Kennedy, McCormick, bipartisan colleagues introduce bill to extend terrorism risk insurance program

WASHINGTON - Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), a member of the Senate Banking Committee, joined Sens. Dave McCormick (R-Pa.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) and 18 colleagues in introducing the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2026. The bill would extend the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA) for seven years, ensuring businesses do not face a lapse in terrorism risk coverage.

"In the wake of the September 11th attacks, Congress created the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program to support Americans during crises. As America continues to deal with heightened terrorism threats, this program remains as relevant as ever. I'm proud to join my colleagues in introducing a bill to get ahead of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act's expiration date, pass an extension and prevent any lapse in coverage," said Kennedy.

"State sponsors of terror pose a persistent threat to the United States, and we must be prepared. Reauthorizing TRIA ensures businesses and workers in Pennsylvania will be supported in the event of a terror attack," said McCormick.

"The Terrorism Risk Insurance Program is critical to keeping insurance available and affordable to businesses in Minnesota and across the country so they can grow and create jobs. Without this bill, a potential terrorism event would mean a financial catastrophe for many businesses and would be extremely costly to taxpayers. I've worked to make sure this bipartisan measure stays in place since I came to the Senate, and I'm glad to be introducing my TRIA bill again to ensure this vital program doesn't lapse," said Smith.

"Reauthorizing the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program is essential to ensuring businesses have the certainty they need to operate and invest with confidence. This longstanding public-private partnership has helped safeguard our economy for more than two decades, and extending it will prevent disruption while ensuring we remain prepared for evolving threats," said Tillis.

"We have to make sure we're prepared for the worst. I'm proud to co-lead the bipartisan reauthorization of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act. This long-term reauthorization will ensure Arizona businesses can invest in their assets and create jobs with confidence and that they have the resources they need to recover in the event of a major terrorist attack," said Gallego.

In 2002, Congress first passed the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA) to make sure that commercial policyholders could obtain terrorism risk coverage.

The private insurance market has relied on TRIA as a backstop since its passage, with the program only briefly lapsing in 2014. During this short lapse, terrorism coverage effectively became unavailable-a mistake Congress cannot afford to repeat in 2026's threat landscape.

Sens. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Jim Banks (R-Ind.), Katie Britt (R-Ala.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio), Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), Andy Kim (D-N.J.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) and Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.) joined Kennedy, McCormick, Smith and Tillis in introducing the bill.

The full bill text is available here.