Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2019

Floor Speech

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Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4634) to reauthorize the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act of 2002, and for other purposes, as amended.

The Clerk read the title of the bill.

The text of the bill is as follows: H.R. 4634

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2019''. SEC. 2. 7-YEAR EXTENSION OF TERRORISM RISK INSURANCE PROGRAM.

(a) Termination Date.--Section 108(a) of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act of 2002 (15 U.S.C. 6701 note) is amended by striking ``2020'' and inserting ``2027''.

(b) Timing of Mandatory Recoupment.--Section 103(e)(7)(E)(i) of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act of 2002 (15 U.S.C. 6701 note) is amended--

(1) in subclause (I)--

(A) by striking ``2017'' and inserting ``2022''; and

(B) by striking ``2019'' and inserting ``2024'';

(2) in subclause (II)--

(A) by striking ``2018'' and inserting ``2023'';

(B) by striking ``2019'' and inserting ``2024''; and

(C) by striking ``2024'' and inserting ``2029''; and

(3) in subclause (III)--

(A) by striking ``2019'' and inserting ``2024''; and

(B) by striking ``2024'' and inserting ``2029''.

(c) Ongoing Reports Regarding Market Conditions for Terrorism Risk Insurance.--Paragraph (2) of section 104(h) of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act of 2002 (15 U.S.C. 6701 note) is amended--

(1) by redesignating subparagraphs (B) through (E) as subparagraphs (C) through (F), respectively; and

(2) by inserting after subparagraph (A) the following new subparagraph:

``(B) an evaluation of the availability and affordability of terrorism risk insurance, which shall include an analysis of such availability and affordability specifically for places of worship;''.

(d) Study and Report on Cyber Terrorism.--Not later than the expiration of the 180-day period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall conduct a study and report to the Committee on Financial Services of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate, which shall--

(1) analyze and address--

(A) overall vulnerabilities and potential costs of cyber attacks to the United States public and private infrastructure that could result in physical or digital damage;

(B) whether State-defined cyber liability under a property and casualty line of insurance is adequate coverage for an act of cyber terrorism;

(C) whether such risks can be adequately priced by the private market; and

(D) whether the current risk-share system under the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act of 2002 is appropriate for a cyber terrorism event; and

(2) set forth recommendations on how the Congress could amend such Act to meet the next generation of cyber threats. SEC. 3. DETERMINATION OF BUDGETARY EFFECTS.

The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go-Act of 2010, shall be determined by reference to the latest statement titled ``Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation'' for this Act, submitted for printing in the Congressional Record by the Chairman of the House Budget Committee, provided that such statement has been submitted prior to the vote on passage.

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased that we are considering H.R. 4634 to reauthorize the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act, or TRIA, for 7 years. This is a bipartisan bill that passed unanimously out of our committee.

I would like to thank Chairwoman Maloney, Chairman Clay, and Chairman Cleaver for their efforts to bring this bill to the floor today. I would also like to thank Ranking Member McHenry for working with me to ensure the availability of affordable terrorism risk insurance coverage across our country for small businesses, nonprofit organizations, hospitals, and educational institutions to name just a few of the entities that rely on this Federal program.

The Terrorism Risk Insurance Act was enacted in the aftermath of the tragic September 11 terrorist attacks, which resulted in the largest insured losses on record from a nonnatural event. Insurance and reinsurance companies reeled from the losses, and terrorism risk insurance became unavailable or extremely expensive, complicating the recovery efforts due to the importance of insurance in many business transactions.

Congress passed TRIA to ensure that the terrorism risk insurance coverage would remain available and affordable, and since that time, the program has been effective at doing just that. Treasury data show the program has been successful with nearly 80 percent of all TRIA- eligible policies, including terrorism risk coverage, and policyholders paying an average of only 2.5 percent of their total premiums for terrorism risk coverage. Treasury data also demonstrates that TRIA is important across America and not just in densely populated urban areas. In fact, the take-up rate is higher in the Midwest than it is in the northeast.

This bill is supported by a broad coalition of over 300 organizations, including the American Property Casualty Insurance Association, the Reinsurance Association of America, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and the American Bankers Association.

I understand that the Senate Banking Committee is considering identical legislation this week, and I hope that we can act quickly to get this bill signed into law. I would urge all my colleagues to support this important legislation.

