Lew: Renew TRIA without riders

Treasury Secretary Jack Lew is urging lawmakers to pass a clean reauthorization of Congress’s terrorism insurance program (TRIA).

In a Sunday letter sent to Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and obtained by The Hill, Lew said members need to reauthorize the program before the year ends or the government shuts down — and without riders.

{mosads}”Given the economic necessity and national security implications of this legislation, TRIA’s reauthorization should not be delayed due to disagreements over entirely unrelated financial regulatory issues,” Lew wrote.

TRIA ensures that the government act as a federal backstop for businesses after a major terror attack. It was created in 2002 after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.

Schumer has negotiated a deal with House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) to reauthorize TRIA for six-years.

Hensarling and other Tea Partyers have argued the program puts taxpayers at risk. And while Schumer and Hensarling have reached a compromise, Republicans are considering attaching provisions to the package.

They include tinkering with language in the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform Law. Republicans argue that the provisions would help boost economic growth, while some Democrats argue that it would weaken regulations passed after the economic collapse.