(Bloomberg) -- The U.S. House voted to extend by six years a federal backstop for insurers offering coverage against terrorism, advancing efforts to retain a program created in response to the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
House lawmakers passed the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act extension today in a 417-7 vote that sends the measure to the Senate. Approval there would move the measure to President Barack Obama for final approval.
Representative Jeb Hensarling, a Texas Republican, and Senator Charles Schumer, a New York Democrat, agreed this week on an extension that would see insurers get reimbursements after industrywide losses in a terror attack reach $200 million from $100 million. The measure would increase companies’ co-payments to 20 percent from 15 percent and gradually raise the threshold for government involvement.
The bill includes a change to the Dodd-Frank Act to exempt firms that trade commodity futures to hedge commercial risk from margin requirements and a requirement that the Federal Reserve have a governor with community banking experience.
The Obama administration released a statement today opposing inclusion of the derivatives amendment, saying the measure “should not be used as a vehicle to add entirely unrelated financial regulatory provisions.”
The legislation is S.2244: Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2014.
