Transparent Insurance Standards Act of 2016

Floor Speech

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Mr. Speaker, my amendment is very simple. It requires that any international agreement needs to be written in plain writing as a condition to enter into the agreement.
I am offering this from the perspective of people in Florida, my district, and elsewhere who are small businesses, who are small companies who can't afford to hire large legal teams simply to understand overly complex regulations. They are already beset with way too much, both in terms of the scope, but also in terms of the complexity; and when you have complex agreements or regulations imposed on them, it not only makes life difficult for them, it actually gives them a competitive disadvantage over some of the big companies that we are always hearing about.
So I think writing in plain language, clear and concise, makes it easier for small businesses to comply without amassing huge amounts in legal fees and other overhead costs.
Plain writing doesn't change the regulation. You can have a regulation. It just requires it to be written in a way that doesn't require you to hire $500-an-hour attorneys to interpret it for you. So I think it is a commonsense way to help small business with no taxpayer expense.
I would note that the need for plain writing has been something that the Congress, on both sides of the aisle, has embraced over decades.
I appreciate my friend from Missouri's bill. I intend to support it.
I think this amendment will be added protection for those who are struggling to do well in an economy in which so much that comes out of Washington seems to be making it more difficult for them to succeed.

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