Did Industry GOP Fundraiser Jeopardize TRIA?
By Steven Brostoff, Washington Editor
NU Online News Service, June 17, 4:03 p.m. EDT, Washington?Renewal of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act may be delayed by Democrats angered by insurers' fund raising efforts for a candidate opposing one of their party's leaders, according to a top Capital Hill publication.[@@]
The reported payback plan is detailed in the June 14 Roll Call, which said some Senate Democrats are planning to "drag their feet" on a bill to extend TRIA to punish some insurance groups and companies that had been planning to hold a fundraising dinner for John Thune, a Republican running against Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D.
The report quotes unnamed Democratic Senate aides as blasting the insurance industry for planning a fundraising dinner for Mr. Thune at the same time it is lobbying Democrats for support on TRIA extension. One unnamed aide called the industry's efforts "clumsy with respect to both timing and presentation," while another said TRIA extension is not a "must-do" bill.
The article asserts that the dinner was postponed over the controversy and that it will be very difficult to reschedule it. The dinner is sponsored by the American Insurance Association, the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America, and several insurers.
The Roll Call article said that while Democrats still support TRIA extension, there is now little chance the program will be reauthorized this year.
Gary Karr of Washington-based AIA said the association's Political Action Committee supports both Democrats and Republicans who back AIA on its issues. AIA's PAC supports Mr. Thune, Mr. Karr added, because the group believes he is the better candidate on legal reform.
Julie Gackenbach, assistant vice president of government relations with PCI in Des Plaines, Ill., said TRIA extension is not dead. She noted that over 120 members of the House of Representatives signed a letter calling on the Bush Administration to support extension, a position backed by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners and policyholder groups.
As for the Thune fundraiser, Jimi Grande, political director for PCI, said it will be rescheduled and he believes it will draw a large turnout.
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