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Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, to the Members, I cannot express how pleased I am at the effort that was put together by Mr. McHenry to make this a bipartisan bill. I am very appreciative of that.

Maloney), the chairwoman for the Subcommittee on Investor Protection, Entrepreneurship, and Capital Markets.

Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding and for her leadership on this issue.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 4634, which would reauthorize the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act, or TRIA, for 7 years.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairwoman Waters and Ranking Member McHenry for working together to reach a compromise on this critically important bill that can get broad bipartisan support. I also thank my colleagues, Congressmen Clay and Cleaver, for holding field hearings and for their tremendous support.

This issue is deeply personal to me because I represent New York City, and I remember all too well the terrorist attack of 9/11. After that terrible attack, the market for terrorism insurance completely shut down. Without terrorism insurance, all construction stopped, and thousands of jobs were lost. We could not insure anything.

In response, Congress came together in a bipartisan way and passed the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act, which provides a government backstop for terrorism insurance. The goal of TRIA was to make terrorism insurance both available and affordable. That is exactly what has happened because of this bill, and all of this has come at no cost, not one cost whatsoever, to our taxpayers.

This bill would reauthorize TRIA for 7 years without any changes to the underlying program. I am pleased that there is broad agreement that the program doesn't need any additional changes.

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a letter with a listing of over 300 major business leaders from every State in our country that are supporting this important legislation. September 17, 2019.

To the Members of the United States Congress: The undersigned organizations, representing a wide variety of business interests, urge Congress to work swiftly to pass a long-term reauthorization of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA) which is currently set to expire at the end of 2020.

The tragic terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, fundamentally changed the landscape for insuring against the risk of terrorism in the United States. Struck with an inability to model frequency, location, and the potentially devastating scale of modern terrorism, insurers were forced to pull out of the marketplace, and in the months following the attacks, the inability of insurance policyholders to secure terrorism risk insurance contributed to a paralysis in the economy, especially in the construction, travel and tourism, and real estate finance sectors.

Since its initial enactment in 2002, TRIA has served as a vital public-private risk sharing mechanism, ensuring that private terrorism risk insurance coverage remains available to commercial businesses, educational institutions and non- profit organizations at virtually no cost to the taxpayer. According to a 2019 Marsh study, the education, media, financial institutions, real estate, hospitality and gaming, and health care sectors had the highest `take-up' rates among the 17 industry segments surveyed--all above 70%. TRIA fosters certainty in the marketplace and allows all of these interconnected elements of the economy to continue to move forward.

In 2018, the Treasury Department reported that ``the Program has made terrorism risk insurance available and affordable in the United States, and the market for terrorism risk insurance has been relatively stable for the past decade.'' Absent TRIA, there is not sufficient insurance and reinsurance capital available to provide comprehensive terrorism coverage to U.S. insurance buyers.

To this end, the undersigned organizations urge Congress to promptly enact a ``clean'' long-term extension of this vital program. Previous reforms to the program have minimized taxpayer exposure making further reforms unnecessary. In fact, the key ``dials'' are already effectively indexed to premium growth at both the company and industry level, and the federal share will continue to decrease in future years even if Congress makes no changes to the program beyond a simple change of the expiration date.

Making changes to the TRIA mechanism to increase insurer retentions could affect the ability of many insurers, particularly smaller and mid-sized companies, to write risks or markets altogether, which ultimately impacts the ability of policyholders to secure adequate coverage. Maintaining a workable federal terrorism insurance mechanism is vital for our nation's economic security, and without adequate coverage, our ability to mitigate further economic fallout in the event of an attack would be greatly impaired. There is no homeland security without economic security.

The American business community remembers all too well the twelve-day lapse in the program in early 2015 and the disruption that lapse played in a variety of markets. We urge Congress to help provide much needed certainty by passing a long-term reauthorization of this important program without delay. Sincerely,

A.I.M. Mutual Insurance Companies, ACIG Insurance Company, Alliance Security, Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty, American Association of Port Authorities, American Bankers Association, American Council of Engineering Companies, American Council on Education, American Family Insurance, American Gaming Association, American Property Casualty Insurance Association, American Public Power Association, American Resort Development Association, American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association, Anderson Area Chamber of Commerce, Aon, Apache Junction Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center, ARCTRUST.

