Boehner To Give Keynote Address At Insurance Industry Conference’s ‘Lobbying Day’

By Alex Seitz-Wald

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) will give the keynote address at the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (IIABA) conference in Washington, “hours before” association members “fan out across Capital Hill to lobby their congress members.” The April 14th conference is expected to attract at least 1,000 attendees, who converge on the Capitol every year for “lobbying day.”

IIABA Senior Vice President Charles Symington called Boehner “a longtime friend,” and said, “The Speaker’s focused commitment to removing government barriers in order to create more jobs and economic growth go hand-in-hand with many of the [IIABA's] goals.” The group’s president, Robert Rusbuldt, said his members look forward to hearing Boehner’s “insight” before they they lobby lawmakers:

“The Big ‘I’ is honored that during such a pivotal year, Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-Ohio) will be kicking off our annual agent pilgrimage to Capitol Hill,” says Robert A. Rusbuldt, Big “I” president and CEO. “We’re looking forward to hearing his insights on the implementation of the new health care law, tax and spending issues, financial services regulation and other important topics facing our members, their businesses and the American economy.”

The IIABA has been a staunch opponent of President Obama’s health reform law, and supports House Republicans’ misguided attempt to repeal it. The group’s PAC spentnearly $2 million in the 2010 election cycle alone, including a $10,000 donation to Boehner.

It’s too early to know what kind of “insight” Boehner will offer the insurance agents before they lobby congress members, but last year as Congress was considering its Wall Street reform bill, Boehner told a group of bankers to “stand up” for themselves against “those little punk staffers” in Congress. Don’t let them “take advantage of you,” Boehner told “an enthusiastic crowd of bankers” at a summit of the American Bankers Association. As the New York Times noted late last year, Boehner “maintains especially tight ties with a circle of lobbyists and former aides representing some of the nation’s biggest businesses.”