December 21, 2019
After a year-long effort to reauthorize the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA), United States Representative Emanuel Cleaver, II (D-MO) Chairman of the Financial Services Subcommittee on National Security, applauded the inclusion of the seven-year reauthorization of TRIA in the House FY2020 appropriations legislation, which was passed with overwhelming bipartisan support.
“It’s always a good feeling to see your hard work be rewarded, and, after a year of proactive efforts to reauthorize TRIA, I’m proud we were able to have it included in this year’s appropriations legislation,” said Congressman Cleaver. “Considering the first major terrorist attack in the United States occurred in the Midwest with the 1995 Oklahoma City Bombing, which killed 168 people, including 19 children, I think it’s important that congressional leaders from the heartland led the charge in extending this vital program. Failure to extend the program would have left our nation vulnerable to attack and financial instability, which is why I’m happy we were able to put politics aside and put the security of the American people and the economy first and foremost.”
In May, Congressman Cleaver co-hosted a roundtable discussion on TRIA with Rep. Wm. Lacy Clay (D-MO) in Kansas City. Reps. Al Green (D-TX) and Ed Perlmutter (D-CO), along with local stakeholders, businesses, and insurance representatives, were also in attendance. The roundtable allowed several chairmen of Financial Services Subcommittees to hear directly from those who are affected by the reauthorization of TRIA. In October, as chairman of the Financial Services Subcommittee on National Security, Cleaver held a hearing on legislation to reauthorize TRIA (H.R. 4634). Following a mark-up of H.R. 4634, the bill passed the House of Representatives in November. Today, the provisions from H.R. 4634 were included in the appropriations legislation.
Following the attacks of September 11, insurers and reinsurers pulled back from offering terrorism coverage. Some observers feared that a lack of insurance against terrorism loss would have a wide-ranging economic impact, particularly because insurance coverage can be a significant factor in lending decisions. Congress responded to the disruption in the insurance market by passing the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act of 2002. Congress has passed three extensions to the TRIA program, in 2005, in 2007, and in 2015. The most recent reauthorization extended the program nearly six years, until the end of 2020, while reducing the government’s share of the losses compared with the program as it was in 2014.
Emanuel Cleaver, II is the U.S. Representative for Missouri’s Fifth Congressional District, which includes Kansas City, Independence, Lee’s Summit, Raytown, Grandview, Sugar Creek, Blue Springs, Grain Valley, Oak Grove, North Kansas City, Gladstone, Claycomo, and all of Ray, Lafayette, and Saline Counties. He is a member of the exclusive House Financial Services Committee; Chairman of the House Subcommittee on National Security, International Development, and Monetary Policy; member of the Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress; member of the Committee on Homeland Security; and a Senior Whip of the Democratic Caucus.
