[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 57 (Monday, March 31, 2025)]
[House]
[Pages H1347-H1348]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
FILING RELIEF FOR NATURAL DISASTERS ACT
Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and
pass the bill (H.R. 517) to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to
modify the rules for postponing certain deadlines by reason of
disaster, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 517
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 ``Filing Relief for Natural
Disasters Act''.
SEC. 2. MODIFICATION OF RULES FOR POSTPONING CERTAIN
DEADLINES BY REASON OF DISASTER.
(a) Authority To Postpone Federal Tax Deadlines by Reason
of State-Declared Disasters.--Section 7508A of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by redesignating subsections
(c), (d), and (e) as subsections (d), (e), and (f),
respectively, and by inserting after subsection (b) the
following new subsection:
``(c) Special Rule for State-Declared Disasters.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary (after consultation with
the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency)
may, upon the written request of the Governor of a State (or
the Mayor, in the case of the District of Columbia), apply
the rules of subsections (a) and (b) to a qualified State
declared disaster in the same manner as a disaster, fire, or
action otherwise described in subsection (a).
``(2) Qualified state declared disaster.--For purposes of
this section, the term `qualified State declared disaster'
means, with respect to any State, any natural catastrophe
(including any hurricane, tornado, storm, high water,
winddriven water, tidal wave, tsunami, earthquake, volcanic
eruption, landslide, mudslide, snowstorm, or drought), or,
regardless of cause, any fire, flood, or explosion, in any
part of the State, which in the determination of the Governor
of such State (or the Mayor, in the case of the District of
Columbia) causes damage of sufficient severity and magnitude
to warrant the application of the rules of this section.
``(3) State.--For purposes of this section, the term
`State' includes the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth
of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and
the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.''.
(b) Mandatory Extensions Extended to 120 Days.--Section
7508A(e) of such Code, as redesignated by subsection (a), is
amended--
(1) by striking ``60 days'' in paragraph (1)(B) thereof and
inserting ``120 days'',
(2) by striking ``60-day'' in paragraph (6) thereof and
inserting ``120-day'', and
(3) by striking ``60-day'' in the heading and inserting
``120-day''.
(c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section
shall apply to declarations made after the date of the
enactment of this Act.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Missouri (Mr. Smith) and the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Chu) 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 to revise and extend their remarks
and submit 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 the Filing Relief for Natural
Disasters Act, introduced by Ways and Means Committee members
Representatives Kustoff and Chu.
For too many Americans, help from the Federal Government after a
natural disaster can take too much time to arrive. This bipartisan bill
authorizes the Treasury Department, in consultation with FEMA, to
postpone tax filing deadlines for Americans living in State-declared
disaster areas just as they do for federally declared disasters.
If a State moves faster in declaring an emergency, the Treasury
Department can more quickly respond when it comes to an individual's
tax obligations. This legislation will help disaster victims receive
desperately needed tax relief sooner rather than later.
Additionally, this legislation doubles the current mandatory tax
filing extension following a federally declared disaster declaration
from 60 to 120 days.
For most people recovering from a disaster, taxes fall lower on their
to-do list than more immediate needs like finding shelter, food, and
caring for loved ones. By extending this deadline, we are providing
families the breathing room and additional time to get their lives back
together.
President Trump was elected on the promise of finally making the
government work better for working people. All Americans, but
especially Americans recovering from a natural disaster, deserve easier
tax filing. With tax day in just a few days, we must look for
commonsense, bipartisan ways to make filing and paying taxes less of a
hassle.
I thank both sponsors of this legislation for leading on this issue
on behalf of the people they represent and all Americans.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. CHU. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I rise in strong support of H.R. 517, the Filing Relief for Natural
Disasters Act. I thank Representative David Kustoff for his
partnership on this bipartisan bill, which was reported out of the Ways
and Means Committee unanimously last month.
Each year, States like California declare State-level emergencies for
disasters like wildfires, hurricanes, floods, or earthquakes. Under
current law, disaster victims can only receive Federal filing relief if
and when the President of the United States declares a Federal
disaster.
While President Biden immediately declared a Federal disaster for the
Los Angeles fires that devastated my district in January, that was
unusually fast. Often, those declarations can take days or even weeks,
which was the case in 2020 after wildfires, including the Bobcat fire
in the San Gabriel Mountains, ravaged my State. That means if disaster
strikes during filing season, taxpayers run the risk of missing Federal
filing deadlines through no fault of their own.
