You would think Congress should be able to come to a consenus on sensitive topics but they left Washington D.C. this week without extending an insurance program that in place since September 11th, 2001, which provides financial backing for high profile terrorist attacks.
The Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA) is set to expire at the end of the year and with lawmakers not returning to the capitol until mid-November, its approval could come down to the wire.
An extension of the existing bill has been held up like most pieces of legislation due to fighting between versions put forward by both the House and Senate, according to a report in The Hill newspaper.
Business groups and corporate lobbyists are gearing up for a major push to save the program, and plan to meet lawmakers upon their return to the Capitol with a straightforward message: Renew it, and renew it now.
“There’s an understanding of the program, and the need to get it done,” said Marty DePoy, spokesman for a business coalition backing an extension. “This uncertainty results in business having a difficult time planning for their futures. … Without this, they have a hard time figuring out how to do that.”
The coverage is primarily geared toward major cities, large amusement parks, sporting leagues/teams and other high profile terrorist targets.
“Without the backstop that TRIA provides, the private insurance market would simply be unable to provide adequate levels of terrorism risk insurance,” wrote several business groups, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, in a letter to Congress earlier this month.
Earlier this year the House Financial Services Committee approved a bill that would extend TRIA for five years but dial back the federal government's support. The insurer copay would be increased to 20% and the backstop only comes into play when losses reach the $500 million mark.
The bill has not been put to vote to the full House.
