Barney Frank: “I don't think the market will work and neither does any participant in the market either as an insurer, or any…”

“I don't think the market will work and neither does any participant in the market either as an insurer, or any significant number, or as the insured. But even if it could, it does not seem to me that it should. If you did this purely in the private market, you would give to the vicious attackers of America the power to decide that it would be more expensive to do business in some parts of our country than others. You could have another video from the despicable Osama Bin Laden in which he could threaten that he would take action against this area or that area, these facilities or those facilities, and their insurance premiums would go up. Yes, the private market should govern all those things which it deals with, with fire and with other forms of casualty and even with natural disasters. But to put in the hands of America's enemies this economic power is a grave error. Should the taxpayers pay for it? Yes, because it is a matter of national defense. It is a matter of homeland security.”