Political Quotes

“OPIC provides a unique service to this country. It provides political risk insurance. That does three things: currency and convertibility, political violence, and seizure of assets. That is pretty unusual. There is a statement made that OPIC, if it is really great, can be privatized. The answer is no. I have a letter here from Zurich Insurance Group that is addressed to me in direct response to a Dear Colleague letter sent around by the gentleman from California [Mr. Royce] and the gentleman from Ohio [Mr. Kasich] asking if Zurich America intends to enter the same market as that of OPIC, if OPIC is eliminated. The answer to that is no. Sean Cassidy, the vice president of Federal Affairs, said that Zurich does not intend to compete directly with OPIC, but rather, complement OPIC's coverage. So, therefore, there is no company that is ready to pick up OPIC should it be privatized. Second of all, here is how OPIC makes money. This is Price Waterhouse's statement for the past year. OPIC takes in $299,000, and here it comes, through political risk insurance premiums, that is $81 million, investment financing, $52 million, interest on U.S. Treasury securities, $166 million. Even if we take out the interest on the U.S. Treasury securities, it still comes up making about $45 million a year. It actually makes money. OPIC makes money and it provides an insurance service that nobody else can provide in this country.”