PIA Supports House Passage of TRIA Renewal for Two Years

The National Association of Professional Insurance Agents applauded House passage of legislation to extend for two years the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA). The House approved by a 371-49 vote a TRIA renewal bill. As there are differences between this bill and a bill the Senate approved on Nov. 18, it is expected that remaining differences will be reconciled by conferees.

“Today’s (Wednesday) vote by the House brings us one step closer to an extension of TRIA,” said PIA National Executive Vice President & CEO Len Brevik. “Renewal will ensure the continued availability of terrorism insurance coverage, especially for small and medium-size businesses across the country. We applaud the House and encourage the conferees to quickly reconcile the remaining differences.”

The differences between the two bills are substantial. The broad, bipartisan support in the House for the bill that was passed — which is essentially the text of H.R. 4314 as crafted by the Financial Services Committee — flew in the face of continuing opposition from the White House, which openly supported the Senate bill (S. 467). A statement from the White House issued by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) less than an hour after the House vote said it “strongly opposes” the House version of the bill, but stopped short of a veto threat.

“The diligence of House leaders in fashioning a TRIA renewal vehicle that addresses long term issues is greatly appreciated,” said PIA Senior Vice President Patricia Borowski. “While we would like to see many of the House provisions make it into the final conference vehicle, especially the ‘soft- landing’ aspects, PIA’s position throughout this campaign is that a workable renewal of TRIA itself is the number-one priority.”