Bob Menendez: “we could have and should have a much stronger bill on the floor, both to protect our economy, and to protect the victims…”

“we could have and should have a much stronger bill on the floor, both to protect our economy, and to protect the victims of terrorist attacks. Given the extraordinary circumstances, it is reasonable to provide a Federal ``backstop'' to the insurance industry for terrorist attacks. Developers, builders, and the people they employ need to know that insurance is available--otherwise, important projects may come to a halt, American commerce will be hurt, and jobs will be lost. The problem is while the Republican bill provides a guarantee to the insurance industry, it does not in turn require that the industry provides the insurance when it is needed; the Democratic substitute does. We also need to make sure that in the event of an attack, victims can go after any negligent parties. But the Republican bill severely limits victims' rights--even in cases where the negligence was willful. That is not, in my view, a defensible position. Finally, while we are undertaking this important effort, we should also be doing much more for the many American workers who have already lost their jobs. I support guaranteeing insurance against terrorism is readily available. I support full victims' rights. And it is because of my belief in those principles that I must oppose final passage, with the hope and trust that these deficiencies can be fixed in conference.”