In the first order of business for the 114th Congress, the U.S. House of Representatives today passed H.R. 26 – the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2015 – by a vote of 416-5. This legislation will reinstate the federal terrorism risk insurance program that expired on Jan. 1 for six years. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) stated that this legislation will be a top priority for the Senate, and it may come to floor as soon as this week.
The bill would extend the federal terrorism insurance program for six years, increase the insurer co-pay from 15 percent to 20 percent, gradually increase the program’s trigger from $100 million to $200 million, while increasing the recoupment amount by $10 billion, to $37.5 billion.
The bill also includes a provision exempting from Dodd-Frank requirements companies – “end users” – that use derivatives to hedge against business risk.
The measure is virtually identical to the compromise version of S. 2244 in the 113th Congress that was amended and passed by the House in December. The Senate failed to take up that proposal before adjourning for the year.
