[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 148 (2002), Part 15]
[Senate]
[Pages 20988-20989]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                          TERRORISM INSURANCE

  Mr. DODD. Mr. President, as we are in the closing hours of this 
session--I am told there is some discussion about coming back after the 
election--we have not yet reached a final agreement on the terrorism 
insurance bill in the sense that there are conference reports that are 
being read. Obviously, Members from this Chamber and the other Chamber 
have departed for their respective districts and States. So despite the 
long hours last night, the early hours of this morning and today to 
achieve the final signing of a conference report, that particular 
effort has not been achieved yet.
  It is appropriate and proper to suggest to those who are interested 
in the subject matter that we are on the brink of a very good and 
strong agreement dealing with terrorism insurance. Obviously, it is not 
finished until the conferees of the Senate and the other body sign the 
conference report, both bodies then vote on a conference report, and 
the President signs it. So there are several steps to go after people 
who have worked on a product and submit it to all of our colleagues, 
particularly those who are on the conference, for their approval.
  I am heartened and confident that when Members look at the agreement, 
they will be satisfied we did a good job. I will quickly point out that 
like any agreement involving 535 different people, not including the 
President of the United States, where there are divided institutions, 
as they are in the Senate and the other body, getting an agreement that 
one side or the other would find entirely favorable is very 
unrealistic.
  I went through a process with my good friend now from the State of 
Ohio, Bob Ney, on election reform. We have spent a lot of days, a lot 
of nights and weekends working out that bill.
  There are those in this Chamber and the other Chamber who are not 
satisfied with everything we did--I understand why--but we never would 
have achieved a bill had it been a bill to the total satisfaction of 
one side or the other. I will say the same is going to be true about 
terrorism insurance.
  I commend Mike Oxley, the chairman of the House Banking Committee, 
Jim Sensenbrenner, and others who have worked on this legislation.
  I commend the White House and the Treasury Department.
  I thank my colleague, Senator Sarbanes, who is the chairman of the 
Banking Committee and chairman of the conference on terrorism 
insurance, Senator Schumer, Senator Reed of Rhode Island, Senator 
Gramm, Senator Shelby, and Senator Enzi, all of whom have been 
conferees on the Senate side. Certainly, their staffs have labored.
  I thank the majority leader's office and the minority leader's 
office. A lot of people have worked on this bill.
  If I were asked whether this is the bill I would write if I could 
write it alone, I would say no. I am sure Chairman Oxley would say the 
same thing. Were it his opportunity to write a bill perfectly, he would 
write something different than what we wrote. But we believe it is the 
best we could do under these circumstances.
  The terrorism insurance bill is about policyholders. It is about 
jobs. It is about an economic condition of a country that is faltering. 
While this proposal is not going to solve all of those problems when 
there are a lot of people out of work, a lot of construction projects 
that have stopped, a lot of fine businesses and industries that cannot 
get insurance and thus cannot borrow money, then that contributes to an 
economic difficulty in the country which we are witnessing.
  We have worked a long time to arrive at a product we think can be 
constructive, one that the President could sign, and one that Members 
could support. Obviously, I do not know all of the situations in the 
other body, but I can say that in this Senate we are going to make a 
real effort to send this conference report around and give Members a 
chance to read it. Frankly, we wanted to have that done before the 
close of business today, but when we were up until about 4 or 4:30 this 
morning, began again at 9:30 this morning, and did not finish the final 
product until late this afternoon, it is unrealistic to assume everyone 
could have read this, gone over it carefully, and signed off on it.
  I regret we were unable to get that done, but I believe before the 
final gavel comes down on this session, whenever that is, the Congress 
of the United States will have a chance to express its approval of this 
effort.
  I wish I could stand here and say that this is done. It is not, 
because we need those signatures on this conference report. But I can 
say that those who have been involved in trying to craft it believe we 
have put together a good agreement.
  Mr. REID. Will the Senator yield?
