WASHINGTON–Federal legislation mandating uniform rules for surplus lines carriers and brokers was heartily endorsed Wednesday by witnesses testifying at a House Financial Services Committee hearing on the bill.

But state regulators did not participate in the hearing, and several members of the committee used the hearing as a platform to propose further steps that Congress could take to preempt state regulation, including creating an optional federal charter for insurers.

Another proposal was that the Committee re-examine whether the National Association of Registered Agents and Brokers proposal first used in the 1999 Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act should be retooled to force more states into the fold, especially the larger ones still missing in action–as well as to ensure continued state compliance.