Tillis’ terrorism insurance bill passes House as part of $1.4T government funding package

A bipartisan bill to extend the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program for seven years offered by U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) has been included in a larger $1.4 trillion government funding package approved on Tuesday by the U.S. House of Representatives, which then rushed it to the U.S. Senate for fast action that would ward off a looming federal government shutdown.

“I am proud to see my bipartisan legislation to extend this program will be signed into law so major events like the 2020 RNC Convention in Charlotte and American businesses can be protected and continue to create jobs,” Sen. Tillis said.

The lawmaker in November sponsored the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2019, S. 2877, with cosponsor U.S. Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN) as the Senate’s version of the same-named H.R. 4634, which the House approved last month and sent to the Senate for consideration.

Now the bill is part of the larger government funding package that’s also expected to be passed this week by the Senate. President Donald Trump is also expected to sign the bill into law.

“The Terrorism Risk Insurance Program is an important program that protects North Carolina’s economy and provides peace of mind to the private sector by providing insurance protections at no cost to taxpayers,” Sen. Tillis said.

If enacted, the bill would reauthorize through 2027 the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program within the U.S. Department of the Treasury and require the U.S. Government Accountability Office to report on insurance coverage of cyberterrorism, according to the text of the bill.

The bill is supported by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Coalition to Insure Against Terrorism, the Reinsurance Association of America, Prudential, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, the National Association of Realtors, the American Bankers Association, and the American Property Casualty Insurance Association.