A Pentagon official told U.S. Rep. Jim Ryun that the government needed to overhaul rules governing the sale of private insurance policies on military installations because soldiers were getting scammed through unscrupulous sales tactics.

In response, Ryun, a Kansas Republican, and two of his colleagues wrote that no changes were necessary to the rules.

The dispute over rules governing sales tactics by private insurers on military installations are revealed in letters between Ryun and Undersecretary of Defense David Chu.

Ryun, a Republican seeking re-election to the district that includes west Lawrence, is coming under increasing fire from his Democratic challenger, Nancy Boyda of Topeka, because of his position on the issue.

Friday, Boyda said, “My opponent claims to want to end these abuses, but based on his consistent lobbying of the Pentagon on behalf of insurers, all I can say is: Actions speak louder than words.”

Ryun has denied any wrongdoing, accusing Boyda’s campaign of “character assassination.”

The letters reveal that the Pentagon sought to curb abuses by insurance and financial services salesmen on military bases.

In response to a letter from Ryun and Reps. Ellen Tauscher, D-Calif., and Jim Cooper, D-Tenn., Chu stated that the government had ample reason to reform a directive that governed the sales tactics on military bases.

Chu stated that in 1999, a Defense Department inspector general evaluation found violations of existing federal policies in all 11 installations that were surveyed. The inspector recommended that regulations be improved or solicitations prohibited.

A 2000 consultant’s report and then later working groups within the Pentagon came to the same conclusions, finding coercive and deceptive sales practices, Chu said.

In response to Chu’s December 2003 letter, however, Ryun, Tauscher and Cooper wrote back the next month, saying, “We maintain that any changes to the current directive is unnecessary.”

Recently, Ryun has said he supported legislation aimed at improving enforcement of current regulations, but opposed both changing the rules or any outright ban of private insurers from military bases.

Recent news reports about the practices of insurance sales to soldiers have sparked outrage and congressional hearings.

Currently, soldiers are eligible for $250,000 in life insurance coverage from the military for $16.25 per month.

But according to reports, some private insurers sold soldiers plans that cost $100 per month with a death benefit of less than $44,000.

Many of the high-pressure sales tactics are aimed at new recruits headed for Iraq who have little knowledge about financial planning, are concerned about leaving their families in good financial shape if they should be killed, and thought they were buying Army-endorsed plans, reports said.