One day after the new session of Congress convened, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill on Jan. 7 to reform the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA) and reauthorize the program for six years through 2020.
The "Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2015" (H.R. 26), which passed by a vote of 416-5, is identical to legislation (S. 2244) that was overwhelmingly passed by the House in December by a vote of 417-7. That bill died when the Senate failed to consider the measure before the last session of Congress adjourned.
NAREIT and its partners in the Coalition to Insure Against Terrorism (CIAT) sent a letter to House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) on Jan. 6 supporting H.R. 26 and praising the House's swift response.
"NAREIT commends Speaker John Boehner, Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Chairman Hensarling for making a TRIA reauthorization bill one of the first legislative actions to pass the new Congress," NAREIT President & CEO Steve Wechsler said. "Each of them had publicly indicated this issue was a priority and needed to be addressed as soon as possible in 2015. We applaud their efforts to pass a reauthorization bill in the first week of the 114th Congress, and we call on the U.S. Senate to follow suit very soon."
H.R. 26 will now be sent to the Senate for consideration. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) on Jan. 7 stated his intention to bring H.R. 26 to the Senate floor as soon as Jan. 8 and pass it prior to the Senate considering the controversial Keystone pipeline issue.
"This would be the best of all worlds – to have the Senate pass the House bill, without any amendments, this week or next and then send it to the White House for final disposition," Wechsler stated. "We are very encouraged with the possibility of the new Congress reauthorizing TRIA this quickly."