Sen. John Tester (D-Mont.) will give the keynote address before members of the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers at their annual legislative conference April 30.

John Tester

Tester’s speech will come at the breakfast session before the association’s membership heading out for the annual Big I Day on Capitol Hill, where members lobby members of Congress and their staffs on issues directly impacting agents and consumers.

Robert A. Rusbuldt, Big I president and CEO, called Tester “a rising star in the Senate’ and “a leading voice for pragmatic solutions to difficult problems in our nation.”

“Sen. Tester has been a supporter of state regulation of insurance and his commitment to small businesses, state’s rights, and fixing our economy will be a valuable lesson as our agents meet with hundreds of members of Congress later that day,” Rusbuldt said in a statement.

Tester serves on the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, which has jurisdiction over insurance issues and is also on the committee’s subcommittee on Securities, Insurance and Investment.

This year’s Big I National Legislative Conference takes place April 29 through May 1 at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel in Washington, D.C.

In addition to Tester, the event will feature panel discussions with top insurance carrier CEOs, a state of the association address by Big “I” chairman Brett Nilsson, a speech by “Freakonomics” author Stephen Dubner, and appearances by other speakers.

For more information, go to the Big I website.