Terrorism Insurance Bill Nears Passage

WASHINGTON, DC-Congress is reportedly close to passing terrorism insurance legislation, as members go back and forth in an effort to work out the main sticking point–partisan disagreement on punitive damages in lawsuits against private entities. Highlighting the crux of the split during a speech in Knoxville, TN, this week, President Bush said, “They’ve been talking about this issue now for a year. Before they go home they need to get a good terrorism insurance bill. One, by the way, that rewards the hard-hats of America, not the trial lawyers of America.”

Conference committee members are in the midst of negotiating a compromise, as evidenced by a letter sent Monday to four Democratic Senators from Republican Reps. Michael Oxley and F. James Sensenbrenner Jr. On the subject of attorneys’ fees, Republicans propose to “narrow the limit on attorneys’ fees contained in the House bill to apply only to damages drawn from the US Treasury.”