  Mr. DODD. I am happy to yield to the Senator.
  Mr. REID. This is more of a comment than a question. The Senator from 
Connecticut has been on the floor this week for two very important 
reasons. One was to announce election reform, which is landmark 
legislation. No matter how one looks at it, it is landmark legislation. 
Also, the Senator from Connecticut has worked on this terrorism 
insurance bill for more than a year.
  The reason I mention this is that there are no legislative winners or 
losers. It is something that was done on a bipartisan basis, each not 
getting everything they wanted but coming up with a product that is 
good for the American people.
  The Senator is a veteran legislator. We all know that. But I really 
want to spread on the Record of this Senate how important it is to have 
someone such as the Senator from Connecticut who can work with people 
on the other side of the aisle to come up with a product for which no 
one can claim credit. This is not a Democrat or Republican victory with 
regard to election reform and terrorism insurance--when that is 
approved, and I am confident it will be. It will not be a victory for 
the Democrats or the Republicans. It will be a victory for the American 
people.
  The way we were able to do so was with patience, perseverance, and 
the expertise of the Senator from Connecticut. On behalf of the entire 
Senate, the people of Nevada, who badly need both pieces of 
legislation, and the rest of the country, I applaud the work of the 
Senator from Connecticut.
  Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I thank my colleague from Nevada for those 
very gracious comments. I thank him for his efforts, as well as the 
very fine staff people, on both the terrorism insurance issue, which is 
an important question in his State, and the election reform bill.
  I think we have finally come to realize--maybe it takes some of us 
longer than others--that any product that is going to have much merit 
requires that it be one reached on a bipartisan basis. The very fact 
that this institution is divided about as equally as it can be demands 
that.
  I have served in this Chamber in the minority by a significant number 
of seats, and I have served in the majority by a significant number of 
seats. I have served in this Chamber, obviously, as we all do today, 
when we have been evenly divided. Under any set of circumstances short 
of an overwhelming number, measures need to be worked out with each 
other. We have to sit down and resolve differences across party lines.
  The Senator from Nevada is a master at it. He was generous in his 
comments about the Senator from Connecticut. All of us admire the 
patience, the diligence, and the tenacity of Senator Reid. There is no 
one who fights harder and spends more time every day to try to make 
things happen. There is no more frustrating job.
  I found that out working on these last two issues, and that was 
frustrating enough. I am tired. I have been up several nights into the 
wee hours of the morning. I have talked about that 1-year-old daughter 
of mine. I have been accused of trying to avoid some of the paternal 
responsibilities that come with a new child by legislating too late at 
night. That is hardly the case. I cannot wait to get home to her.
  I have admiration for Senator Reid, who does it every day, but for 
those who do this on occasion, it is very

[[Page 20989]]

hard. To do it every single day we are here takes a special talent and 
ability and commitment to this country. No one embraces those qualities 
better than the senior Senator from Nevada.
  I thank the Senator for the kind words about the Senator from 
Connecticut. But they can be said with greater emphasis about the 
Senator from Nevada. I am sorry we cannot urge the adoption of a 
conference report on terrorism insurance. We will do that shortly 
sometime within the next few weeks. I am confident that before the 
Congress ends, enough Members, as they have already indicated in this 
Chamber, will be willing to sign a conference report, and hopefully the 
other Chamber will do the same.
  Again, my compliments to the leadership of the other body and the 
leadership here for insisting we work to try to get this done. It is 
never an easy job. You have to try to work things out. I thank the 
President of the United States, as well, and his very kind staff. They 
worked very hard to keep us at this. When a number of us became 
discouraged on whether it was worthwhile spending anymore time, people 
at the White House, legislative staff kept saying: let's stick with it 
and see if we cannot come up with some answers. I admire that tenacity 
and that commitment.
  I look forward to the final passage of this bill. It will happen, 
without any doubt. It is just a matter of time. I thank those involved 
in the process.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Minnesota.

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