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Lawmakers near terror insurance deal: sources

Posted on: Thursday, 15 December 2005, 19:17 CST

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.

Source: REUTERS

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