[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 88 (Tuesday, May 21, 2024)]
[House]
[Pages H3379-H3382]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                FEDERAL DISASTER TAX RELIEF ACT OF 2023

  Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and 
pass the bill (H.R. 5863) to provide tax relief with respect to certain 
Federal disasters, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 5863

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Federal Disaster Tax Relief 
     Act of 2023''.

     SEC. 2. EXTENSION OF RULES FOR TREATMENT OF CERTAIN DISASTER-
                   RELATED PERSONAL CASUALTY LOSSES.

       For purposes of applying section 304(b) of the Taxpayer 
     Certainty and Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2020, section 301 of 
     such Act shall be applied by substituting ``the Federal 
     Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2023'' for ``this Act'' each place 
     it appears.

     SEC. 3. EXCLUSION FROM GROSS INCOME FOR COMPENSATION FOR 
                   LOSSES OR DAMAGES RESULTING FROM CERTAIN 
                   WILDFIRES.

       (a) In General.--For purposes of the Internal Revenue Code 
     of 1986, gross income shall not include any amount received 
     by an individual as a qualified wildfire relief payment.
       (b) Qualified Wildfire Relief Payment.--For purposes of 
     this section--
       (1) In general.--The term ``qualified wildfire relief 
     payment'' means any amount received by or on behalf of an 
     individual as compensation for losses, expenses, or damages 
     (including compensation for additional living expenses, lost 
     wages (other than compensation for lost wages paid by the 
     employer which would have otherwise paid such wages), 
     personal injury, death, or emotional distress) incurred as a 
     result of a qualified wildfire disaster, but only to the 
     extent the losses, expenses, or damages compensated by such 
     payment are not compensated for by insurance or otherwise.
       (2) Qualified wildfire disaster.--The term ``qualified 
     wildfire disaster'' means any federally declared disaster (as 
     defined in section 165(i)(5)(A) of the Internal Revenue Code 
     of 1986) declared, after December 31, 2014, as a result of 
     any forest or range fire.
       (c) Denial of Double Benefit.--Notwithstanding any other 
     provision of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986--
       (1) no deduction or credit shall be allowed (to the person 
     for whose benefit a qualified wildfire relief payment is 
     made) for, or by reason of, any expenditure to the extent of 
     the amount excluded under this section with respect to such 
     expenditure, and
       (2) no increase in the basis or adjusted basis of any 
     property shall result from any amount excluded under this 
     subsection with respect to such property.
       (d) Limitation on Application.--This section shall only 
     apply to qualified wildfire relief payments received by the 
     individual during taxable years beginning after December 31, 
     2019, and before January 1, 2026.
       (e) Extension of Period of Limitation.--In the case of a 
     claim for credit or refund which is properly allocable to the 
     exclusion which is described in subsection (a)--
       (1) the period of limitation prescribed in section 6511(a) 
     of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 for the filing of such 
     claim shall be treated as not expiring earlier than the date 
     that is 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
     and
       (2) any limitation described in section 6511(b)(2) of such 
     Code shall not apply.

     SEC. 4. EAST PALESTINE DISASTER RELIEF PAYMENTS.

       (a) Disaster Relief Payments to Victims of East Palestine 
     Train Derailment.--East Palestine train derailment payments 
     shall be treated as qualified disaster relief payments for 
     purposes of section 139(b) of the Internal Revenue Code of 
     1986.
       (b) East Palestine Train Derailment Payments.--For purposes 
     of this section, the term ``East Palestine train derailment 
     payment'' means any amount received by or on behalf of an 
     individual as compensation for loss, damages, expenses, loss 
     in real property value, closing costs with respect to real 
     property (including realtor commissions), or inconvenience 
     (including access to real property) resulting from the East 
     Palestine train derailment if such amount was provided by--
       (1) a Federal, State, or local government agency,
       (2) Norfolk Southern Railway, or
       (3) any subsidiary, insurer, or agent of Norfolk Southern 
     Railway or any related person.
       (c) Train Derailment.--For purposes of this section, the 
     term ``East Palestine train derailment'' means the derailment 
     of a train in East Palestine, Ohio, on February 3, 2023.
       (d) Effective Date.--This section shall apply to amounts 
     received on or after February 3, 2023.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Missouri (Mr. Smith) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Thompson) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Missouri.


