Tapping into the source. (Editor's Prologue).Influence is like love--it often happens when and where you least expect it. In the case of U.S. Senate bills, it often happens during the committee "markup (text) markup - In computerised document preparation, a method of adding information to the text indicating the logical components of a document, or instructions for layout of the text on the page or other information which can be interpreted by some automatic system. " process, when senators and their staffers discuss a bill's contents and proposals to attach amendments, along with the language in those amendments. When executives at Safeco Life & Investments learned last year that Sen. Jeff Bingaman Jesse Francis "Jeff" Bingaman Jr. (born October 3, 1943) is the junior U.S. Senator from New Mexico. He has been in the Senate since 1983 and is a member of the Democratic Party. Bingaman was Attorney General of New Mexico from 1978 until his election to the U.S. , D-N.M., a member of the Senate Finance Committee, was planning to propose an amendment to the Small Business and Farm Recovery Act that would tax some life insurance death benefits payable to corporations, they went into action. Where did they go first? To the committee staff. "We were looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. information on the language the proposal would take before the mark-up process began," said Le Roi Brashears, director of communications Director of Communications is a position in the private and public sectors. The Director of Communications is responsible for managing and directing an organization's internal and external communications. for Safeco Life & Investments. "At that point the language had not been packaged by the staff, but they told me what it was." Knowing the way the staffers were shaping the amendment, Safeco Life & Investments President Randy The name Randy generally derives from the names Randall or Randolph (meaning wolf with a shield). Randy is used as a given name primarily in the US and Canada. Men known as Randy
"Ultimately, that amendment was not attached to the bill," Brashears said. " While we can't ever really know what result our efforts had, it is true that by interacting with those who move the legislative business along behind the scenes, we were certainly able to petition Congress at an early stage." The staffers that Safeco contacted are only a few of the people who work behind the scenes to shape the legislation and regulations that govern insurers. Most of us don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. who they are, but they're there day after day, year after year, using their insurance knowledge to make things happen. "Quiet Clout," another of our "Big Picture" in-depth reporting features, (page 16) reveals four of these little-known players. Scratch beneath the surface of any of the governmental and quasi-governmental agencies beginning on page 24, and you'll find more. Sally Whitney Sally Whitney is editor. You may reach her at (908) 439-2200, Ext. 5340, by writing to A.M. Best Co., Ambest Road, Oldwick, NJ 08858, or by e-mail at sally.whitney@ambest.com. The e-mail address See Internet address. e-mail address - electronic mail address for Best's Review is bestreview@ambest.com. |
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