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Maloney says terror risk insurance law extended for six years

January 9, 2015 By Paula Katinas Brooklyn Daily Eagle
U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney pushed for passage of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act. Photo courtesy Maloney’s office
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U.S. Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney (D-North Brooklyn-Manhattan) is hailing the senate’s passage of a bill to help business buy insurance against terrorism.

On Jan. 8, the senate voted to reauthorize the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act and extend the program for six years. The bill had been approved by the house in December.

After the senate action, the legislation was sent to President Barack Obama for his signature.  

Maloney, a member of the House Financial Services Committee, was a co-sponsor of the TRIA Reauthorization Act. The original TRIA program was created by Congress in 2002, extended for two additional years in 2005, and for seven additional years in 2007. The program expired at the end of 2014.

Maloney said the TRIA program is important because it gives business owners, particularly those in the construction industry, the opportunity to purchase terrorism insurance. Under the TRIA, there is a federal backstop for insurance claims filed in relation to acts of terrorism.

“The Terrorism Risk Insurance Act should not have been allowed to expire in the first place. The result has been uncertainty for businesses, loan agreement defaults, development projects stalled, and downgrades threatened. New York City in particular felt the pain of this self-inflicted wound,” Maloney stated.

The program has operated at no cost to taxpayers, according to Maloney, who said RAND Corp. found that eliminating the program could increase federal spending by as much as $7 billion in the event of a major attack.

 

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