House passes Tria; industry waits on Senate
The House of Representatives passed a bill last night (Wednesday December 10) to reauthorize the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (Tria) but the bill may still face opposition in the Senate due to changes made to the Dodd-Frank act to allow non-financial companies to be exempt from certain rules in trading derivatives.
The House of Representatives voted in favour of its passage by 417 votes to just seven. The bill would extend the programme for a further six years until 2020.
The bill also raises the loss trigger to $200m, a sharp decline from the $500m originally proposed by House Financial Services Committee chairman, Rep. Jeb Hensarling.
The bill also contains provisions to modify the Dodd-Frank Act by incorporating a rule which will relieve insurers of capital standards regulations that originally targeted banks. The White House has said that while it supported Tria, it was opposed to the changes to Dodd-Frank being sought by Republicans.
US Congressman Pete Sessions, chairman of the House Rules Committee, also released the following statement: “Since TRIA was signed into law in 2002, it has served as an effective means of dealing with the lack of terrorism insurance. However, like many government programs, it needs to be reformed in order to serve its original purpose.
“Today's legislation provides a long-term extension to TRIA and makes necessary reforms that protect taxpayers. With the program set to expire at the end of the year, it is vital that the Senate and the White House act on this bill immediately.”
