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[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2141 Introduced in House (IH)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2141

  To require consultation with Congress, insurers, and consumers with 
 respect to domestic insurance and international insurance standards, 
          regulations, or frameworks, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 30, 2015

Mr. Duffy (for himself, Mr. Neugebauer, Mr. Westmoreland, Mr. Garrett, 
and Mr. Huizenga of Michigan) introduced the following bill; which was 
            referred to the Committee on Financial Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
  To require consultation with Congress, insurers, and consumers with 
 respect to domestic insurance and international insurance standards, 
          regulations, or frameworks, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``International Insurance Standards 
Transparency and Policyholder Protection Act of 2015''.

SEC. 2. CONSULTATION CONCERNING NEGOTIATIONS WITH RESPECT TO 
              INTERNATIONAL INSURANCE REGULATORY FRAMEWORKS.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) The State-based system for insurance regulation in the 
        United States has served American consumers well for more than 
        150 years.
            (2) Protecting policyholders by guaranteeing an insurer's 
        ability to pay claims has been the hallmark of the successful 
        U.S. system and should be the paramount objective of domestic 
        prudential regulation and emerging international standards.
            (3) The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer 
        Protection Act (Public Law 111-203) reaffirmed the State-based 
        insurance regulatory system, while giving the Board of 
        Governors of the Federal Reserve System authority to regulate 
        certain non-bank entities on a consolidated basis, including 
        insurers that have been designated systemically important 
        financial institutions or that include an insured depository 
        institution and are regulated by the States at the insurance 
        entity level.
            (4) United States regulators participating in discussions 
        or negotiations regarding international insurance regulatory 
        frameworks should support standards designed solely for the 
        protection of policyholders.
            (5) The Federal Insurance Office should seek advice and 
        recommendations from a diverse group of outside experts in 
        performing the duties and authorities of the Office to ensure 
        policy holders are protected.
    (b) Negotiating Objectives for International Insurance Regulatory 
Frameworks.--The negotiating objectives of the United States regarding 
international insurance regulatory frameworks are as follows:
            (1) To seek standards, requirements, and rules focused 
        solely on protection of policy holders, as reflected in the 
        United States solvency regime.
            (2) To promote a principles-based approach to insurance 
        supervision, in which capital adequacy is assessed using risk-
        based capital requirements combined with qualitative risk 
        assessment and management tools on a legal entity basis, rather 
        than a quantitative global capital standard for insurance 
        groups.
            (3) To seek the most efficient and least disruptive 
        approaches to enhancing regulatory assessment of the capital 
        adequacy of insurance groups, including tools that are already 
        in place, such as supervisory colleges, as well as the 
        evaluation of the capitalization of an insurance group using 
        the existing internal model of the group, where appropriate, 
        which captures the risks associated with each unique line of 
        business and geographic mix of the group.
            (4) To negotiate an international insurance regulatory 
        framework that recognizes United States prudential measures as 
        equivalent to foreign measures.
    (c) Prohibitions and Focus on Policy Holder Protection.--With 
respect to negotiations related to any international insurance 
regulatory framework:
            (1) Inappropriate bank capital standards.--United States 
        representatives shall not agree to, accept, or establish, and 
        shall use their voice and vote to oppose, any international 
        standard that applies to--
                    (A) insurers, capital standards, and rules designed 
                for banks; or
                    (B) any insurer that has not been designated a 
                systemically important financial institution under 
                United States law or a global systemically important 
                insurer by the Financial Stability Oversight Council, 
                capital standards and rules designed for systemically 
                important bank or non-bank financial institutions.
            (2) Focus on policyholder protection.--
                    (A) In general.--United States representatives 
                shall not agree to, accept, or establish, and shall use 
                their voice and vote to oppose, any capital standard or 
                rule applicable to United States insurance entities or 
                groups unless that standard is designed solely to help 
                ensure that sufficient funds are available to pay 
                claims to an insurer's policyholders in the event of 
                the liquidation of that entity.
