Chuck Schumer: “we still live in America, and particularly in my city of New York, in the shadow of 9/11, of the terrorism that…”

“we still live in America, and particularly in my city of New York, in the shadow of 9/11, of the terrorism that occurred. Obviously, the thousands of families who have had a loved one taken from their midst live with it every moment of their remaining lives, but the rest of us live with it, too, not only in empathy for them but also in terms of the economic consequences of terrorism. The bottom line is very simple, and that is, because of terrorism, the insurance industry, in terms of insuring risk of large structures in America--whether it be large buildings that make us so proud of the Manhattan skyline, or large arenas such as the football stadiums that dot America, or larger facilities such as Disneyland, Disney World, and amusement parks--all have difficulty getting insurance. Insurers are worried that if, God forbid, another terrorist act occurs it will be so devastating that it will put them out of business. So they either provide no insurance or provide it at such a high rate because of the downside risk. Small as it may be--and we hope it is--it is still possible that an act so enormous that if, God forbid, it occurs, they do not want to be involved. So 2 years ago, the Senate, House, and the President got together at sort of the end of the day and passed terrorism risk insurance. It has been a large success.…”