[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 48 (Thursday, April 25, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Page S3455]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   TERRORISM REINSURANCE LEGISLATION

  Mr. NELSON of Florida. Mr. President, the hour is late, and I am not 
going to speak but a couple of minutes, just to lay the predicate for 
the subject that the distinguished Senator from Nevada has just raised, 
to which the Republican minority has entered an objection--the bill on 
providing Federal backup for the terrorism risk the insurance industry 
would assume.
  I am assuming that eventually we will get some agreement to bring 
this legislation to the floor. I want the record to reflect that it is 
the considered judgment of this Senator, with the experience I have had 
in my former public service as insurance commissioner of Florida, that 
there needs to be some considerable tightening of this legislation, and 
the majority leader and the assistant majority leader have been kind 
enough to indicate that I will be protected in order to offer one of 
the amendments.
  That amendment would simply be to make sure the rates are frozen on 
any further rate hike until the actuarial soundness can be determined 
of what should be the rate with regard to the terrorism risk. The 
problem for determining that is the fact that there is no data--very 
little, except for the data we now have from September 11, and that is 
the only experience we have, save the earlier decade of the nineties 
and the attempt at bombing the World Trade Center. Therefore, it is 
very difficult to determine what is an adequate rate. Because it is 
difficult, it is also easy to jack the rates up sky high.
  So that is the burden I will come to the floor to try to address.
  If the Republican minority ever releases their objection to this 
legislation, then we need to perfect this legislation so that the 
ratepayers, the consumers, are not paying a much higher rate for the 
terrorism risk than is justified by actuarial soundness.
  I thank the assistant majority leader for presiding so I could come 
down to make this statement. I look forward to working with the 
leadership on this issue.
  I yield the floor.
  (Mr. NELSON of Florida assumed the chair).

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