                    (B) Enhanced capital standards.--The limitation 
                under subparagraph (A) does not apply to enhanced 
                capital standards applicable to insurance entities or 
                groups designated under section 113 of the Dodd-Frank 
                Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (12 
                U.S.C. 5323).
    (d) Notice and Consultation.--
            (1) In general.--With respect to any international 
        insurance regulatory framework, the President shall--
                    (A) not less than 90 days before the United States 
                intends to participate in or enter into negotiations 
                with respect to such a regulatory framework, provide to 
                the covered congressional committees written notice of 
                the intention of the United States to participate in or 
                enter into such negotiations and an outline of the 
                objectives of such negotiations, including whether and 
                how such objectives achieve the objectives set forth in 
                subsection (b) and are consistent with the prohibitions 
                under subsection (c) and with existing Federal and 
                State laws or regulations or policy related to 
                prudential regulation of insurance;
                    (B) during the negotiations of such a regulatory 
                framework, including prior to significant decisions 
                points in the negotiations and prior to development of 
                interim drafts, and before agreeing to, accepting, or 
                establishing such framework, consult with the covered 
                congressional committees and the Federal Advisory 
                Committee on Insurance established under section 313(f) 
                of title 31, United States Code, including with respect 
                to whether and how such negotiations or any 
                international insurance regulatory framework achieves 
                the objectives set forth in subsection (b) and is 
                consistent with the prohibitions under subsection (c) 
                and with existing Federal and State laws or regulations 
                or policy related to prudential regulation of 
                insurance;
                    (C) in the course of negotiating such a regulatory 
                framework, provide members and appropriate staff of the 
                covered congressional committees access to pertinent 
                documents relating to the negotiations of such 
                framework;
                    (D) not less than 60 days before the date on which 
                the United States intends to agree to, accept, or 
                establish such a framework, the President shall--
                            (i) notify the covered congressional 
                        committees of the intention of the United 
                        States to agree to, accept, or establish such a 
                        framework by providing a description in enough 
                        detail for the covered congressional committees 
                        to comment;
                            (ii) notify the Federal Advisory Committee 
                        on Insurance of the intention of the United 
                        States to agree to, accept, or establish such 
                        framework by providing a description in enough 
                        detail for the members to comment; and
                            (iii) publish notice of such intention by 
                        providing a description in enough detail in the 
                        Federal Register to meet the requirements for 
                        public consultation under subsection (h); and
                    (E) not less than 15 days before the United States 
                agrees to, accepts, or establishes such a regulatory 
                framework, the President shall submit to the covered 
                congressional committees and the Federal Advisory 
                Committee on Insurance the final text of such framework 
                and a description of how the proposed framework 
                achieves the objectives set forth in subsection (b) and 
                is consistent with the prohibitions under subsection 
                (c), and how such proposed framework differs from 
                existing Federal and State laws or regulations or 
                policy related to prudential regulation of insurance.
            (2) Availability of information to members of congress.--
        The covered congressional committees shall make available to 
        all Members of Congress the information required to be provided 
        under paragraph (1)(A).
    (e) Coordination With the National Association of Insurance 
Commissioners.--In developing objectives pursuant to subsection 
(d)(1)(A) for an international insurance regulatory framework, and 
throughout the negotiations of such framework, the President shall 
closely consult and coordinate with the National Association of 
Insurance Commissioners.
    (f) Government Accountability Office Assessments.--
            (1) Notice and submission.--Not later than 60 days before 
        the date on which the United States intends to agree to, 
        accept, or establish an international insurance regulatory 
        framework, the President shall provide to the Comptroller 
        General of the United States a description of such framework in 
        enough detail to allow the Comptroller General to conduct the 
        assessment required under paragraph (2).
            (2) Assessment.--Not later than 60 days after the date on 
        which President provides the information described in paragraph 
        (1) with respect to an international insurance agreement, the 
        Comptroller General shall submit to the President and the 
        covered congressional committees an assessment of the economic 
        effects of such agreement on the United States insurance 
        industry, consumers of insurance, and the United States 
        economy.
