[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 8 (Tuesday, January 10, 2023)]
[House]
[Page H120]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    TAX RELIEF FOR DISASTER VICTIMS

  (Mr. LaMALFA asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. LaMALFA. Mr. Speaker, victims of disaster don't need to be 
hassled by government, especially by new taxes.
  The 2018 Camp fire in California was the deadliest and most 
destructive in our State's history. The Fire Victim Trust was set up to 
compensate these people for their loss and help them rebuild their 
homes and their lives. However, these fire victims had to deal with the 
possibility that some of their settlement money and money for 
attorney's fees that they would pay would be taxed as income by the 
IRS.
  To prevent the further victimization of these folks who lost so much 
already, Representative Thompson and I have introduced a bill to exempt 
payments from the Fire Victim Trust from being taxed by the IRS.
  The bill received bipartisan support in the House and Senate, but was 
not included in the end-of-session vehicle last year, unfortunately. 
So, getting this bill passed and signed into law is very important and 
right.
  The survivors need this money to help get their lives going again. 
They don't need the government as a partner in the middle taking their 
cut. It is essential we act quickly so that they can get back to their 
lives and get the dollars moving toward rebuilding their homes and 
whatever it is they need from having suffered this already.

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