Which Senate Dems Helped Senate Rs Block an Amendment from Elizabeth Warren to Protect Dodd-Frank?

Today, the Senate voted to reauthorize the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program, which serves as a bailout guarantee for big businesses.

Here's David Dayen on this bipartisan-approved corporate welfare program:

The Terrorism Risk Insurance Act provides a government backstop to insurance companies in the event of a terrorist attack. Tria arrived in the wake of the September 11 attacks, when it arose as a way for the government to protect the insurance companies from taking huge losses that would put them out of business after a terrorist attack.

The rationale behind Tria is simple. Previously, there was no contract by which companies could protect themselves from terrorism costs. That was a disaster when the insured loss for 9-11 approached $40bn, with most of it paid by insurance companies and the firms who insure them, known as reinsurers.

The appeal is clear – to insurers, who have been raking in cash. Over 60% of all businesses have purchased government-subsidized terrorism insurance since 2002. The program has cost the government $1m a year – almost nothing – but has made an estimated $40bn in revenue for insurance companies, who have never paid a claim, or given a dime to the government for their reinsurance protection.

(Read the full article for a more in-depth explanation).

The bill just voted on reauthorizes the program for six more years and raises the threshold for the government to begin paying out terrorism insurance claims from $100 million to $200 million.

Republicans, in TRIA reauthorization negotiations last year, decided that they wanted to sweeten the corporate welfare pot some more by rolling back part of Dodd-Frank, particularly by exempting non-financial companies from having to follow the same derivative regulations as banks. The White House has expressed its disapproval of this addition to the bill but has not issued a veto threat because of it:

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/01/08/1356422/-Which-12-Senate-Ds-Helped-Senate-Rs-Block-an-Amendment-from-Elizabeth-Warren-to-Protect-Dodd-Frank