(Bloomberg) ? US Representative Ed Royce added to calls for a new system of insurance regulation, introducing a bill that would give insurers the option of federal, rather than state, oversight.

The proposal, a companion bill to legislation introduced by Senators John Sununu and Tim Johnson in April, would establish an Office of National Insurance within the US Treasury Department. Insurers that chose to be regulated by the federal agency would be allowed to set rates without approval.

?The significant expense of complying with the over 50 jurisdictions has led to higher costs and less participation in the insurance sector,? said Royce, a member of the House?s Financial Services Committee. ?Consumers would be the direct beneficiary of the increased competition through lower premiums and more innovative products.?

Royce?s proposal would have to be reintroduced next year were Congress to adjourn before it?s brought for a vote. The parallel bill from Sununu, a New Hampshire Republican, and Johnson, a South Dakota Democrat, is still before the Senate Banking Committee.