Chuck Schumer: “I have quotes from President Bush who stated last month how important this was; from the Joint Economic Committee of the…”

“I have quotes from President Bush who stated last month how important this was; from the Joint Economic Committee of the Congress, ably chaired by our Presiding Officer, from May 23; from FBI Director Robert Mueller; from Vice President Cheney; from Secretary Donald Rumsfeld; from Larry Lindsay; from Secretary Paul O'Neill; from Reserve Chairman Greenspan. All of these people are not known as people who believe the Government ought to come in and solve the problem at the drop of a hat. In fact, philosophically most of them are of the opposite view. They all felt the need to talk about terrorism insurance. We have to move this legislation. We have to move forward. Again, each of us could have our own idea on how to make it better, how to change it. We know things will fall apart. My guess is, if we don't solve this problem now, we are not going to solve it until a crisis is truly upon us, until this slow drain on the economy, which the lack of terrorist insurance is causing, becomes not a flow but a cascade. Then, of course, the damage will have been done, and it will be almost too late.”