Norton Says House Terrorism Insurance Passage Today Vital to D.C. and Her GSA Committee Work

Press Release

Norton Says House Terrorism Insurance Passage Today Vital to D.C. and Her GSA Committee Work

Washington, DC-- Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) said she was relieved that the House passed H.R. 2761, the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act, today. Norton, a member of the Committee on Homeland Security, has been a strong proponent of this legislation ever since 9/11 because of the unique vulnerability of the District's real estate market to a terrorist attack. The bill extends the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act for 15 years, and the extension is especially important to assure that pending large-scale building projects move forward. Many of them are important to Norton's work as chair of the subcommittee with jurisdiction over GSA, which leases most of the space federal agencies use from private developers and owners. "H.R. 2761 is especially important to the District in light of large-scale projects in the planning phase or currently under construction," Norton said. "The NOMA area (North of Massachusetts Avenue), Southeast Federal Center, the old convention center site, and the redevelopment of the St. Elizabeths campus are examples of large-scale projects that will be in a better position to proceed because of this bill."

The bill has broad support from insurance companies, insurance agents, policy holders, commercial developers, and construction companies. H.R. 2761 also extends terrorism coverage to both foreign and domestic terrorist acts instead of only to foreign acts as before.

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