Government News

Washington, DC - Congressman Paul E. Kanjorski (PA-11), Chairman of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance, and Government Sponsored Enterprises, today expressed satisfaction that the Subcommittee passed H.R. 2761, the Terrorism Risk Insurance Revision and Extension Act of 2007, by a vote of 26-17. H.R. 2761, as reported, extends TRIA for 10 years, eliminates the distinction between foreign and domestic terrorism, lowers the program’s event triggers, adds group life insurance to the program, creates a blue-ribbon commission to develop long-term recommendations, and improves coverage for nuclear, biological, chemical, and radiological terrorism events. 

The reported bill will now be marked up in the full House Financial Services Committee, which has already announced plans to take up the legislation next week.

The Subcommittee also cast recorded votes on the following amendments:

• Garrett Amendment (FAILED, 14-29): This amendment would have struck the 10-year extension in the current bill and replaced it with a 2-year extension.
• Putnam Amendment (FAILED, 18-25): This amendment would have replaced the 10-year extension in the current bill with a 5-year extension, plus an additional 2-year extension if the first report by the blue-ribbon commissioner recommended the extension.
• Bachmann Amendment (FAILED, 19-24): This amendment would have required the Treasury Department to recover 100 percent of the federal payment under the program instead of stopping at $27.5 billion. Currently, Treasury is required to recoup federal payment up to $27.5 billion through up to a 3 percent surcharge to policyholders per year, and the recovery of amounts above $27.5 billion is at the discretion of the Treasury.

The Manager’s Amendment, as amended by the Subcommittee, offered by Chairman Kanjorski passed on voice vote.