The U.S. House voted to extend by six years a federal backstopfor insurers offering coverage against terrorism, advancing effortsto retain a program created in response to the attacks of Sept. 11,2001.

House lawmakers passed the Terrorism Risk Insurance Actextension today in a 417-7 vote that sends the measure to theSenate. Approval there would move the measure to President BarackObama for final approval.

Representative Jeb Hensarling, a Texas Republican, and SenatorCharles Schumer, a New York Democrat, agreed this week on anextension that would see insurers get reimbursements afterindustrywide losses in a terror attack reach $200 million from $100million. The measure would increase companies' co-payments to 20percent from 15 percent and gradually raise the threshold forgovernment involvement.

The bill includes a change to the Dodd-Frank Act to exempt firmsthat trade commodity futures to hedge commercial risk from marginrequirements and a requirement that the Federal Reserve have agovernor with community banking experience.

The Obama administration released a statement today opposinginclusion of the derivatives amendment, saying the measure “shouldnot be used as a vehicle to add entirely unrelated financialregulatory provisions.”

The legislation is S.2244: Terrorism Risk Insurance ProgramReauthorization Act of 2014.

Bloomberg

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