing in this section 13 shall be construed to prevent participation in nego- 14 tiations of any proposed agreement or standard. 15 (2) REGULATORY DIALOGUES.—Nothing in this 16 section shall apply to regulatory dialogues not in- 17 tended to create standards or result in an agreement 18 not creating standards relating to the prudential as- 19 pects of insurance. 20 SEC. 4. STATE INSURANCE REGULATOR INVOLVEMENT IN 21 INTERNATIONAL STANDARD SETTING. 22 In developing international insurance standards or 23 agreements pursuant to section 3, and throughout the ne- 24 gotiations of such standards or agreements, and in regu- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:52 Oct 07, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4592.IH H4592 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 4592 IH latory dialogues, parties representing the Federal Govern- 1 ment shall, on matters related to insurance, closely con- 2 sult, coordinate with, and seek to include in such meetings 3 State insurance commissioners or, at the option of the 4 State insurance commissioners, designees of the insurance 5 commissioners acting at their direction. 6 SEC. 5. CONSULTATION WITH CONGRESS. 7 (a) REQUIREMENT.—Parties representing the Fed- 8 eral Government with respect to any agreement under sec- 9 tion 3 shall provide written notice to and consult with the 10 Committee on Financial Services of the House of Rep- 11 resentatives and the Committee on Banking, Housing, and 12 Urban Affairs of the Senate, and any other relevant com- 13 mittees of jurisdiction— 14 (1) before initiating negotiations to enter into 15 the agreement, regarding— 16 (A) the intention of the United States to 17 participate in or enter into such negotiations; 18 and 19 (B) the nature and objectives of the nego- 20 tiations; and 21 (2) during negotiations to enter into the agree- 22 ment, regarding— 23 (A) the nature and objectives of the nego- 24 tiations; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:52 Oct 07, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4592.IH H4592 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 4592 IH (B) the implementation of the agreement, 1 including how it is consistent with and does not 2 materially differ from or otherwise affect Fed- 3 eral or State laws or regulations; 4 (C) the impact on the competitiveness of 5 United States insurers; and 6 (D) the impact on United States con- 7 sumers. 8 (b) CONSULTATION WITH FEDERAL ADVISORY COM- 9 MITTEE ON INSURANCE.—Before entering into an agree- 10 ment under section 3, the Secretary of the Treasury shall 11 seek to consult with the Federal Advisory Committee on 12 Insurance formed pursuant to section 313(h) of title 31, 13 United States Code. 14 SEC. 6. REPORT TO CONGRESS ON INTERNATIONAL INSUR- 15 ANCE AGREEMENTS. 16 Before entering into an agreement under section 3, 17 parties representing the Federal Government shall submit 18 to the appropriate congressional committees and leader- 19 ship a report that describes— 20 (1) the implementation of the agreement, in- 21 cluding how it is consistent with and does not mate- 22 rially differ from or otherwise affect Federal or 23 State laws or regulations; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:52 Oct 07, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4592.IH H4592 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 4592 IH (2) the impact on the competitiveness of United 1 States insurers; and 2 (3) the impact on United States consumers. 3 SEC. 7. INAPPLICABILITY TO TRADE AGREEMENTS. 4 This Act shall not apply to any forum or negotiations 5 related to a trade agreement. 6 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:52 Oct 07, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H4592.IH H4592 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS