H.R. 3210 -Terrorism Risk Protection Act 1. Modified closed rule.
2. Provides that, in lieu of the amendments recommended by the Committee on Financial Services and the Committee on Ways and Means, an amendment in the nature of a substitute consisting of the text of H.R. 3357 shall be considered as adopted.
3. Waives all points of order against consideration of the bill, as amended.
4. Provides one hour of debate in the House equally divided and controlled by the chairman and ranking minority member of the Committee on Financial Services.
5. Provides for consideration of the amendment in the nature of a substitute printed in the Rules Committee report accompanying the resolution, if offered by Representative LaFalce or his designee, which shall be considered as read and shall be separately debatable for one hour equally divided and controlled by the proponent and an opponent.
6. Waives all points of order against consideration of the amendment printed in the report.
7. Provides one motion to recommit with or without instructions.
--------- RESOLUTION Resolved, That upon the adoption of this resolution it shall be in order without intervention of any point of order to consider in the House the bill (H.R. 3210) to ensure the continued financial capacity of insurers to provide coverage for risks from terrorism. The bill shall be considered as read for amendment. In lieu of the amendments recommended by the Committee on Financial Services and the Committee on Ways and Means now printed in the bill, an amendment in the nature of a substitute consisting of the text of H.R. 3357 shall be considered as adopted. The previous question shall be considered as ordered on the bill, as amended, and on any further amendment thereto to final passage without intervening motion except: (1) one hour of debate on the bill, as amended, equally divided and controlled by the chairman and ranking minority member of the Committee on Financial Services; (2) the further amendment printed in the report of the Committee on Rules accompanying this resolution, if offered by Representative LaFalce of New York or his designee, which shall be in order without intervention of any point of order, shall be considered as read, and shall be separately debatable for one hour equally divided and controlled by the proponent and an opponent; and (3) one motion to recommit with or without instructions.
SUMMARY OF AMENDMENT MADE IN ORDER UNDER THE RULE
(summary derived from information provided by amendment sponsor) LaFalce - Democratic Substitute. Democratic Substitute. Includes an industry deductible, to be met by individual company retention and industry-wide assessment, of $5 billion in Year 1, increasing to $10 billion in Year 2 if no event occurs in Year 1. Requires each company to meet its deductible before receiving federal assistance. Requires terrorism coverage as part of commercial property and casualty insurance, contains no limitation on tort actions or recoveries, or tax provisions. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to provide financial assistance to commercial property and casualty insurers to cover insured losses resulting from terrorist acts. Also provides that: individual companies retain losses of up to 7% of their net premiums, until the immediate industry-wide deductible is met; federal financial assistance covers 90 percent of losses over the deductible (no first dollar payment); amounts over the industry deductible, up to $20 billion, would be repaid by property and casualty insurers over time; annual repayments would be limited to 3 percent of insurers’ written premiums; financial assistance in amounts over $20 billion may be repaid by a surcharge on policyholders. Requires the Secretary, in determining whether to establish a surcharge on policyholders, to consider the cost to the taxpayer, economic conditions, affordability of insurance, and other factors. Includes studies on the impact of terrorism on the life insurance industry and on the advisability of establishing a terrorism reinsurance pool. (60 minutes)
TEXT OF LaFALCE AMENDMENT MADE IN ORDER UNDER THE RULE (.pdf)
SUMMARY OF AMENDMENT IN THE NATURE OF A SUBSTITUTE
TO BE CONSIDERED AS ADOPTED(summary derived from information provided by amendment sponsor) Armey - Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute consisting of the text of H.R. 3357.
Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to conduct a study of issues relating to permitting property and casualty insurance companies to establish deductible reserves against losses for future acts of terrorism.
Provides that, if the Secretary of the Treasury makes a determination that one or more acts of terrorism occur, then an exclusive federal cause of action is triggered for lawsuits arising out of, relating to, or resulting from the acts of terrorism and the following litigation management provisions apply: for each determination by the Secretary that one or more acts of terrorism occurred, the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation shall designate one or more federal district courts which shall have original and exclusive jurisdiction over all actions for any claim brought under the federal cause of action; in an action brought under the federal cause of action for damages, no punitive damages shall be awarded; each defendant in such an action shall be liable only for the amount of noneconomic damages, such as those for pain and suffering, in direct proportion to the percentage of responsibility of the defendant for the harm to the plaintiff (no joint and several liability); any recovery by a plaintiff on a claim under the federal cause of action shall be reduced by the amount of collateral source compensation, if any, that the plaintiff received or is entitled to receive as a result of the acts of terrorism; reasonable attorneys fees for work performed shall be subject to the discretion of the court, but in no event shall any attorney charge or collect compensation in an amount in excess of 20 percent of the damages or 20 percent of any court-approved settlement.
Accelerates industry assessments following a terrorist event, with up to $5 billion assessed immediately upon an event in year 1, and (if the program is extended) up to $10 billion in years 2 or 3. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to consider the impact on rural areas and small commercial centers, as well as on various specific lines of commercial insurance. Adds a per event deductible of $5 million per company to avoid triggering federal assistance for de minimus amounts. Adds a sense of the Congress to clarify that terrorist events causing in excess of $100 billion in losses would necessitate further action by Congress to address such a catastrophe. Adds civil penalties for insurers that submit false data or fail to pay assessed amounts. Exempts contractual arbitration agreements from the sovereign immunity provisions. Requires a study on the availability and affordability of terrorism insurance for railroads was expanded to include trucking. Also includes a number of other technical and clarifying changes.
TEXT OF H.R. 3357, AMENDMENT IN THE NATURE OF A SUBSTITUTE
TO BE CONSIDERED AS ADOPTED (.pdf)
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