Argo Group, Arrow Mutual Liability Insurance Company, Associated General Contractors of America, Associated Wire Rope Fabricators, Association of American Railroads, Atlantic Charter Insurance Company, AvalonBay Communites Inc., AXA XL, Ballard Spahr LLP, Barron Mutual Insurance Company, Barton Mutual Insurance Company, Beacon Capital Partners, LLC, Beaver Creek Mutual Insurance Company, Benton Mutual Insurance Association, Black Hawk Mutual Insurance Company, Bloomfield Mutual Insurance Company, Boise Metro Chamber, Bolingbrook Area Chamber of Commerce, Boston Properties.

Bradford Victor-Adams Mutual Insurance Company, Bremer Mutual Insurance Association, Broad Reach Retail Partners, LLC, Brookfield Properties, Broome Co-operative Insurance Company, Brotherhood Mutual Insurance Company, Buckeye Valley Chamber of Commerce, Bucksbaum Properties, Builders Mutual Insurance Company, California Association of Boutique & Breakfast Inns, California Hotel & Lodging Association, Camarillo Chamber of Commerce, CapSpecialty, CCIM Institute, Celina Mutual Insurance Company, Central Illinois Mutual Insurance Company, Century Mutual Insurance Association, Chautauqua Patrons Insurance Company.

Chester County Chamber, Chubb, CM Group, CNA Financial, Coalition to Insure Against Terrorism (CIAT), Columbia Insurance Group, Community Associations Institute, Community Insurance Company, Co-operative Insurance Companies, Corporate Office Properties Trust, Cousins Properties, Decatur Chamber of Commerce, CRE Finance Council, CSX, Cumberland Mutual Fire Insurance Company, CUNA Mutual Group, Cushman & Wakefield Inc., Davis Chamber of Commerce.

Donahue Schriber Realty Group, Draper Area Chamber of Commerce, Dundee Mutual Insurance Company, Dunham & Chemung Mutual Insurance Company, East Tennessee Mutual Insurance Company, Eastern Iowa Mutual Insurance Association, EastGroup Properties, Edison Electric Institute, Edwardsville/Glen Carbon Chamber of Commerce, El Centro Chamber of Commerce, El Dorado County Chamber of Commerce, Electric Insurance Company, Erie Insurance, Essex Property Trust, Inc., Extra Space Storage, Falls City Mutual Insurance Company Inc. Farmers Home Fire Insurance Company of West Virginia, Inc., Farmers Home Insurance Company, Farmers Insurance Company of Flemington, Farmers Mutual Fire Insurance Company of Marble.

Farmers Mutual Insurance Company, Farmers Mutual Insurance Company Manchester, Farmers Pioneer Mutual Insurance Company, Farmers Protective Mutual Insurance Company, Farmers Union Mutual Insurance Company (AR), Farmers Union Mutual Insurance Company (ND), Farmers' and Mechanics' Mutual Insurance Company, Farmland Partners Inc., First Maxfield Mutual Insurance Association, Food Marketing Institute, Foodservice Equipment Distributors Association (FEDA), Forreston Mutual Insurance Company, Forward Mutual Insurance Company, Frankenmuth Mutual Insurance Company, Frederick Mutual Insurance Company, Gallagher Real Estate & Hospitality Services, General Reinsurance Corporation, German-American Farm Mutual Insurance Company, Gilroy Chamber of Commerce, Governmental Interinsurance Exchange.

Grange Insurance, Great American Insurance Group, Greater Boca Raton Chamber of Commerce, Greater Coachella Valley Chamber of Commerce, Greater Conejo Valley Chamber of Commerce, Greater Flagstaff Chamber of Commerce, Greater New York Mutual Insurance Company, Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce, Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce, Greater Yakima Chamber of Commerce, Grinnell Mutual Reinsurance Company, Hamel Mutual Insurance Company, Hamlet Mutual Insurance Company, Hanover Area Chamber of Commerce, Harding & Perkins Farm Mutual Insurance Company, Harford Mutual Insurance Company, Hawaii Employers Mutual Insurance Company, Heritage Mutual Insurance Association, Hilton, Hochheim Prairie Farm Mutual Insurance Association, Horse Prairie Mutual Insurance Company, Host Hotels & Resorts.

