Johnson Prepares To Reintroduce OFC Bill

The Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee will be getting another chance to give insurers a choice between state and federal regulation.

Sen. Tim Johnson, D-S.D., who is set to become the second-ranking Democrat on the committee in January, says he and Sen. John Sununu, R-N.H., will reintroduce the National Insurance Act, a bill that would create an optional federal charter both for life insurers and property-casualty insurers.

S. 2509, the OFC bill that Johnson and Sununu introduced this year, died in committee.

“The introduction of S. 2509 generated much discussion within the insurance industry, and I look forward to continuing that discussion with the insurance industry and my colleagues into the 110th Congress,” Johnson says in a statement about his plans for a new OFC bill.

Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., is preparing to take over from Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., as chairman of the Senate Banking Committee.

Dodd declined Wednesday to talk about OFC proposals or other items on his agenda, but he noted that he and Shelby worked together as Democrats both in the House and the Senate before Shelby became a Republican.

Dodd said he hopes members of the Banking Committee will try to craft legislation in a bipartisan fashion.

“I think the voters last week said they wanted not only a change in direction, but a change in tone,” Dodd said.

New Democratic appointees to the Banking Committee will include Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii; Senator-elect Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio; Senator-elect Bob Casey, D-Pa.; Senator-elect Jon Tester, D-Mont.; and Sen. Herb Kohl, D-Wis.