                             General Leave

  Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all 
Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their 
remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under 
consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Missouri?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 5863, the Federal 
Disaster Tax Relief Act, introduced by the gentleman from Florida (Mr. 
Steube), my Ways and Means Committee colleague.
  This legislation was approved last year by the Ways and Means 
Committee 38-0 because families and communities across the country who 
suffered disasters need support. In fact, bipartisan support for this 
legislation was so strong that it was approved a second time by the 
Ways and Means Committee as part of the Tax Relief for American 
Families and Workers Act.
  This legislation not only helps victims of disasters but also 
provides broad and immediate tax relief for American workers, farmers, 
families, and small businesses, which is why the House of 
Representatives passed it with 84 percent support earlier this year. I 
encourage my Senate colleagues to take up that legislation to support 
disaster victims and help the millions of Americans treading water in 
today's economy.
  The Federal Disaster Tax Relief Act provides assistance to 
communities across the country, bringing relief to those recovering and 
rebuilding after tragic floods and tornadoes, like those that affected 
communities in my home State of Missouri in the winter of 2021 and the 
summer of 2023, hurricanes like Hurricane Ian that claimed countless 
lives in Florida, wildfires like those that devastated communities in 
California and Hawaii, and the train derailment and toxic chemical 
spill in East Palestine, Ohio.
  I commend Representative Steube for his leadership on this issue. His 
passion started with his desire to provide help to the families he 
represents who were devastated by the hurricane. In the interest of 
getting this done, he broadened his relief effort to include over 300 
storms in 45 States.
  Mr. Speaker, I encourage all of my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this 
bill so that we are standing with and supporting our fellow neighbors 
when they are most in need. I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. THOMPSON of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as 
I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of this legislation, and 
I thank Chairman Smith of the Ways and Means Committee for all the good 
work

[[Page H3380]]

he has done to ensure that we are able to help our constituents who are 
suffering as a result of natural disasters. I also thank my colleague 
and friend, Mr. Steube, without whose leadership on the Ways and Means 
Committee we wouldn't be here today. I also thank Mr. LaMalfa, my 
colleague to the north of my district, who has worked with me over the 
years to address one component that is covered by this piece of 
legislation.
  This has been a long time coming for my constituents--too long, way 
too long. This is now the second time in 5 months that this House has 
come together to state plainly and in a bipartisan fashion that 
Americans should help one another when disaster strikes, while the 
Senate continues to play politics with what ought to be a bipartisan 
victory. They have been sitting on the tax bill for 5 months. I join 
Chairman Smith in calling for them to move the entire bill because 
there is so much in it for so many of our constituents across the 
country.
  I want to briefly reiterate how we got here today. In my district, 
wildfires in 2015, 2017, and 2018 devastated entire communities across 
my district and across the State of California. Entire towns were 
destroyed. Thousands of people lost homes, and dozens of people lost 
their lives.
  In the aftermath, the courts found that Pacific Gas and Electric was 
liable for causing some of these fires. As part of its subsequent 
bankruptcy proceedings, the utility established a trust from which fire 
survivors are generally eligible for compensation for losses sustained 
during these fires.
  Let me pause here to say one thing. No disaster survivor is ever made 
whole. No one is ever made whole. People lost their homes and 
everything in their homes--family pictures, family heirlooms, family 
records. They lost businesses. As I said earlier, sadly, they lost 
family members.
  While the courts eventually created a path to compensation, it took 
years to get there, years my constituents didn't have. They couldn't 
wait around for 3, 4, 6 years to get a payment from that trust. Then, 
because the trust was structured in the form of stock shares and 
because stock shares need to be monetized carefully and slowly in order 
to maximize return to survivors, the payments to survivors came in 
batches. Nobody is getting--repeat, nobody is getting--100 percent of 
what they lost.
  To add insult to injury, right as our constituents started to get a 
little bit of compensation, our constituents were told they may 
actually owe taxes on these payments because, depending on the 
taxpayer, the payments may qualify as income. In 4 years of working on 
this issue, I have yet to encounter a single person on either side of 
the aisle who believes this is fair. That is why we have been so 
successful in passing this legislation numerous times out of the Ways 
and Means Committee and off the floor of this House.
  This bill has been stalled, advanced, and then held up. It has been 
marked up, passed the House, and stalled again. The Senate ought to 
quit dithering on what is an objectively good bill for our country and 
just pass it, but because they are unwilling to do so, we are here 
again tonight to take this matter up.

