[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 134 (Thursday, September 18, 2014)]
[Senate]
[Page S5796]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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SENATE RESOLUTION 561--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE THAT RECENTLY 
      PROPOSED MEASURES THAT WILL REDUCE TRANSPARENCY AND PUBLIC 
PARTICIPATION AT THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF INSURANCE SUPERVISORS 
 (IAIS) SHOULD BE DISAPPROVED BY UNITED STATES REPRESENTATIVES TO THE 
                                  IAIS

  Mr. HELLER (for himself and Mr. Tester) submitted the following 
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, 
and Urban Affairs:

                              S. Res. 561

       Whereas the International Association of Insurance 
     Supervisors (IAIS) establishes global insurance standards 
     that the United States and other countries are expected to 
     implement and are graded on their compliance with;
       Whereas heretofore, the procedures of the IAIS were 
     relatively transparent for observers;
       Whereas on August 4, 2014, the IAIS proposed eliminating 
     public observers from its meetings starting on January 1, 
     2015, significantly reducing the transparency of its 
     activities and only allowing certain parties to attend;
       Whereas representatives of United States consumer advocacy 
     organizations have just recently been admitted as observers;
       Whereas the IAIS proposed procedures would provide far less 
     transparency and participation than the procedure afforded to 
     interested stakeholders in the United States by the National 
     Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC);
       Whereas maximum transparency produces the best regulation 
     and the proposed procedures will reduce transparency; and
       Whereas United States State insurance regulators who 
     currently provide the largest portion of funding to the IAIS 
     have already publically expressed opposition to the proposed 
     reduction in IAIS transparency: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that--
       (1) the International Association of Insurance Supervisors' 
     (IAIS) proposed procedures will reduce transparency and 
     access to IAIS supervisory standard development by United 
     States stakeholders including those representing consumers;
       (2) the proposed procedures specifically authorize the 
     unfair and unequal treatment of interested parties by 
     allowing the IAIS to selectively admit certain parties and 
     exclude others at key meetings;
       (3) all representatives of the United States at the 
     International Association of Insurance Supervisors should 
     oppose these new procedures and instead advocate more 
     transparency and public inclusion by the IAIS;
       (4) should the IAIS adopt the proposed procedures or any 
     similar reductions in transparency, United States 
     representatives to the IAIS should make all appropriate 
     efforts to ensure that proper transparency is restored; and
       (5) all United States representatives to the IAIS should 
     work to ensure that their activities are transparent to 
     Congress and United States stakeholders, and that United 
     States representatives to the IAIS should regularly 
     communicate with United States stakeholders through timely 
     comprehensive reporting and in-person discussions.

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