Sen. Tim Johnson, D-S.D., would likely become chairman of the Senate Banking Committee next year if Barack Obama is elected president, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., says.
Such an appointment would bode well for insurance industry supporters of an optional federal charter, because Sen. Johnson is a primary sponsor of such legislation in the Senate.
Sen. Johnson and Sen. John Sununu, R., N.H., are primary sponsors of S. 40, "The National Insurance Act of 2007," a bill that would give insurers the option of choosing between a state charter and a federal charter.
Sen. Johnson is running for reelection despite suffering a near-fatal brain hemorrhage in December 2006, just after the Democrats regained control of Congress. He did not return to the Senate for almost a year and still has difficulty speaking.
Steve Jarding, manager of Sen. Johnson's reelection campaign, today confirmed from South Dakota what Sen. Reid told reporters.