    (g) Negotiations in Progress on Date of Enactment.--
            (1) Notice.--Not later than 15 days after the date of the 
        enactment of this Act, the President shall provide to the 
        covered congressional committees and the Federal Advisory 
        Committee on Insurance the written notice described in 
        subsection (d)(1) with respect to negotiations relating to an 
        international insurance regulatory framework that were in 
        progress on such date.
            (2) Government accountability assessment.--
                    (A) Notice and submission.--Not later than 60 days 
                after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 
                President shall provide to the Comptroller General of 
                the United States a description of each international 
                insurance regulatory framework for which negotiations 
                were in progress on such date in enough detail to allow 
                the Comptroller General to conduct the assessment 
                required under subparagraph (B).
                    (B) Assessment.--Not later than 60 days after the 
                date on which the President provides the information 
                described in subparagraph (A) with respect to an 
                international insurance regulatory framework, the 
                Comptroller General shall submit to the President and 
                the covered congressional committees an assessment of 
                the economic effects of such framework on the United 
                States insurance industry, consumers of insurance, and 
                the United States economy.
    (h) Public Consultation.--
            (1) Notice of negotiations.--Not later than 90 days before 
        the United States intends to participate in or enter into 
        negotiations to agree to, accept, or establish an international 
        insurance regulatory framework with an international standard-
        setting organization or a foreign government, authority, or 
        regulatory entity, the President shall publish in the Federal 
        Register and make available for public comment written notice 
        of the intention of the United States to participate in or 
        enter into such negotiations and an outline of the objectives 
        of such negotiations, including whether and how such objectives 
        achieve the objectives set forth in subsection (b) and are 
        consistent with the prohibitions under subsection (c) and with 
        existing Federal and State laws or regulations or policy 
        related to prudential regulation of insurance.
            (2) Description of framework.--Not later than 60 days 
        before the date on which the United States agrees to, accepts, 
        or establishes an international insurance regulatory framework 
        with an international standard-setting organization or a 
        foreign government, authority, or regulatory entity, the 
        President shall publish in the Federal Register a description 
        of the framework in enough detail to make such framework 
        available for public comment.
            (3) Framework agreement.--Not later than 15 days before 
        agreeing to, accepting, or establishing an international 
        insurance regulatory framework, publish in the Federal Register 
        the final text of the framework and a description of how the 
        framework achieves the objectives set forth in subsection (b) 
        and is consistent with the prohibitions under subsection and 
        how such proposed framework differs from existing Federal and 
        State laws or regulations or policy related to prudential 
        regulation of insurance.
    (i) Savings Provisions.--Nothing in this section shall--
            (1) preempt--
                    (A) any State insurance measure that governs any 
                insurer's rates, premiums, underwriting, or sales 
                practices;
                    (B) any State coverage requirements for insurance;
                    (C) the application of the antitrust laws of any 
                State to the business of insurance; or
                    (D) any State insurance measure governing the 
                capital or solvency of an insurer, except to the extent 
                that such State insurance measure results in less 
                favorable treatment of a non-United States insurer than 
                a United States insurer;
            (2) be construed to alter, amend, or limit any provision of 
        the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 (12 U.S.C. 5481 
        et seq.); or
            (3) affect the preemption of any State insurance measure 
        otherwise inconsistent with and preempted by Federal law.
    (j) Exclusion.--The requirements of this section shall not apply to 
any covered agreement, as such term is defined in section 313(r) of 
title 31, United States Code (as added by the amendment made by section 
502(a)(3) the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act 
(Public Law 111-203, 124 Stat. 1587)).
    (k) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Covered congressional committees.--The term ``covered 
        congressional committees'' means the Committee on Financial 
        Services of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 
        Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs of the Senate.
            (2) International insurance regulatory framework.--The term 
        ``international insurance regulatory framework'' means any 
        international supervisory standards developed by an 
        international standards setting organization in which the 
        United States participates, including the Common Framework for 
        the Supervision of Internationally Active Insurance Groups, 
        that provides for group-wide supervision of internationally 
        active insurance groups and includes an insurance capital 
        standard.
                                 <all>
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