WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Senator Robert Menendez applauded the unanimous passage today by the Senate Banking Committee of S. 2244, the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act (TRIA) of 2014. Menendez is a co-sponsor of the bill which extends the existing TRIA program for seven years while taking steps to further protect taxpayers.

"As we all know, terrorists choose their targets with the goal of inflicting human, physical, and economic damage," said Sen. Menendez. "As part of that strategy, they seek to harm our economy by making us feel more vulnerable. That's why terrorism risk insurance is important to our national security and our economic security and why I'm pleased this bipartisan bill moved a step forward today, passing the Banking Committee unanimously. In the time since TRIA's enactment, we've learned that TRIA's limited federal backstop is necessary to ensure a properly functioning private market and protect taxpayers. I'm hopeful the full Senate and the House can move as quickly as possible to pass this bill into law."

In the aftermath of the tragic September 11th terrorist attacks on our country and after suffering steep losses, insurance companies stopped offering terrorism coverage as part of their commercial property policies. The lack of coverage had a destabilizing effect on our economy. In response to this, Congress stepped in and created the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program to provide a narrow and targeted government backstop for this critical insurance coverage. The program has since been reauthorized by Congress twice. The existing TRIA program expires on December 31, 2014.

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