Declarations

Firefighting at Night

“Nighttime air attack is a standard. … Such action was not taken because the USFS policy prohibits night flying. Would night flying have made a difference? No one can say for sure, but night flying is a policy change that is needed.”

—The Los Angeles County Fire Department report, stating that U.S. Forest Service should allow helicopters to fight fires during darkness, a tactic that could have been used in the critical first hours of the summer’s gigantic and deadly wildfire in the Angeles National Forest. (AP)

Widespread Washington Problem

“The widespread and growing lack of health insurance in Washington state is hurting families, communities and our state’s economy in ways that we can no longer afford to ignore.”

—Washington Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler commenting on a report that estimates the number of Washingtonians with no health insurance will soon reach 1 million. Kreidler also predicts that the cost of uncompensated medical care in the state will reach $1 billion annually by 2011.

Pricey Proposal

“[The settlement] will remove a significant distraction and expense and allow AIG to better focus its efforts on paying back taxpayers.”

—AIG Chief Executive Robert Benmosche commenting to Reuters on the settlement his company and former chief executive Maurice “Hank” Greenberg reached to bury a long-standing, bitter legal battle. As part of the agreement, the insurer will turn over materials the former boss can use to write his memoir, as well as prized photographs and a Persian carpet. The settlement is a feather in the cap of AIG Chief Executive Robert Benmosche, as it frees up the company’s resources to deal with the more pressing matter of repaying taxpayers, which gave the company a $180 billion bailout to save it from collapse under soured mortgage bets last year.

State Regulator Support

“[The NAIC] continues to oppose a federal functional regulator for insurance or misguided attempts to further empower the FIO (Federal Insurance Office).”

—New Hampshire Insurance Commissioner and National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) President Roger Sevigny saying the association supports amendments to the Federal Insurance Office Act (H.R. 2609) because it would uphold important safeguards to ensure state regulation continues to protect insurance consumers and companies. Sevigny said the NAIC believes recent amendments to the bill “strike an appropriate balance among the needs of consumers, state regulators and federal negotiators by preserving important state and market regulation while allowing for agreements with equivalent regulatory systems.”

Topics Legislation Washington