Republicans and Democrats don’t agree on much these days, but they came together on Tuesday in a big way to renew a key piece of legislation as the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks approaches.
The House has overwhelmingly approved legislation extending the federal government’s terrorism insurance backstop through 2034, delivering one of the more lopsided bipartisan votes of the current Congress.
Lawmakers passed H.R. 7128, the TRIA Program Reauthorization Act of 2026, by a 373-15 vote on June 29.
The measure was considered under suspension of the rules, a procedure generally reserved for legislation expected to receive broad support and requiring a two-thirds majority for passage.
Every Democrat who voted supported the bill. The final tally included 191 Democrats, 181 Republicans and one independent voting in favor. Fifteen Republicans opposed it, while 43 House members did not vote.
The legislation would extend the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program for seven years beyond its current Dec. 31, 2027, expiration date.
Congress created the program through the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act of 2002 after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks caused enormous insured losses and disrupted the private market for terrorism coverage.
Insurers became reluctant to offer terrorism protection after 9/11 because of the difficulty of calculating the probability and potential cost of another catastrophic attack. Congress responded by creating a system in which private insurers continue covering terrorism risks while the federal government provides financial protection against losses from an exceptionally large certified attack.
The program does not mean the federal government automatically pays claims whenever terrorism occurs.
For an event to qualify under the current program, the Treasury secretary must first certify it as an act of terrorism. A single event generally must cause more than $5 million in insured property-and-casualty losses to qualify for certification.
Even after certification, industrywide insured losses must exceed a separate $200 million program trigger before federal loss-sharing becomes available.
Individual insurers are then responsible for a deductible equal to 20% of their previous year’s eligible direct earned premiums. Once the statutory conditions are met, the federal government generally covers 80% of eligible insured losses above an insurer’s deductible, while the insurer remains responsible for the other 20%.
H.R. 7128 would largely preserve that framework while making several changes.
Beginning in 2029, the minimum insured-loss threshold necessary for an individual event to be certified under TRIA would rise from $5 million to $10 million.
That $10 million certification threshold is separate from the much larger $200 million industrywide program trigger that determines when federal loss-sharing can actually begin.
The legislation would also impose greater transparency on the Treasury Department when officials are considering whether an incident qualifies as an act of terrorism.
Under the House-passed bill, Treasury would generally be required to issue public notice when it begins evaluating an event for possible certification.
The measure establishes a 90-day framework for the review and allows a limited extension if officials do not yet have enough information to reach a determination. Supporters argue that providing a clearer timeline would reduce uncertainty for insurers, businesses and property owners following a major attack.
The bill is sponsored by Rep. Mike Flood, R-Neb., chairman of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance. Its congressional supporters also include lawmakers from both parties.
Before reaching the House floor, the Financial Services Committee approved the legislation 51-2 in January.
Flood said the program has never actually paid a claim because no terrorist attack has been certified under TRIA since the law was created.
“We are so fortunate that we have never seen a TRIA claim in the program’s entire history,” Flood said during House consideration of the measure.
He argued, however, that maintaining the program provides insurers and businesses with certainty while the changes in H.R. 7128 would improve transparency and provide additional taxpayer protections if the federal backstop is ever activated.
House Financial Services Committee Chairman French Hill, R-Ark., similarly argued that the program gives policyholders confidence that terrorism insurance will remain available for major commercial properties.
“The purpose of TRIA is spelled out in the original law,” Hill said, describing it as a system of shared private and public compensation for insured terrorism losses.
The commercial real estate industry has been particularly supportive of extending the program.
