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Monday, April 8, 2002

U.S. Chamber Joins Bush Call for Senate Action on Terrorism Insurance

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The United States Chamber of Commerce today joined President Bush in his call for Senate action on terrorism insurance to guarantee that American businesses have the coverage they need to sustain their operations and protect jobs and our economy.        

“The Senate must act quickly to provide businesses with an insurance backstop to keep our economy growing,” said Bruce Josten, U.S. Chamber executive vice president.  “Failure to act now could cause lenders to refuse credit, sabotaging many real estate transactions, development projects and American jobs.”

A significant and growing number of facilities are being forced to operate without terrorism coverage, leaving business owners, employees, and their families economically vulnerable in the event of a terrorist attack.  Others are now forced to pay astronomical prices for coverage, tying up otherwise productive capital that could be used for job creation and growth. 

Since September 11, the Chamber has lobbied aggressively in support of terrorism insurance legislation with modest liability protections.  The Chamber has also sent action alerts to its grassroots network of nearly 4,000 association and state and local chamber members and more than 45,000 activists across the country, urging them to call or write their Senators. 

The U.S. House passed the Terrorism Risk Protection Act (H.R. 3210) last November, which protects the availability of terrorism insurance coverage for millions of American businesses and limits lawsuits that seek to blame businesses for terrorist acts. 

 “The economic impact of terrorist acts should be minimized ” added Josten.  “Without congressional action, our economy is highly at risk from any future attacks.”         

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world’s largest business federation, representing more than three million businesses of every size, sector and region.

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