Key Vote NO on the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act, S. 2244

As one of our over 6.5 million FreedomWorks activists nationwide, I urge you to contact your senators and ask them to vote NO on the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act, S. 2244. Sponsored by Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY), this bill would continue to allow insurers to continue to reap the benefits of offering terrorism risk insurance while forcing taxpayers to cover much of the cost.

Like so many programs, the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA) was meant to be temporary. After 9/11, the massive cost incurred to the insurers who covered the businesses destroyed by the attacks caused massive insurance companies to either sharply increase the cost of including coverage for terrorist events or to cease offering such coverage altogether. Thus, TRIA “temporarily” gave a government guarantee that taxpayers would cover a majority of an insurers’ payouts in the event of another mass-scale attack.

In the decade that has since passed, the market – as it tends to do – adjusted to the new circumstances of the post-9/11 world, and terrorism coverage became cheaper and more widely purchased and available. Insurance companies have had plenty of time to evaluate the premiums necessary to cover the risks of these attacks. Thus, TRIA is no longer necessary.
TRIA was an emergency measure designed to address a specific problem that has since been solved. There is zero reason why the program should not be allowed to expire, allowing insurers to assume their own risk for the coverage they offer instead of settling that burden upon taxpayers.

Please contact your senators and ask that they vote NO on the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act. FreedomWorks will count a vote on this bill as a Key Vote when calculating our Economic Freedom Scorecard for 2014. The scorecard is used to determine eligibility for the FreedomFighter Award, which recognizes Members of Congress who consistently vote to support economic freedom.

Sincerely,

Matt Kibbe
President and CEO,
FreedomWorks