President Reiterates Need for Terrorism Insurance Agreement
Room 450
Dwight D. Eisenhower Executive Office Building
11:15 A.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Thanks for coming today. We're talking about a
serious subject, which is jobs, the ability for people to find work in
America. I spend a lot of my time worrying about the job security of
our fellow citizens. And after last year's terrorist attacks that
destroyed life and destroyed building, you've got to recognize they
hurt our economy, as well.
We responded to those attacks with incredible unity, and I'm
grateful. And the enemy is not. But we need to show the same unity
and resolve to get our people back to work. Too many Americans are
looking for work and they can't find work. The economic signs are good
-- they are. Interest rates are low, inflation is low; our workers are
the most productive in the world; our entrepreneurs are the most
productive in the world. And that's incredibly positive.
Yet, we can't be satisfied until anybody who is looking for work
can find a job. That's what we've got to do here in America. And we
can do more in Washington, D.C. Before these folks go home, there is
something they can do to help -- help America's hard hats get back to
work on big construction projects.
If there is concern like I know there is about our fellow citizens,
concern here in Washington about people being able to find work, the
Congress can help by passing a terrorism insurance bill now.
(Applause.)
We have been talking about this up here for a year. And our
workers cannot wait any longer. And so my call on the Congress is to
reach an agreement by tomorrow. So by the time they go home, I can
sign a bill -- a bill which will increase our job base by the
thousands.
I want to thank the business leaders who are here who see the
crying need for a terrorism insurance bill. I want to thank the
carpenter union members who stand behind me who are here to represent
the fellow members of their unions who, if they're not working, want to
work, people that are putting bread on the table for their families.
I want to thank the members of the International Association of
Bridge, Structural, Ornamental, and Reinforcing Ironworkers for coming
here as well. We've been working with their leaders to try to convince
Congress to move this important piece of legislation. This is a jobs
bill. It's important for our country.
After September the 11th, it's important for our fellow citizens to
understand that many insurance companies stopped covering builders and
real estate owners against the risk of terrorist attacks. One of the
effects of the attack of September the 11th, 2001, was a lot of folks
couldn't find insurance. Many of those who provide coverage provide
only limited coverage at high rates, with too many restrictions to
provide real security.
Congress's inaction on terrorism is threatening our jobs. They can
move, and need to, to help the economy. Because, you see, one recent
survey shows that more than $15 billion in real estate transactions
have been terminated or put on hold because the lack of terrorism
insurance -- $15 billion of job-creating projects are not moving
forward.
More than 300,000 jobs are on hold. That's a lot of folks. That's
a lot of joiners and bricklayers and plumbers and other building
professionals who can find good-paying work. Construction jobs are at
a three-year low, as non-residential construction is down more than 15
percent from a year ago. The fact that there is no terrorism insurance
is affecting commerce and job creation.
Last week the bond raters at Moody's downgraded $4.5 billion worth
of commercial mortgage-backed securities because of the lack of
available terrorism insurance. Congress has failed to act. Congress
has got to act -- now, before they go home. They've got to get a bill
to my desk tomorrow, for the sake of creditworthiness and jobs.
One of the buildings affected, believe it or not, is Rockefeller
Center, right there in Manhattan, which as of Tuesday has very little
terrorism insurance. So Rockefeller Center will get a bad credit
rating because we haven't acted here in Washington, D.C. Lower
security ratings affect people who have money in the bond market. That
includes pension funds, including the funds of many public service
employees -- like teachers and police and firefighters. See, when the
bond ratings go down, bond prices fall and workers' retirement savings
are threatened. That's one of the effects of the failure to have
terrorism insurance here out of Washington, D.C.
The problem of finding terrorism insurance is widespread, it's just
not isolated to New York City. We're talking about $15 billion worth
of projects on hold, we're talking about $15 billion worth of projects
all across America -- not just where the terrorists hit. The building
and owners -- Building Owners and Managers Association found that more
than a quarter of the owners in their survey could not get terrorism
insurance at any cost. Of the owners who could get insurance, 80
percent of them faced caps on their coverage, higher deductibles, quick
cancellation clauses, exclusions for chemical and biological attacks,
or premium increases that ranged from 20 to 200 percent.
These costs, which are in the billions, get eventually passed on.
We pay for them. Right now, hospitals and office buildings and malls
and museums and many transportation companies are all having difficulty
finding terrorism coverage. Without coverage, the economic impact of
another terrorist attack would be incredibly serious. We could face a
string of bankruptcies and loan defaults and lay-offs that would
intensify the economic effects of an attack. Enacting terrorism
insurance will cost us nothing if we experience no further attacks.
And you need to know your federal government is doing everything we
possibly can do so that we experience no further attacks. We're
tightening up the homeland security, and I want the Senate to give me a
good bill on homeland security. And we're chasing these killers down,
one person at a time, to protect the homeland.
Yet, if there is an attack, without insurance it would be even more
devastating than the last attack. It will mean tens of thousands of
new jobs if we can get a terrorism insurance bill. It will mean
billions in new investment. It will mean healthier pension and
retirement systems. If we have terrorism insurance, and God forbid we
have another attack on America, we will be able to compensate our
victims more quickly and limit the economic damage. That's a reality.
Congress must get it done. I want to remind them that the House
passed a terrorism insurance bill last November, and the Senate got one
done in June. Under the legislation, private insurance would pay for
damages up to a certain amount. The federal government would guarantee
against catastrophic losses. I support that concept, for the reasons
I've just described.
