State lawmakers are asking U.S. senators why they are rushing to create a federal Office of Insurance Information.
The National Conference of Insurance Legislators, Troy, N.Y., has sent senators a letter urging them to slow down consideration of H.R. 5840, the Insurance Information Act of 2008.
Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., said during a hearing July 29 that the Senate could pass a package that includes parts of H.R. 5840 in a few weeks, before the Senate adjourns in September.
The list of NCOIL members who signed the letter includes Rep. Brian Kennedy, D-Hopkinton, R.I., NCOIL's president; Sen. James Seward, R-Otsego, N.Y., the group's president-elect; Rep. Robert Damron, D-Frankfort, Ky., the group's vice president; Rep. George Keiser, R-Bismarck, N.D., the group's secretary; and Sen. Carroll Leavell, R-Jal, N.M., the group's treasurer.
H.R. 5840 "has not been vetted in the Senate or debated by any previous Congress," the authors write.