  As I said, I am grateful to my colleagues on both sides of the aisle. 
Mr. Neal, our ranking member on Ways and Means, has been a great 
colleague and a great champion for this. I also thank the chairman, Mr. 
Smith, and Mr. Steube, one of our colleagues on the committee.
  I wish such an unusual strategy to get here wasn't necessary, but I 
am committed--and I think my colleagues here are committed--to pulling 
every lever at our disposal to get this bill passed. This is a 
fundamental question of fairness, and I urge all of my colleagues to 
vote in favor of this bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman Thompson for 
his advocacy as well on this legislation and helping move it through 
our committee in a very bipartisan effort.
  I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Florida 
(Mr. Steube), the author of this legislation.
  Mr. STEUBE. Mr. Speaker, I stand in support of H.R. 5863, the Federal 
Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2023.
  In a historic act, last week, a majority of the House of 
Representatives made clear that the House should act to provide tax 
relief to victims of natural disasters all across America. I thank 
every Member who stood with me in this fight, and I am thankful that 
this bill is finally being debated on the floor.
  On September 28, 2022, southwest Florida was ravaged by Hurricane 
Ian, one of the most devastating hurricanes to ever hit our Nation. 
NOAA ranks Hurricane Ian as the third most costly hurricane in United 
States history, killing nearly 150 people and causing billions of 
dollars in damages. For Floridians, we know that the recovery from 
Hurricane Ian is far from over.
  Despite experiencing numerous hurricanes yearly, Floridians are 
resilient. I have been working tirelessly on disaster relief 
legislation for Floridians to recover from various storms that have 
decimated so many communities around our State. The most recurring and 
pressing issue I hear in my district is that the sun coast is still 
waiting for Congress to do its job to provide much-needed relief.
  More than a year-and-a-half after landfall of Hurricane Ian, Congress 
has yet to provide disaster relief for those impacted financially by 
Ian. I have received thousands of letters, calls, and pleas for help 
from people in my district who have incurred tens of thousands of 
dollars in recovery expenses and are having a hard time getting ahead.

                              {time}  1700

  On eight separate occasions since 2002, Congress has provided tax 
relief to victims of natural disasters. Since 2021, over 300 disasters 
across 47 States have been declared without Congress taking action.
  Additionally, wildfires across the Western United States and Maui 
have greatly impacted many Americans who have not received any relief 
from this body. Similarly, the victims of the East Palestine train 
derailment are facing the same situation.
  This bill helps everyday Americans and provides them the ability to 
deduct their expenses from a natural disaster from their taxes.
  This bill will not just aid Hurricane Ian victims. It will provide 
relief to the millions of Americans around the country who are victims 
of federally declared disasters. It will help victims of flooding in 
the Midwest. In the Pacific Northwest, victims of wildfires will get 
the relief they deserve. Those affected by severe winter storms in the 
Northeast will benefit from this tax deduction, as will our friends in 
Texas who have experienced damage from a wide variety of disasters, 
including winter storms, tornadoes, flooding, and fires.
  In short, this is not a problem that just affects Florida or 
California. This impacts millions of American families, and Congress 
must act to provide them relief.
  I am grateful to be supported by many of my colleagues on both sides 
of the aisle to lead the fight for Americans all across the country to 
get disaster relief. Disaster relief is not a Democratic problem or a 
Republican problem. It is something that all of us face.
  I give sincere thanks to Members and staff who have worked tirelessly 
on this bill. I give special thanks to California Congressmen   Mike 
Thompson,   Jimmy Panetta, and Doug LaMalfa, as well as Congresswoman 
Jill Tokuda of Hawaii, for their leadership on this effort.
  I also thank former Congressman Bill Johnson, who represented East 
Palestine, Ohio, and played an important role with this bill.
  I give special thanks to Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason 
Smith for passing this bill out of the committee.
  The constituents of my district and the districts each of these 
colleagues represents are in need of help. Today, I urge swift passage 
of this bill on the House floor and urge expeditious consideration in 
the Senate so that Americans all across America can get much-needed 
relief.
  Mr. THOMPSON of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the 
gentlewoman from Hawaii (Ms. Tokuda), who knows firsthand the tragedy 
of wildfire.
  Her constituents experienced a horrific disaster in her district, in 
her home State, and she has been there with them every step of the way. 
She is

