December 14, 2014 United States Senate Washington, DC 20510 Dear Senator: The undersigned organizations, representing businesses of all sizes and industry sectors, strongly encourage the Senate to pass S.2244, the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2014, as passed by the House, without additional amendments before the Senate adjourns. TRIA is a critical public-private partnership that facilitates…
Despite clear consensus in Congress that the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA) must be reauthorized, the issue somehow remains in limbo. This has already hurt the economy: the TRIA Program works solely on the basis of private insurers’ willingness to write such insurance, and questions about the program’s future are destabilizing. A one year (or shorter) stop-gap extension of TRIA actually exacerbates the problem. Insurers and their business customers need greater certainty to function properly, especially where long-term financing is involved. Kicking the can down the road to next year will, experts agree, sacrifice economic growth.
The Senate has already passed legislation (S. 2244) reauthorizing TRIA with an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote. However, the House is currently at an impasse on how to proceed to pass its own reauthorization bill (H.R. 4871). Time is running out. The House MUST act quickly to resolve their differences so Congress can take final action to renew the program this fall. We encourage House lawmakers to complete work to pass a long-term extension now.
