U.S. Rep. Sean Duffy (R-WI), chairman of the U.S. House Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance, successfully shepherded two pieces of proposed legislation that he introduced through the full chamber.
Both bipartisan bills, the Housing Choice Voucher Mobility Demonstration Act of 2018, H.R. 5793, and the International Insurance Standards Act of 2018, H.R. 4537, passed the House on July 10 and were referred a day later to the U.S. Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee for consideration.
“This isn’t earth-shattering. Earthquakes and lightning aren’t happening, but this is a small demonstration project that can modify a program that can have a true impact on people’s lives,” Rep. Duffy said on the House floor in support of H.R. 5793, prior to passage by the U.S. House in a 368-19 vote.
H.R. 5793 would authorize the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to carry out a housing choice voucher mobility demonstration project to encourage families receiving such voucher assistance to move to lower-poverty areas and expand access to opportunity areas, according to text of the bill in the congressional record.
“How much we spend to help people is relevant, but how much we spend on federal government programs is not the end all be all,” Rep. Duffy said. “It is the actual success of the program and the money that we spend on leading people out of poverty and dependency into self-sufficiency and opportunities.”
The congressman said members of Congress must give needy American families “the opportunity to pick themselves up so they can find a better job, live in a safe environment, and so they can better provide for their children.”
H.R. 5793 would move federal policy toward those goals, he said, by authorizing HUD to implement a plan that would regionalize various public housing authorities in one area to allow for portability and movement to higher opportunity areas.
“We know that low-income children whose families moved to lower poverty areas have higher earnings as adults,” Rep. Duffy said. “We must eliminate the cycle for poverty that keeps generations of families living within the same areas with limited amount of opportunity.”
Helping people move to such locations also could increase their chances to achieve academic success, he added.
“So what we’re saying is let people go! Give them the voucher and let them move! Let them get that great job! And that mobility that we give them helps them actually start climbing the economic ladder and hopefully get off dependence on the federal government,” said Duffy.
The lawmaker introduced H.R. 5793 on May 15. U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO) signed on as the original cosponsor.
Rep. Duffy also advocated on the House floor for H.R. 4537 prior to its passage on July 10 by voice vote. The measure would prohibit parties representing the federal government in an international insurance agreement from agreeing to any standard unless it is consistent with the existing U.S. system of regulation, according to the congressional record summary, and the parties must coordinate with state insurance regulators. Congress would have the power to review and disapprove any such agreement by joint resolution.
H.R. 4537 also would amend the Federal Insurance Office Act of 2010 to modify requirements for a covered international agreement entered into by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Federal Insurance Office, according to the summary. Such an agreement would be required to only apply on a prospective basis and Congress would be able to review and disapprove such an agreement by joint resolution.
“In essence, you know, what we’re doing here is saying, we’ve had a state-based model in America that’s served this country very well for 150 years. We’ve had a focus on policyholder protection and solvency protection and our insurance industry has been pretty resilient. And we’re proud of it,” explained Rep. Duffy.
“But we also recognize that the world is changing. It’s become a far smaller world. We have different standards and different countries and we have to be able to navigate those differences and as Americans we have to be able to engage with the rest of the world,” he said. “And that’s a good thing. But as we engage we also want to make sure we don’t sell our state-based American model for some other model and some other country.”
The congressman said that some executive appointee should not be able to negotiate a trade deal that undermines a state-based model, which he said is the crux “of what we are trying to accomplish.”
“In essence we provide parameters to U.S. negotiators that prevent federal U.S. negotiators from entering into an international insurance agreement unless it is consistent and reflective of the existing U.S. system of insurance regulation,” said Duffy. “So again it has to be consistent and reflective of our model.”
H.R. 4537 would create more transparency in the international insurance negotiation process as U.S. negotiators would have to regularly inform Congress about the state and content of the negotiations that are being undertaken, he added.
“And it also ensures that our state insurance regulators are closely consulted in the process of the international insurance standard setting. So this is a well-crafted bill that took into concerns that both sides of the aisle had,” Rep Duffy said.
H.R. 4537, introduced on Dec. 4, 2017, has 12 cosponsors. U.S. Rep. Denny Heck (D-WA) was the lead original cosponsor.