White House reviewing terror risk insurance bill

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House said on Wednesday it was reviewing a bill that would renew the federal government's terrorism risk insurance program for seven years.

"We are reviewing that bill," said White House spokeswoman Dana Perino in a briefing with reporters in answer to a question about whether President George W. Bush would sign the bill to renew the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA).

"Last spring, we had concerns about the bill," Perino said. "So, they're reviewing the bill now for the final scrub of it before we can decide whether or not he'll sign it."

Although the Bush administration favors ending TRIA, it said earlier this year that it would not oppose extending TRIA for now along the lines of the bill now under its review.

Congress sent a seven-year TRIA extension bill to Bush after the House of Representatives voted for it on Tuesday, with less than two weeks left before the program is due to expire.

TRIA promises federal government aid for private-sector insurance companies should they be hit by massive terrorism damage claims.

The renewal backed by Congress would expand TRIA to cover domestic as well as foreign terrorist attacks, but it would make few other changes to a program in place since 2002.

Supporters of the program say it is critical to stabilizing major urban property markets, especially in New York City, by ensuring that insurers offer terrorism risk coverage.

But critics of TRIA call it an unneeded subsidy to insurers that could cover terrorism risk without a government backstop.

Some rural Republican lawmakers, as well as the Bush administration, want to eventually shut down TRIA to make way for fuller development of a private sector terrorism coverage market.

Major insurers such as State Farm, Travelers Cos Inc> and Allstate Corp, as well as reinsurers and