[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 156 (Thursday, September 28, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1283-E1284]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





    DISASTER TAX RELIEF AND AIRPORT AND AIRWAY EXTENSION ACT OF 2017

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. SHEILA JACKSON LEE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 27, 2017

  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak in support of H.R. 
3823, the Disaster Tax and Airport and Airway Extension Act of 2017.
  Hurricane Harvey flooded the Houston region with 21 trillion gallons 
of water causing tragic and catastrophic results in my district.
  Hurricane Harvey destroyed 185 thousand homes in the Houston region, 
displacing my constituents and harming their livelihoods.
  Hurricane Harvey has created an incredible need for enhanced 
assistance in rebuilding efforts.
  My principal focus is to do what is best for my constituents and that 
is why I support the underlying bill.
  H.R. 3823 grants individuals and businesses in areas affected by 
hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria a tax relief in addition to 
extending the authorization for the Federal Aviation Administration 
(FAA) through March 31, 2018, without privatization of air-traffic 
control.
  Although I support clean reauthorization of the FAA, which is long 
overdue as a result of the inability of those responsible to craft 
legislation that obtains bipartisan majority support, I do not support 
the attached partisan package of extraneous provisions added to the 
reauthorization.
  I also do not support a reauthorization of the FAA that would 
privatize air-traffic control.
  My Democratic colleagues had 21 tax relief provisions to add to the 
reauthorization.
  H.R. 3823 only contains 7 of those provisions; however, they are very 
important hurricane relief provisions.
  On health care, H.R. 3823 extends just three of the many programs set 
to expire at the end of the month, leaving out bipartisan priorities 
like CHIP and Community Health Centers extenders.
  Additionally, the tax provisions concerning disaster victims were 
assembled without bipartisan input and leave out important items that 
were included for victims of prior disasters like Hurricane Katrina.
  And finally, this bill blocks the path for any DREAMers legislation 
to be considered.
  Going forward, I would like to see the items just mentioned to be 
added to the reauthorization bill.
  H.R. 3823 would provide tax credits, deductions, and other relief to 
taxpayers in disaster areas affected by hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and 
Maria.
  Most measures would apply to taxpayers in parts of Florida, Puerto 
Rico, Texas, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, where the president declared 
a major disaster zone warranting federal assistance as of Sept. 21.
  The budget effects of the tax provisions would be considered 
emergency spending for budgetary purposes and not count against the 
spending caps.
  The provisions are similar to relief provided after hurricanes 
Katrina, Rita, and Wilma.
  The measure specifically helps hurricane victims keep more of their 
paycheck, deduct more of the cost of their expensive property damage, 
and have more affordable and immediate access to money they have saved 
for their retirement.
  The legislation will also encourage even more Americans to donate 
generously to help those in need.
  The bill would waive the 10 percent penalty on early distributions 
from retirement accounts for taxpayers in affected areas.
  Individuals would be eligible to make the withdrawal if their primary 
residence was in one of the disaster areas as of the date of the storm 
and they sustained an economic loss.
  The withdrawn amount would be included in the taxpayer's gross 
income, and would be spread over three years unless the taxpayer opted 
to claim it in a single year.
  If the taxpayer repaid the distribution within three years, it would 
be considered a rollover for tax purposes and they could claim a refund 
for their previous income tax payments.
  The withdrawal would have to occur by Jan. 1, 2019, and wouldn't be 
subject to withholding.
  An individual could withdraw as much as $100,000 as hurricane 
distributions over their lifetime.
  Plan sponsors would not be in violation of the Internal Revenue 
Service's retirement plan rules unless they distributed more than 
$100,000 to an individual.
  Individuals could return withdrawals they had made for a home 
purchase in a disaster area between Feb. 28 and Sept. 21 if the home 
wasn't purchased or constructed because of the hurricanes.
  The bill would increase the size of a loan an individual can take 
from their employer retirement fund. Loans could be for as much as 
$100,000--less other outstanding loans--or half the present value of 
the vested balance of the plan.
  The bill would delay repayment deadlines for individuals with 
outstanding loans as of the date of the disaster.
  The repayment date for loans due on or before Dec. 31, 2018, would be 
delayed for one year.
  Individuals who took out loans after the hurricanes would not receive 
the extension.
  The bill would create a credit for businesses that were rendered 
inoperable by the hurricanes but that retained their employees.
  Employers could receive a credit for 40 percent of each employee's 
wages.
  The credit amount couldn't exceed $6,000 per employee.
  The employee's principal place of employment would have to be in one 
of the disaster zones.
  Businesses would receive credits for wages on each day they were 
inoperable after the date of the hurricane and before Jan. 1, 2018.
  The credit would be for wages paid each day until significant 
operations resumed, even if the employee returned to work or worked at 
a different location.
  The limit on the deduction for contributions to charitable 
organizations would be suspended for donations made between Aug. 23 and 
Dec. 31 to relief efforts in the hurricane disaster areas.
  Taxpayers wouldn't have to itemize their tax return to claim the 
deduction.
  The deduction is normally limited to 50 percent of adjusted gross 
income (AGI) for individuals and 10 percent of taxable income for 
corporations.
  The bill would allow individuals to contribute as much as their AGI, 
less any other charitable contributions.
  Amounts greater than AGI could be carried over to other tax years.
  I would allow corporations to contribute as much as their taxable 
income, less any other charitable contributions.
  Donations in excess of taxable income could be carried over.
  The charitable organization would have to provide written 
confirmation that the funds would be used for relief efforts.
  Partnerships and S corporations would each have to elect the 
deduction.
  The bill would allow taxpayers to deduct uncompensated casualty 
losses related to the hurricane even if their losses didn't meet the 
minimum threshold for the deduction, currently 10 percent of AGI. The 
deduction would be net of any personal casualty gains.
  Taxpayers wouldn't have to itemize their return to claim the 
deduction.
  The taxpayer's standard deduction would be increased by the net 
disaster loss, including for purposes of calculating whether they are 
liable for the alternative minimum tax.
  The bill would establish a special rule for determination of the 
Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Child Tax Credit.
  If a taxpayer had received one or both of the credits in the previous 
tax year but their earned income was too high to qualify in 2017, they 
could substitute their 2016 income to claim them.
  Individuals would qualify if their principal residence was in the 
hurricane disaster zone, or in the surrounding disaster area and they 
had been displaced by the hurricane.
  Puerto Rican taxpayers' eligibility for the child tax credit would be 
based on their Social Security earnings.
  The child tax credit is only available to Puerto Rican families with 
three or more children.
  The EITC is not typically available to residents of Puerto Rico, 
according to a report from the Congressional Research Service (CRS).
  The bill would direct the Treasury Department to provide funding to 
the government of Puerto Rico for the estimated amount of tax relief 
for residents who would be eligible under the bill.
  The Puerto Rican government would have to promptly distribute the 
funds.

[[Page E1284]]

  Puerto Rico would have to have a plan for disbursing the funds 
approved by the Treasury before the money would be provided.
  The Treasury Department would reimburse the U.S. Virgin Islands, 
which has a ``mirror'' tax system, for any reduction in tax revenue 
caused by the bill.
  Residents of the U.S. Virgin Islands are also generally ineligible 
for the EITC but can claim the child tax credit, according to CRS.
  For the reasons mentioned above I support H.R. 3823.

                          ____________________