The program is set to expire at the end of the year unless Congress reauthorized its provisions.
"I'm pleased to see that the Financial Services Committee has finally heeded our call to move the terrorism insurance legislation," said Congressman Steve Israel said. "We've been down this road before though and the House leadership never allowed the bill to come up for consideration. Time is running out and this bill must pass before the program expires, leaving New York businesses out to dry."
In 2002, Congress overwhelmingly passed TRIA to provide a limited federal backstop in the event of another catastrophic terrorist event. In doing so, lawmakers sought to ensure the availability of full coverage of the risk of terrorism for our nation's policyholders and to enable the insurance industry to recover from the losses they sustained in 2001. Israel's legislation simply extends that federal backstop for a limited time while long-term solutions can be developed. The House Financial Services Committee unanimously passed similar legislation to extend TRIA for two years in 2004.