Hotel Association of Los Angeles, Household & Commercial Products Association, Hueneme Chamber of Commerce, Humboldt Mutual Insurance Association, Hutensky Capital Partners, International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC), IFG Companies, Illinois Association of Mutual Insurance Companies, Illinois Chamber of Commerce, IMT Insurance Company, Independence Realty Trust, Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America, Indiana Chamber of Commerce, Innovative Signal Analysis, International Franchise Association, International Speedway Corporation, International Safety Equipment Association, Island Insurance Companies, Jo Daviess Mutual Insurance Company, Kane County Mutual Insurance Company.

Kilroy Realty Corporation, Kite Realty, Lake Havasu Area Chamber of Commerce, Lamar Advertising Company, Lansing Regional Chamber of Commerce, LaPrairie Mutual Insurance Company, Laredo Chamber of Commerce, Las Vegas Metro Chamber of Commerce, Lexington Chamber of Commerce, Liberty Mutual Insurance, Liberty Property Trust, Lincoln City Chamber of Commerce, Lititz Mutual Insurance Company, Livingston Mutual Insurance Company, Lloyd's of London, Lodi Chamber of Commerce, Loews Hotels & Co, Long Beach Area Chamber of Commerce, Long Beach Hospitality Alliance, Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce.

Lubbock Chamber of Commerce, LWD Inc., Major League Baseball (MLB), Marana Chamber of Commerce, Marriott International, Marshalltown Area Chamber of Commerce, Medical Properties Trust, Inc., Mendota Mutual Insurance Company, Mennonite Mutual Insurance Company, Merchants Mutual Insurance Company, Mesa Chamber of Commerce, MetLife, MFS Mutual Insurance Company, MGM Resorts International, Mid- State Farmers Mutual Insurance Company, Millers Mutual Group, Monmouth Real Estate Investment Corporation, Mortgage Bankers Association, Mound Prairie Mutual Insurance Company, Mower County Farmers Mutual Insurance Company.

MS & AD Insurance Group, Munich Reinsurance America, Inc., Muscatine Mutual Insurance Association, Mutual of Indiana Insurance Company, Mutual of Wausau Group, NAMA--The National Automatic Merchandising Association, National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts (Nareit), National Apartment Association, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO), National Association of Home Builders, National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies (NAMIC), National Association of Professional Employer Organizations, National Association of REALTORS, National Association of Surety Bond Producers, National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors, National Black Chamber of Commerce, National Electrical Contractors Association, National Fire & Casualty Company, National Fire & Indemnity Exchange.

National Hockey League, National Investor Relations Institute, National Multifamily Housing Council, National Restaurant Association, National Retail Federation, National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, National Waste & Recycling Association, Nationwide Mutual Fire Insurance Company, New Prague-Ceska-Louisville Mutual Insurance Company, New Vienna Mutual Insurance Association, Nonprofits Insurance Alliance, Norfolk & Dedham Mutual Fire Insurance Company, North Country Chamber of Commerce, North Orange County Chamber, North Star Mutual Insurance Company, Northern Finnish Mutual Insurance Company, Norwegian Mutual Insurance Association, Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI), Oakwood Mutual Insurance Company, Ohio Mutual Insurance Group.

OneBeacon Insurance Group, LLC, Orthopaedic Research Society, Oxnard Chamber of Commerce, Palm Desert Area Chamber of Commerce, Park Hotels & Resorts, Partnership for New York City, Pasadena Chamber of Commerce, Patriot Insurance Company, Pella Mutual Insurance Company, Penn Charter Mutual Insurance Company, Penn National Insurance, Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry, Pennsylvania Lumbermens Mutual Insurance Company, Peoples Mutual Insurance Association, Peru Waltham Mutual Insurance, Pharmacists Mutual Insurance Group, Pioneer State Mutual Insurance Company, PMA Companies, Poweshiek Mutual Insurance Association, Prescott Valley Chamber of Commerce.

Prophetstown Farmers Mutual Insurance Company, Rayonier, Inc., Real Estate Board of New York, Regional Chamber of Commerce--San Gabriel Valley, Reinsurance Association of America, Reno + Sparks Chamber of Commerce, Restoration Risk Retention Group, Inc., Riverton Chamber of Commerce, Rockford Mutual Insurance Company, Rolling Meadows Chamber, Rudin Management Company, Inc., Safety National Casualty Corp., Safety Specialty Insurance Company, San Gabriel Valley Economic Partnership, Schuylkill Chamber of Commerce, Seaview Investors LLC, SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, SECURA Insurance Companies, Selma and Dallas County Chamber of Commerce and Tourism, Information Seneca, Sigel Mutual Insurance Company.

