Face-to-Face With Lawmakers

More than 500 insurance and financial professionals from across the United States participated in the annual Congressional Conference, as NAIFA’s signature grassroots advocacy event returned to Washington, D.C., May 23-24. The event brought attendees together in person for the first time since 2019 after the COVID-19 pandemic forced Congressional Conference to go virtual for the past two years.

NAIFA members received advocacy briefings and grassroots training. The keynote speaker for Day 1 of the conference was Senator Ben Sasse (R-NE), an influential member of the Senate Finance and Budget Committees. A Day 1 CEO panel, moderated by NAIFA CEO Kevin Mayeux, CAE, featured the leaders of top industry associations: Wayne Chopus, President and CEO of the Insured Retirement Institute, George Nichols, III, President and CEO of The American College, and Susan Neely, President and CEO of the American Council of Life Insurers.

On Day 2, the freshly trained and motivated advocates headed to Capitol Hill for in-office meetings with members of Congress and congressional staff. They discussed the important services insurance and financial advisors provide Main Street Americans and how policy decisions impact NAIFA’s goal of providing financial security for all. They encouraged Senators to pass the SECURE 2.0 retirement legislation and asked lawmakers to preserve the status of agents and advisors as independent contractors.

The Congressional Conference bolsters NAIFA’s prestige among lawmakers and industry partners and enhances the association’s standing as the leading voice for insurance and financial professionals. It is crucial for ensuring lawmakers thoroughly understand the important role insurance and financial professionals play in:

• Providing products, services and advice that improve the financial security of 90 million American families.

• Promoting financial literacy and selfsufficiency in diverse communities.

• Strengthening the U.S. economy and contributing to the financial health of communities in every congressional district.

• Representing the best interests of their clients and promoting the success of Main Street Americans and businesses.

While in Washington, many NAIFA members participated in NAIFA’s D.C. Passport program. They visited and photographed themselves at landmarks in our nation’s capital commemorating important people and events from U.S. history with insurance or financial services ties.

The photos will be used to create a D.C. Passport that advocates will then take to August in-district meetings to show their members of Congress their participation in the Congressional Conference and dedication to NAIFA’s advocacy mission.

This year’s successful Congressional Conference kicks off the 2022 constituent engagement and builds on the grassroots success of NAIFA’s December National Leadership Conference. At that event, NAIFA members were among the first groups allowed to visit reopened congressional offices, which had been closed to the public under security restrictions and COVID-19 protocols.

The Congressional Conference also creates momentum for NAIFA’s two remaining signature events, and it saw a return to pre-pandemic participation. Apex, August 17-18, at the Arizona Biltmore resort designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, is the new sales summit for the American advisor. It is a “race to the top” designed for the top 1% of advisors and those motivated to join them at the apex of the profession. Then, NAIFA’s National Leadership Conference and Belong awards celebration, November 13-15, in Washington, D.C., will offer NAIFA leaders the training they need to help us grow as one NAIFA Nation and differentiate high achievers, including recipients of the John Newton Russell Memorial Award, the Terry Headley Lifetime Defender Award, NAIFA’s Diversity Champion, the Young Advisor Team Leader of the Year, and Advisor Today’s 4 Under 40.