House and Senate committees voted Wednesday to approve 2 very different Terrorism Risk Insurance Act extension bills.[@@]
The current TRIA reinsurance program, which excludes group life, is set to expire Dec. 31.
Members of the House Financial Services Committee voted 64 to 3 for their TRIA extension bill, H.R. 4314, which includes federal protection for group life insurers.
Members of the Senate Banking Committee approved their version of the extension bill, S. 467, which excludes group life, by a voice vote.
Treasury Secretary John Snow has issued a statement welcoming committee approval of S. 467.
Senate actions on TRIA extension "recognize the temporary nature of the program and place terrorism insurance on the right path to full private-market participation," Snow says. "We will continue to work with both the House and Senate to ensure the program entails greater participation of the private market and less risk for taxpayers."
Treasury spokeswoman Brookly McLaughlin has criticized H.R. 4314.
"As introduced, the bill increases lines of coverage, increases complexity and puts taxpayers at risk in certain cases sooner than under the current version," McLaughlin says. "We've been very clear that any extension must result in private-market participants taking on a larger role in providing terrorism coverage and the risk to taxpayers being decreased."
