TRIA PROGRAM REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2026

On 2026-06-29, Representative John W. Rose (R-TN-6) delivered a floor speech titled "TRIA PROGRAM REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2026" in the House.

TRIA PROGRAM REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2026

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 108 (Monday, June 29, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 108 (Monday, June 29, 2026)] [House] [Pages H4273-H4279] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] {time} 1500 TRIA PROGRAM REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2026 Mr. FLOOD. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 7128) to extend the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program, and for other purposes, as amended. The Clerk read the title of the bill. The text of the bill is as follows: H.R. 7128 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``TRIA Program Reauthorization Act of 2026''. [[Page H4274]] SEC. 2. EXTENSION. Section 108(a) of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act of 2002 (15 U.S.C. 6701 note) is amended by striking ``2027'' and inserting ``2034''. SEC. 3. IMPROVEMENTS TO CERTIFICATION PROCESS. Section 102(1) of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act of 2002 (15 U.S.C. 6701 note) is amended-- (1) in subparagraph (B)-- (A) in clause (i), by striking ``or'' at the end; (B) in clause (ii), by striking ``exceed $5,000,000.'' and inserting: ``exceed-- ``(I) with respect to an act that occurred in a year before 2029, $5,000,000; and ``(II) with respect to an act that occurred in 2029, or any year thereafter, $10,000,000; or''; and (C) by adding at the end the following: ``(iii) the Secretary did not issue to the public a final determination to certify such act as an act of terrorism before the expiration of the applicable period described in subparagraph (D)(ii).''; and (2) by striking subparagraph (D) and inserting the following: ``(D) Review and determinations.-- ``(i) Notice of review.-- ``(I) In general.--The Secretary shall, not later than 30 days after beginning the process of determining whether to certify an act as an act of terrorism, publish a notice in the Federal Register that informs the public that the Secretary is in the process of determining whether to certify the act as an act of terrorism. ``(II) Additional notice permitted.--The Secretary may, as the Secretary determines appropriate, notify the public, through publication in the Federal Register, or otherwise, that an act is not being evaluated by the Secretary to determine whether it should be certified as an act of terrorism. ``(ii) Period of review.-- ``(I) In general.--Except as described in subclause (II), the Secretary shall conclude any process of determining whether to certify an act as an act of terrorism not later than 90 days after publishing a notice in the Federal Register under clause (i)(I). ``(II) Exception.--If, during the 90-day period following the publication of a notice in the Federal Register under clause (i)(I), the Secretary determines there is insufficient information available at that time to determine if an act is eligible for certification as an act of terrorism, the Secretary may, before the end of such 90-day period, extend the process of determining whether to certify an act as an act of terrorism for a period not to exceed 365 days following the date on which the damage attributable to such act occurred, as determined by the Secretary, and shall notify the public of any such extension. ``(iii) Issuance of final determination.--If the Secretary decides to certify an act as an act of terrorism, the Secretary shall, before the expiration of the period applicable under clause (ii), issue to the public a final determination that certifies such act as an act of terrorism and such determination shall be irrevocable. ``(iv) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this subparagraph may be construed to require to the Secretary to issue a final determination under clause (iii) about any act that the Secretary does not certify as an act of terrorism.''. SEC. 4. REPORTING. Section 104(h)(2) of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act of 2002 (15 U.S.C. 6701 note) is amended-- (1) by redesignating subparagraphs (B), (C), (D), (E), and (F) as subparagraphs (C), (D), (E), (F), and (G), respectively; and (2) by inserting after subparagraph (A) the following: ``(B) a list of each act with respect to which the Secretary published a notice in the Federal Register under section 102(1)(D)(i) during the preceding calendar year, that includes-- ``(i) any final determination issued by the Secretary under section 102(1)(D)(iii) with respect to such act; or ``(ii) a concise explanation of why the Secretary did not issue a final determination under section 102(1)(D)(iii) with respect to such act;''. SEC. 5. TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS. (a) In General.