Elections, Legislation reviewed at Breakfast

Changes resulting from the November mid-term elections could have an impact on a number of Congressional committees, however any change may not derail legislation affecting the surplus lines industry, according to panelists at the Legislative Breakfast at the NAPSLO Annual Convention.

During the breakfast, Andrew L. Ehrlich, Senior Vice President of B&D Consulting, NAPSLO's lobbying firm, reviewed the major House and Senate races and the potential impact of change.

"Your issues are uniquely bipartisan," he said. "There are not many issues that are bipartisan in Washington, but surplus lines insurance is one, and that bodes well regardless of who controls which body."

In addition, Maria L. Berthoud, also a Senior Vice President of B&D Consulting, spoke about current legislative activity, including the Non-Admitted and Reinsurance Reform Act of 2006 (H.R. 5637). NAPSLO Executive Director Richard Bouhan updated attendees on the progress of the NAPSLO Political Action Committee.

The House of Representatives approved H.R. 5637 in late September and NAPSLO has been working hard to find a Senate sponsor for the bill.

"This is a bill that was really drafted by Dick Bouhan and members of the Legislative and Executive Committee a couple of years ago," she said. "By drafted I mean the concepts were drafted by NAPSLO and then we were able to take these concepts and turn them into an actual bill that was introduced this year in Congress."

The bill, introduced by Rep. Ginny Browne Waite (R-FL) and Rep. Dennis Moore (D-KS), would create uniformity in regulation and taxation of surplus lines.

"In my 15 years of lobbying, I have never seen, with the exception of TRIA, a bill taken from concept form, introduced and then go through the hearing process, the markups, report out of the Financial Services Committee, the Judiciary Committee and pass the House floor all in one year," she said. "I know that may seem to those in the business world a long time, but for Congress that is light speed."

With the bipartisan support for the bill, NAPSLO is hoping that any change as a result of the election will not derail the bill.

Ehrlich said that the main issues for voters include national security, immigration, energy security/gas prices, the economy, and political pressures.

He said national security was a topic that both parties wanted to debate as the Republicans had used the issue in the past. Because the war in Iraq has become unpopular among the majority of Americans, and many Democrats are discussing it.

Mr. Ehrlich said immigration was a important topic and one that members of Congress have commented how much they have heard about it from their constituents and the issue could play a big role in races near the border.

On the economy, he said reports show it is very good with low unemployment and interest rates, a decreasing deficit, and a rebounding stock market, however only 35% of voters were giving the President positive marks on the economy.

Republicans in Congress are not getting much more support, as polls asking who people plan to vote for in November showed more would vote for Democrats.

However, change in control of the House and the Senate depends on Democrats winning back 15 House seats and six Senate seats. In a review of the top 10 contested Senate seats, Ehrlich pointed out Rhode Island, New Jersey, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Tennessee, Missouri, Arizona, and Montana. Republicans currently hold eight of those 10 seats.

On the House side, there were 19 seats held by Republicans that were viewed as toss-ups and no Democratic seats viewed as toss-ups.

He said the main areas to watch in the days prior to the election were news headlines, the debate over security issues, negative campaigns, and voter turnout on election day.

"Of all of the things I've said today, this (turnout) is the most important," he said. "Voter turnout, I think, will determine who wins the Senate and House races. Conventional wisdom is that Republicans are not energized and you see that in the polling. That may change."