Lawmakers near terror insurance deal: sources

By Kristin Roberts

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. House of Representatives
and Senate neared a last-minute deal late on Thursday to extend
government guarantees to cover losses from terrorism, and a
compromise bill could come up for final approval in one of the
chambers as early as Friday, congressional sources and
lobbyists said.

Some sources close to the discussions said only technical
issues remained in lawmakers’ push to extend the Terrorism Risk
Insurance Act (TRIA), although others said the House and Senate
had still not reached agreement on at least one substantive
issue.

“It’s close, but not done,” said one Republican source.

The House and Senate have passed separate and distinct
bills to extend TRIA, enacted after the September 11, 2001,
attacks on the United States, to create a temporary federal
program of shared compensation for losses from terrorist
events.

TRIA is set to expire December 31 if not extended.

Congressional staff have been working informally on a
compromise bill this week.

A proposal was floated by negotiators in the House on
Tuesday but sources said the Senate was still pushing for much
of its original version of the bill. The Bush administration,
which supports the Senate version, also said this week that it
would oppose any efforts to expand TRIA, including some
proposals that were being weighed in the House.

On Thursday, some sources said only a few issues remained
in the negotiations, including a proposal requiring mandatory
payback of federal assistance to insurers.

A deal could be reached by Thursday night or early Friday,
and the bill could be moved to the Senate and House floors, and
approved by unanimous consent, on Friday or Saturday, they
said.

The House has hoped to finish its work for the year on
Saturday. The Senate could remain in session into next week,
members have indicated.

TRIA was enacted as a temporary program aimed at keeping
construction and the economy moving when wary insurers were
reluctant to offer coverage.

Under the program, insurers must make terrorism coverage
available and in return, the U.S. government guarantees it will
bear a large percentage of future losses above certain
thresholds.

The property and insurance industries have pushed for an
extension, arguing they remain unable to judge the likelihood
of attack and therefore cannot price policies. But the White
House and many Republicans have opposed extending TRIA without
curbing taxpayers’ potential liability.