Major construction programs will go forward if we can get a good
piece of legislation. Their friends will be working. The country will
be more confident if we can get a good bill. Our markets will be
reassured. It's an incredibly important piece of legislation. I met
with members of both parties in both Houses this week. I told them
essentially what I've described to you, the need to get something
done. I believe they are close to an agreement. I know that they can
come together.
And they ought to resolve the issue of liability, as well. My
position, I think, reflects the position of most Americans, and it's
this: that we should prevent the victims of a terrorist attack from
being held liable for punitive damages, which are damages over and
above the amount needed to compensate the injured person.
When an American business has been targeted for a terrorist attack,
we should not further punish it and the people it employees, subjecting
it to predatory lawsuits and punitive damages. Congress needs to hear
that message.
This provision was agreed to by a bipartisan group in the Senate
last fall. They have come together on it before. It was prevented
from going forward. That must not happen again for the sake of our
working people in America. The members can decide at any moment to
finalize the bill and send it to my desk; it's just not that far away.
My call for getting it done tomorrow is realistic, if people could put
their mind to it.
I know the members involved. I know they care deeply about the
future of our country. See, this isn't a political issue; this is a
jobs issue. I know they care and I know they can get it done. And,
for the sake of economic security, they must get it done. For the sake
of good, hardworking Americans, they need to resolve their differences
quickly and get me to the desk. (Applause.)
I want to -- I want to thank you all for coming. I want to assure
you that we are making progress on a lot of fronts, most notably on
securing the homeland.
Now that I've got you stuck here -- (laughter) -- I want you to
understand this is a different kind of war that we fight. See, in the
old days you could measure progress by saying, well, we've destroyed X
tanks or Y airplanes or sunk several ships. That's not the kind of war
this nation now fights. We fight a war against cold-blooded killers
who hide in caves and send youngsters to their suicidal death. They do
so because -- and they hate us because we love freedom. See, they hate
for what we love. We love our freedoms, and we're not going to
relinquish our freedoms. And the stronger we hold on to our freedoms
the more they hate us. (Applause.)
And so we've got to button up our homeland. And I spoke to that
earlier today. You'll hear the debate about homeland security. The
Congress -- some in the Congress want to take away some of the powers
that every President has had to be able to more securely affect, in
this case homeland security. I'm not going to let them do that. It
just doesn't make any sense not to have managerial -- the managerial
ability to move the right people to the right place at the right time
to protect America. And I insist that that happen.
But the best way to protect the homeland is to find these killers.
And that's exactly what our country is doing, one person at a time.
It's like an international manhunt. And we're making progress.
The reason I want to talk to you real quick is because I want you
to understand that we are making progress on making America more
secure. We -- that is, a coalition of like-minded nations -- have
hauled in over a thousand, couple of thousand of these people. One
fellow popped his head up the other day, bin al-Shebh, and he's no
longer a threat because he has been detained. See, the doctrine that
says, either you're with us or with the enemy, still holds. It's an
important doctrine. It's as important today as it was 13 months ago.
And a like number of those folks weren't quite as lucky. They're not
around to hurt us, either, but for different reasons. We're
dismantling the terrorist network, which hates America, one person at a
time.
And if you've got a relative in the military, you need to know I've
got a lot of confidence in our folks who wear the uniform. And I want
to thank you for their sacrifice.
I asked the Congress to pass a defense bill which says if our
troops go into harm's way, they deserve the best pay, the best
training, and the best possible equipment. I have yet to see the
defense bill. And not only do I want to see a terrorism insurance bill
before they go home, I want to see a defense bill on my desk before
they go home, as well. We owe that to our soldiers. We owe it to the
soldiers' families, and we owe it to the world for them to hear that no
matter how long it takes, no matter how long it takes to defend our
freedom and defend civilization itself, the United States of America
will stay the course.
See, we love freedom, and we're not going to relinquish that love.
And the war on terror extends beyond just a terrorist network. The war
on terror extends to the world's worst leaders, which have and want to
develop and hurt us and our friends and allies with the world's worst
weapons. We must not allow these people -- this guy, Saddam Hussein --
to continue to defy the world. He has said he would disarm. I have
called upon the United Nations to disarm him. I have given this body a
chance to show the world whether they will be the United Nations, an
effective body, or the League of Nations. And I don't believe we can
afford to have a League of Nations again. And I want them to be
effective, I want it to work.
There is a coalition of friends that are joining us to call upon
accountability -- accountability with Mr. Saddam Hussein, who lies,
kills his own people, poisons his own citizens with weapons of mass
destruction, who hates America, hates Israel, hates our friends and
allies. He must be held to account. The choice is his, and the choice
is the United Nations' to deal with this man, to hold him to account.
And if they won't, for the sake of our freedoms and our securities, we
cannot allow the world's worst leader to hold us hostage and to harm
America with the world's worst weapons. We owe it to our children.
The war on terror is more than just al Qaeda. And I believe we can
achieve peace by speaking clearly, by delineating good and evil, by
talking about terror and its effects, and by leading -- by leading
people who understand the stakes.
And so out of the evil done to this country, I believe there's
going to come some incredible good, and that's peace. I long for peace
for America. I want to be able to say that history has called us to
action, and we left the world more peaceful for our children.
But I believe by remaining strong, we can leave a legacy of peace
in other parts of the world, too. I believe peace is possible in the
Middle East, if we're tough and determined, and delineate good from
evil, and fight terror at all costs. And I believe we can achieve
peace in South Asia.
No, the enemy hit us, but they didn't know who we were hitting.
They probably thought we'd file a lawsuit or two. (Laughter.) But
instead, they found a nation which is strong and determined, a nation
which will stick to our values, a nation which is a compassionate
nation, as well.
Listen, thank you all for coming. I appreciate the chance to --
God bless. (Applause.)