Political Quotes

“I think there are good intentions on both sides of this issue, and unfortunately, I find it to be an extremely complicated issue and, most of all, not a sexy issue, as you can see by attendance on the floor. I doubt whether 5 percent of our viewing audience out there understands what a nationally recognized statistical rating organization really is, and probably not a great deal more really care about it. Except, when you look at what they do and the effect they have on all of our lives in some very big ways, they are an important entity and we have to get this right. And I want to point out that when this entity was constructed by rule, as Mr. Fitzpatrick pointed out, in 1975, there were originally three agencies that were granted this nationally recognized statistical rating organization nomenclature. Since that time, six have been added, for a total of nine. Existing today, there are only five because there has been consolidation in the industry. But what that indicates is that this has not been a prohibitive area for qualified organizations to gain the recognition of a nationally recognized statistical rating organization. I think, and I agree with our friends on the other side, that competition would be good, and the availability to enter this field would be much better if we can find a methodology to do that.…”