WASHINGTON—There appears to be no momentum for Houseaction on legislation reauthorizing the federal backstop onterrorism risk insurance during the current two-week session.

The current version of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act sunsetsDec. 31. But, Congress is expected to be out of session from Sept.19^th until after the mid-term elections.

R.J. Lehmann, editor-in-chief and a senior fellow of the RStreet Institute, a conservative Washington think-tank, said HouseRepublicans appear to have been unable to secure enough votes topush through legislation reported to the floor by the HouseFinancial Services Committee in July over the next two weeks.

That legislation, H.R. 4871, is already onerous, effectivelyphasing out terrorism risk insurance for anything over than fornuclear, biological, radiological, and/or chemical (NBCR)events.

There appears to be some momentum in the House, according toLehmann, to support passage of legislation in the current sessionthat would raise the threshold for a federal backstop for terrorismrisk insurance from the current $100 million to $250 million.

The House appears stuck on the issue even though the Chamber ofCommerce has established a coalition of 400 trade groupsencompassing all of U.S. commerce and industry to push for passageof a bill on a timely basis.

In an op-ed today in a political newspaper circulated on CapitolHill, Leigh Ann Pusey, president and CEO of the American InsuranceAssociation, urged the House to act.

“The Senate voted overwhelmingly in favor of the legislation,which ensures businesses can continue to get the insurance theyneed to protect themselves and the nation's economy frompotentially catastrophic terrorist attacks,” Pusey said.

“But the House has yet to act,' she added. “Considering TRIA'simportance to our nation's economic security, the House should movequickly to approve TRIA reauthorization legislation so this vitalprogram is renewed'” Pusey added.

The Coalition to Insure Against Terrorism (CIAT), whichrepresents the business insurance policyholders as well as the realestate, manufacturing, utility, construction, transportation,entertainment and retail sectors, sent its own letter Tuesdayurging prompt passage. The NAIC also sent a letter Tuesday askingthe House to act in the current session.

“With only a handful of legislative days remaining before theNovember elections, Congress must move quickly to approvelegislation that will ensure TRIA remains in place for years tocome,” CIAT spokesperson Martin DePoy said in the letter.

“There is no homeland security without economic security,” DePoysaid. He said TRIA “helps undermine terrorists who seek to weakenor destroy our way of life by ensuring our economy can more easilyrecover in the event of an attack.”

The NAIC letter noted the particular impact on the workerscompensation insurance market.

“An expiration of TRIA would be particularly disruptive to theworkers' compensation market,” the NAIC letter said. “Workers'compensation benefits are codified in state law and an employercannot decline to provide coverage for acts of terrorism.”

The NAIC letter added that, “Without TRIA, workers' compensationinsurers will likely raise prices or decline to write coverage forbusinesses with many employees concentrated in single locations ornear iconic properties.”

The House bill, H.R. 4871, the TRIA Reform Act of 2014, callsfor gradually increasing the program trigger for all non-nuclear,biological, radiological, and/or chemical (NBCR) events, from $100million to $500 million by 2019, which industry officials sayeffectively phases out the program for non-NBCR events.

The Senate bill is S. 2244, the Terrorism Risk Insurance ProgramReauthorization Act of 2014.

The Senate raised the insurer co-pay from the current 15 percentto 20 percent and the mandatory recoupment from $27.5 billion to$37.5 billion [over five years].