Wisconsin Insurance Commissioner Sean Dilweg has sent a letter to Congress expressing opposition to the Insurance Information Act of 2008 (H.R. 5840). In it, he says the bill grants the U.S. Treasury Secretary new powers to substitute his views of insurance regulation for the laws and policies of the states, and do so in an unaccountable manner.

“The bill has the undesirable effect of empowering the U.S. Treasury with a unique preemption mechanism that allows federal policy statements arrived at without open debate to be substituted for insurance regulatory standards,” writes Delwig. “This preemptive authority is not subject to oversight by Congress, does not include a meaningful say by state insurance policymakers, either executive or legislative, and is not subject to meaningful judicial review.”

Letter by Wisconsin Insurance Commissioner Dilweg to Congress (8/13/08, PDF file)

August 26, 2008