[[Page H3381]]

here on their behalf again tonight. I thank her for her support.
  Ms. TOKUDA. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 5863, the 
Federal Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2023.
  It will keep survivors' hard-earned money in their pockets and help 
them get their lives back to normal as soon as possible, whatever that 
normal might look like.
  Seeing the overwhelming challenges faced by the survivors of the Maui 
wildfires, our ``family,'' ``ohana,'' I introduced H.R. 5873, the 
Natural Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2023, last October to lessen the tax 
burden faced by disaster survivors and ensure they have the financial 
resources to support their ``family,'' ``ohana.''
  Since then, far too many people continue to struggle with recovery 
costs that no one could ever budget for. Across our country, through 
all disasters current, those to come, and so far in the past, they have 
reached deep into their savings. They have gone into debt to feed their 
``children,'' ``keiki,'' to cover their mortgages, to pay for education 
and healthcare costs, and to rebuild their homes, businesses, and 
livelihoods.
  I thank my friends and colleagues, Congressmen Greg Steube and Doug 
LaMalfa, for incorporating elements of my legislation into this bill as 
we continue to fight for its critical passage.
  Like me, they know all too well that there will never be enough to 
replace all that people lost. As the good Congressman from California 
mentioned, no one will be made whole, but that being said, anything we 
can do to lighten the tax burden and the financial struggles they face 
will go a long way to rebuilding lives and rebuilding communities.
  I am proud to join Congressmen Steube, LaMalfa, and Thompson on the 
floor today to pass this bill out of the House. I implore the Senate to 
embrace their ``responsibility,'' ``kuleana,'' and pass this bill.
  Disaster does not discriminate. It doesn't care if you are 
Democratic, Independent, or Republican. When it hits, people need help. 
We must pass this critical bipartisan piece of legislation now.
  Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may 
consume to the gentleman from California (Mr. LaMalfa).
  Mr. LaMALFA. Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Smith for helping us with 
our legislation all this time here, and I am very grateful also to Mr. 
Steube for allowing our bill to be piggybacked with his in this effort 
here, as well as H.R. 7024, Tax Relief for American Families and 
Workers Act of 2024, which is still waiting over in the Senate. I hope 
we can get that one passed, but I am grateful for everybody to join 
this effort here today in a strong, bipartisan effort to move this 
narrower, very important disaster relief package to help people all 
across the country, as has been said.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague, Mr. Thompson of California, so 
much for our partnership on this. It has taken some time, but we are 
getting there. I am glad to see it.
  With the losses we have suffered along with our constituents--
especially our constituents, of course--it is very painful to see and 
not be able to go back to them and say we have gotten a result.
  My own constituents, I commend them. I am grateful for them. They 
have been very patient, the victims of the Camp fire where 85 lives 
were lost, the victims of the Zogg fire, my neighbors down there in the 
Santa Rosa area, and of course, my good friend, Ms. Tokuda. Lahaina 
suffered an even greater loss of life than what we had in Paradise, 
which was a record. We don't want to set records. We want to get 
results.