Sentry Insurance, Shelbyville Mutual Insurance Company, Shelter Insurance, Shopping Center Interests, LLC, Sierra Vista Area Chamber of Commerce, Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA), Society Insurance, A Mutual Company, South Jordan Chamber of Commerce, Southeast Mutual Insurance Company, Southern Company, Southwest California Legislative Council, Southwest Iowa Mutual Insurance Association, Spirit Realty Capital, Spring Vale Mutual Insurance Company, Starr Companies, Steele Traill County Mutual Insurance Company, Stephenson County Mutual Insurance Company, Sterling Insurance Company, Stirling Properties, LLC, STORE Capital.

Surprise Regional Chamber of Commerce, Svea Mutual Insurance Company, Sverdrup Mutual Insurance Company, Swiss Re Americas, Tama County Mutual Insurance Association, Taubman Centers, Tenaska, Texas Hospital Insurance Exchange, The Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) International, The Chamber of Medford/Jackson County, The Council of Insurance Agents and Brokers, The Durst Organization, The Gray Insurance Company, The Hanover Insurance Company, The Hartford, The Macerich Company, The MEMIC Group, The Philadelphia Contributionship, The Port Authority of New York, New Jersey, The Real Estate Roundtable.

The Taubman Company, The Travelers Companies, Inc., The Victor Chamber of Commerce, The Walt Disney Company, Torrance Area Chamber of Commerce, Tucson Metro Chamber, Tulsa Regional Chamber, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, U.S. Travel Association, UDR, Inc., UJA-Federation of New York, United Mutual Insurance Company, University Risk Management and Insurance Association, Inc. (URMIA), Upland Mutual Insurance, Inc. Utica First Insurance Company.

Utica National Insurance Group, Valley Mutual Insurance Association, W.R. Berkley Corporation, Watseka Mutual Insurance Company, Wayne Mutual Insurance Company, Weingarten Realty Investor, Welltower, Inc., Western Iowa Mutual Insurance Association, Western National Mutual Insurance Company, Westfield, Westfield Insurance Company, Westminster American Insurance Company, Wholesale & Specialty Insurance Association, Wisconsin Association of Mutual Insurance Companies, Zurich North America.

Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, again, I thank Chairwoman Waters for her leadership and Ranking Member McHenry for working with us in good faith to come up with a bipartisan compromise.

This bill is incredibly important to our economy. I support it completely.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this bill.

Mr. Speaker, and to the Members, we heard Mr. Meeks a moment ago, and we heard from Mrs. Maloney. I can't tell everyone how much time and effort they have put into making sure that we get TRIA reauthorized.

What is interesting about what happened in our committee, aside from the fact that Mr. McHenry and I worked well together, we had the East and the Midwest working very well together. We had roundtables by Mr. Meeks and Mrs. Maloney in New York, and then in Missouri, we had Mr. Cleaver and Mr. Clay working together.

This has been a wonderful opportunity for all of us to work together to see to it that we do the right thing as it relates to responding to the possibility of terrorism and how we handle that.

Mr. Speaker, I am so pleased and so proud that we are on the floor today on a bipartisan bill, and I certainly expect the support from both sides of the aisle.

America stands united against terrorism and the hatred and violence that it represents, and we are stronger as a country when we take steps to ensure that our country can quickly respond to terrorism. By reauthorizing TRIA, we are helping to do just that.

Again, I thank Ranking Member McHenry for working with me on this important bill, as well as all of the members on the committee who have shown real leadership on this issue. We heard from some of them today, particularly Representative Maloney, who has worked for a long time on this legislation. This was so important to her.

Mr. Cleaver, Mr. Clay, and Mr. Meeks have contributed mightily to the organizing of this bill, to work on any difficulties that we may have had, and I am very pleased about that.

Once again, I must say to Mr. McHenry, we have shown that it is possible. Despite the fact that we may not agree on a lot of other things, we came together on this legislation. We agreed, we worked together, and we provided leadership and inspiration to others, understanding that this was possible.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this important piece of legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

The yeas and nays were ordered.

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