THE BIG “I” SALUTES CHAIRMAN MIKE OXLEY
Longtime Congressman has been a giant for independent agents,insurance marketplace
WASHINGTON, D.C., Nov. 1, 2005—The Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (the Big “I”) today is paying tribute to House Financial Services Committee Chairman Michael Oxley (R-Ohio), who has announced he will retire from Congress at the end of his term.
Big “I” CEO Robert A. Rusbuldt, who has worked with Chairman Oxley on many important pieces of legislation over the years, today hailed him as a “giant” for independent insurance agents and brokers, and the financial services industry, due to his legislative and leadership abilities, among other qualities.
“Mike Oxley is a ‘legislator’s legislator,’ which is the highest compliment you can give to a member of Congress,” Rusbuldt says. “He is a leader in Congress because he possesses the rare combination of policy, legislative and political acumen to move legislation.”
Charles E. Symington Jr., senior vice president for government affairs and federal relations, worked for Chairman Oxley as a Financial Services Committee staffer, and then worked with him on insurance issues after joining the Big “I”.
“Chairman Oxley is a leader in every sense of the word,” Symington says. “As a former committee staffer for the chairman, I can say from two distinct perspectives that he is a man of integrity, vision and great leadership qualities. People follow him because they trust him and he’s a man of his word.”
Oxley, currently serving his 12th term, has been at the forefront of many important pieces of insurance and financial services legislation over the years, including Sarbanes-Oxley, Gramm-Leach-Bliley, and the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA), and has actively worked with Subcommittee Chairman Richard Baker (R-La.) to craft the State Modernization and Regulatory Transparency (SMART) Act. His tireless work on vital insurance industry issues earned him the Big “I” Gerald Solomon Legislator of the Year Award in 2001.
Rusbuldt and Symington say Oxley crafted effective legislation because he was able to translate abstract policy ideas into concrete solutions for real people.
“He has been a tremendous leader for policyholders, independent agents and the entire insurance marketplace, from the passage of TRIA and the development of the SMART Act to issues as broad as privacy,” Symington says. “Chairman Oxley has always considered the real-world implications and applications of legislation.”
“Mike is not just an X-and-O kind of person,” Rusbuldt says. “While he is an expert on policy, he understands that policies ultimately are about people. At the end of the day, he will always do what is in the best interest of Americans—average citizens who rely on their leaders to make the right decisions. Mike has always been grounded in reality, and he’s been an ardent advocate for Main Street America’s families and businesses.”
Oxley’s ability to connect policy and people, Rusbuldt says, stems from his ability to work with individuals on a person-to-person level.
“Mike is one of the most popular members of Congress with his colleagues because he understands that life is more than just being a member of Congress,” Rusbuldt says. “He loves sports, and he captains the Republican baseball, golf and basketball teams. He has interests that his colleagues relate to, and he is a very giving person.”
The chairman’s affability, coupled with hard work and realism, has served him well in finding common ground and moving legislation forward, and that is why he has been an effective advocate on so many important issues, Rusbuldt says.
“Mike understands that legislation is about the art of the possible,” Rusbuldt says. “He once worked for three days straight putting together a compromise between the Big ‘I’ and the banks. Some of his colleagues thought it couldn’t be done, but he proved them wrong through his hard work, tenacity and his personal and legislative skills. I have watched him strategize and build consensus on very difficult issues, and lesser men would have given up on many occasions.”
“While the chairman still has more than a year of work left in Congress and on the Financial Services Committee, when he does depart at the end of this Congress, he will be sorely missed by his colleagues and his constituents,” Rusbuldt says. “I know his close friends wish him the best in his future endeavors, whatever they may be.”
Founded in 1896, IIABA (the Big “I”) is the nation’s oldest and largest national association of independent insurance agents and brokers, representing a network of more than 300,000 agents, brokers and their employees nationally. Its members are businesses that offer customers a choice of policies from a variety of insurance companies. Independent agents and brokers offer all lines of insurance—property, casualty, life, and health—as well as employee benefit plans and retirement products. Web address: www.independentagent.com.
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