GlobeSt.com: What good does a single letter do when the issue has been on the Senate's plate since Sept. 11?

Bisacquino: In DC, you have to keep the pressure on. Clearly, back in February, this wasn't on the front burner. H.R. 3210 passed the House last fall, and since then the issue started to fade. Lobbying 101 says keep the issue before Congress and reinforce to them that it is an important issue to our membership.

GlobeSt.com: Presidential backing certainly helps.

Bisacquino: We met with the President in April, and he's pushing it as an important component of the economic recovery. He's right. Without development, construction fails.

GlobeSt.com: So the President's behind you. The House is behind you. Why is there senatorial resistance?

Bisacquino: The conventional wisdom is that the Republicans are pushing for tort reform and the Democrats are not. The tort reform would create new rules for litigation, consolidate claims into a single federal court and other matters. That's not our issue. We're not asking for tort reform. We're only asking that terrorism insurance be available.

GlobeSt.com: No, it's not your issue, but it could have a powerful--and negative--impact on your issue.

Bisacquino: We are not lobbying for tort reform. We are lobbying for terrorist insurance. We are not going to fall on our sword for tort reform.

GlobeSt.com: What would you hope to come from Congress in terms of completeness of coverage?

Bisacquino: The prime proposal on hand would make the Federal government the reinsurer. Insurers would still be in business, but there would be a cap to their coverage of $100 million per company. Federal aid would kick in after $1 billion in cumulative losses. HR 3210 also has a loan component. There is a payback provision. What they're tying to do is give insurance companies insurance. It's kind of like the FDIC. Keep in mind as well that while HR 3210 is in the lead, there are actually six different proposals being floated, so there are a host of alternatives in terms of specific coverage completeness. Ultimately, whatever form it takes, insurance companies have to start writing insurance again.

GlobeSt.com: What does the lack of coverage cost the industry now?

Bisacquino: It's very hard to quantify, but we know deals are not getting done. If, as we have read, Moody's downgrades certain loan ratings, pension funds and other institutional investors are going to have to sell their bonds because their ratings will slip below the acceptable threshold.

GlobeSt.com: Personally, speaking for a moment as an individual and not as the president of Naiop, was the destruction of the World Trade Center one event or two?

Bisacquino: I see what happened on Sept. 11 as four separate incidents, four separate hijackings.

Email Thomas J. Bisacquino