Political Quotes

“This bill, the Terrorism Risk Extension Act, was enacted 3 years ago in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks and was intended at the time to provide temporary mechanisms to allow the marketplace to adapt after the economic dislocations that resulted from those attacks on September 11. This summer, Treasury Secretary Snow issued a report highlighting the importance of allowing private insurance companies to regain their hold in the marketplace. As the report showed, TRIA successfully bridged that gap created by the September 11 terrorist attacks and very effectively enabled the insurance marks to stabilize. The continued presence of the federally backed subsidy risked crowding out private market initiatives and slowing down, impeding the development of private market solutions. That is why I called for an extension of TRIA that was narrow, that was targeted and minimized interference with our markets. The bill we just passed achieves that goal. The taxpayers' exposure is lessened by reducing the lines of coverage subject to the Federal backstop, and the insurance industry's exposure is increased. I am gratified we passed the bill. Over the long term the Federal Government cannot be a substitute for market-based solutions. I thank Chairman Shelby and Senator Dodd for their hard work on this very important bill. It hasn't been easy, but it has now been accomplished. ____________________”