--Section 103(e)(7)(E)(i) of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act of 2002 (15 U.S.C. 6701 note) is amended-- (1) in subclause (I)-- (A) by striking ``2022'' and inserting ``2029''; and (B) by striking ``2024'' and inserting ``2031''; (2) in subclause (II)-- (A) by striking ``2023'' and inserting ``2030''; (B) by striking ``2029'' and inserting ``2036''; and (C) by striking ``2024'' and inserting ``2031''; and (3) in subclause (III)-- (A) by striking ``2029'' and inserting ``2036''; and (B) by striking ``2024'' and inserting ``2031''. (b) Technical Corrections.-- (1) Terrorism risk insurance act .--The Terrorism Risk Insurance Act of 2002 (15 U.S.C. 6701 note) is amended by striking ``Terrorism Insurance Program'' each place it appears in text or headings and inserting ``Terrorism Risk Insurance Program''. (2) Federal insurance office.--Section 313(c)(1)(D) of title 31, United States Code, is amended by striking ``Terrorism Insurance Program'' and inserting ``Terrorism Risk Insurance Program''. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Flood) and the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Cleaver) each will control 20 minutes. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Nebraska. General Leave Mr. FLOOD. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on this bill. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Nebraska? There was no objection. Mr. FLOOD. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record the CBO estimate for this bill. EFFECTS ON DIRECT SPENDING AND REVENUES OF LEGISLATION CONSIDERED UNDER SUSPENSION OF THE RULES IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES WEEK OF JUNE 29, 2026 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Additional Information on Link to Bill Number Title Effect on Direct Effect on Direct Spending Published Spending Revenues and Revenue Estimates Effects ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- H.R. 7128.................... TRIA Program Increase by at Increase by at Would increase Reauthorization Least $500K. Least $500K. direct Act of 2026, as spending and amended. revenues by several billion dollars and reduce the deficit by more than $1 billion. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mr. FLOOD. Mr. Speaker, I will start today by thanking Chairman Hill, Ranking Member Waters, and my co-lead on this bill, Congressman Andrew Garbarino. All of us have worked together on legislative text that would reauthorize the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program while also making changes that will protect taxpayers. This legislation would reauthorize TRIA, the program established by Congress in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, through 2034. We are so fortunate that we have never seen a TRIA claim in the program's entire history. I hope that we never ever see one. However, if this program is going to continue to exist with a public backstop, we should ensure we update its charter to protect taxpayers in the event of future claims, and we should work to ensure the certification process is transparent. Allow me to briefly walk through the changes this bill makes to TRIA. Number one, this legislation increases the amount of losses that must result from an event for it to be eligible for review by the Department of the Treasury as a terrorism risk insurance event. The current statutory threshold is $5 million, and this bill would increase that to $10 million for events in 2029 and later. That change will keep this threshold in line with inflation, and it will put in place appropriate protections for taxpayers from future claims. This legislation also provides a couple of new deadlines, or shot clocks, as you may have them, for the Department of the Treasury to certify whether an event is an act of terror. That process would work as follows. First, the Treasury Department would publish its intent to examine a potential event more closely in the Federal Register. They must publish this notice within 30 days of initiating their review of an event. Then, 90 days after publishing that notice in the Federal Register, the Treasury Department would need to come to a decision about whether that event qualifies as an act of terror. If the Treasury Department needs more time, they could extend that deadline up to a year after the original event occurred. Because the program, again, thankfully, has never been tested, we don't have much of a case study on how Treasury's review process would work [[Page H4275]] today. What we do know is that markets tend not to react well to uncertainty. With no active deadlines for review, the current process leaves a lot of room for ambiguity and uncertainty. We want to ensure that if, God forbid, we are in the position of reacting to a potential terrorist attack with a Treasury review, there is sufficient structure to the process to provide insureds and insurers with the information they need on when to expect Treasury's review to conclude. With these changes, there will be trans

Referenced legislation: HR7128, HR7128