  It has been a great partnership on top of disaster and heartache.
  Just picture this, though, as I talk about Paradise: You wake up in 
the morning, and you hear there is a fire. All of a sudden, there is an 
evacuation. People are crowding the narrow roadways, trying to get up 
the hill or down the hill out of town, barely making it in some cases, 
scorched vehicles, tires on fire, all of that.
  They are seeing in their rearview mirrors their neighborhood engulfed 
in flames and their houses burning down with all their mementos, as was 
mentioned, in them.
  They are wondering: Did their neighbor get out? Did the elderly lady 
up the street get out? Thank goodness there was a firefighter or 
neighbor that maybe helped that lady get out just in time, so there was 
not even a bigger loss of life.
  The resilience of these folks in the fires that I have had in my 
district and my neighbors in our neighboring States is just amazing as 
they have stuck with us on this.
  A settlement happened with the utility to somehow partly compensate 
them, and indeed, they will never be made whole.
  My colleagues have pointed that out well. They can never be made 
whole, even with a lot of money. That settlement should not be a 
taxable event.
  Think about it. Just break that down for a minute. You are in your 
home, and you have been paying off your mortgage. Maybe it is already 
paid off. You have your equity in your home. This disaster happens, and 
you lose your home. All of a sudden, you have to rearrange your life. 
You have to rebuild your life. That portion of that equity that now is 
going to be compensated for partly by the settlement with the utility, 
that portion of your home, is now a newly taxable event because of the 
IRS' interpretation of that.
  How is that right? How is that fair at all? Someone is ripped out of 
their life, home, family, whatever may have happened to them 
personally, and now they have a taxable event on top of that piece of 
equity that was in their home because of a bad interpretation here.
  That is why this legislation is necessary. That is why it has been so 
strongly supported on both sides of the aisle all through the process 
here. That is why we need to overcome these hurdles we have, whether it 
is over in the Senate or what have you, to get this done.
  People deserve to have that predictability, that sustainability of 
their lives, to be able to put themselves back in a good way again.
  To the fire victims of the Camp fire in my area, the Zogg fire, our 
other neighbors out there, relief is on the way.
  This has been a tremendous effort, a little out of the ordinary, to 
get this legislation back to this floor here tonight, and I think it 
will pass resoundingly. I hope so. I ask for everybody's ``aye'' vote.
  Again, I appreciate all of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle 
for stepping forward and doing right by the fire victims, by the 
hurricane victims, by those folks in East Palestine, and by others who 
are going to be added to this.
  This is how legislation should look. This is how a country pulls 
together, and I am glad to be part of it.
  Mr. THOMPSON of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance 
of my time.
  Again, I thank Mr. Steube, Mr. LaMalfa, Chairman Smith, and all of 
our colleagues on Ways and Means who worked so hard to bring this bill 
to fruition not once, not twice, but now three times.
  I know how difficult it is for our friend from Hawaii, in her area. 
What a devastating fire that was, and I know how hard she is working 
for her constituents. I thank her for being on the floor today.
  Mr. Speaker, Florida, Texas, South Carolina, Louisiana, Kentucky, 
Oregon, New York, California, and over a dozen other States have been 
devastated by disasters. There is not a single colleague in this House 
who should have to go through a disaster to know how bad it is. It 
devastates communities. It devastates people's lives. It disrupts 
communities. It disrupts people's lives. People are killed. Businesses 
are lost. Homes and heirlooms are lost and destroyed.
  The least that we can do is to come to the aid of our constituents, 
our fellow Americans, in time of disaster and in time of great need. 
That is what we are doing today.
  This is commendable work by the Ways and Means Committee, and every 
Member of this House should be proud to come to the floor and vote to 
support their friends, their neighbors, and their constituents in these 
very dark times.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

[[Page H3382]]

  

  Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I once again commend the great 
work and advocacy of Mr. Steube, Mr. LaMalfa, and Mr. Thompson. I can 
tell you they have been advocating since I have been chairman that this 
is an important piece of legislation to get across the finish line, and 
let's hope that the United States Senate does the same thing.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to support this bill, and I yield 
back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Smith) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 5863, as amended.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and 
nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further 
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.

                          ____________________