Additionally, there may be serious natural disasters that affect
taxpayers' ability to file but don't ever get declared as a Federal
disaster. That is because such a declaration is subject to a very
specific process under the Stafford Act. If a disaster does not exceed
a State's capacity to respond without the help of FEMA, the President
can't declare a Federal disaster, even if taxpayers impacted need
filing relief.
Our bill solves this problem by giving Treasury and the IRS authority
to postpone Federal filing deadlines in response to a request by a
Governor who has declared a State-level disaster, and it would double
the minimum duration of these filing extensions from 60 to 120 days.
I also urge my colleagues to work with me to support the victims of
January's Los Angeles fires, including the Eaton fire in my district,
by passing a supplemental disaster appropriations package with no
strings attached.
The Eaton fire took 17 of my constituents' lives, burned 9,500
structures, and left 20,000 people in my district homeless. While FEMA
has been there since the start, we will need more help from Congress.
Wildfires, like all natural disasters, know no political parties, and
never in our country's history has Congress placed policy conditions on
aid for disaster victims.
I look forward to passing this legislation and then continuing our
work to support survivors with a supplemental disaster aid package.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may
consume to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Kustoff), the sponsor of
this legislation.
Mr. KUSTOFF. Mr. Speaker, I thank Ways and Means Committee Chairman
Jason Smith for his leadership and also his support on this
legislation, and I thank our colleague, Judy Chu, for joining me in
introducing what I think is an important piece of legislation.
This bill, the Filing Relief for Natural Disasters Act, H.R. 517, is
a bipartisan bill and a commonsense bill. It
[[Page H1348]]
will provide relief to Americans who have been impacted by natural
disasters and emergencies.
Just about every Member of this body at some point has seen their
State, their district, or their constituents impacted by a natural
disaster or an emergency.
Mr. Speaker, just last month, Obion County, which is in my district
in Tennessee, was devastated by severe flooding following a levee
failure. The disaster displaced hundreds of my constituents and left
the town of Rives in Obion County basically underwater.
After the initial flooding, I visited Rives with our Governor of
Tennessee, Bill Lee, to survey the damage and to meet with local
officials and residents. For the Rives community, recovering and
rebuilding is not going to be easy and is not going to happen
overnight.
I am sure that my colleagues who have toured disaster areas in their
own districts know exactly what I mean.
For communities that have been impacted by disasters, it is critical
that they have timely access to the support they need to begin the
recovery process and get their lives back on track.
This also, Mr. Speaker, includes regulatory relief. Filing season can
be long, and it can be burdensome for many taxpayers and for small
businesses. This is obviously no secret.
Under current law, the U.S. Department of the Treasury can postpone
tax filing deadlines for taxpayers who have been affected by federally
declared disasters, but right now, Treasury does not have the authority
to provide relief for State-level declarations.
State-level declarations are normally issued immediately or almost
immediately after a disaster. Federal declarations, on the other hand,
can take weeks or even months before being issued. You have disparate
treatment between Federal- and State-level declarations under the
current law, and that can delay relief and create significant confusion
for impacted taxpayers.
This bill makes two straightforward reforms to the Internal Revenue
Code that will address this flaw in the tax code and ensure that
disaster victims are able to receive more timely relief.
Number one, it will authorize the Secretary of the Treasury, in
consultation with FEMA, to extend filing relief to taxpayers as soon as
the Governor of the State declares a disaster or a state of emergency.
Number two, Mr. Speaker, it will expand the current mandatory filing
extension following a Federal declaration from 60 days to 120 days.
Disaster victims should be focused on rebuilding, recovering, and
caring for their loved ones. What they should not have to be focused on
is complying with bureaucratic red tape at the IRS.
For these reasons, Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to
support the Filing Relief for Natural Disasters Act, a bipartisan, pro-
taxpayer piece of legislation that was passed out of the Ways and Means
Committee unanimously by a vote of 42-0.
Ms. CHU. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time for
closing.
Mr. Speaker, this bipartisan bill is a commonsense proposal to ease
one of the many burdens that face survivors after a natural disaster so
that they can focus on recovering and rebuilding.
I once again thank Representative Kustoff for his partnership, and I
urge my colleagues to vote ``yes.''
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my
time.
Everyone knows the Washington bureaucracy doesn't always move
quickly, even when Americans are crying out for help after a natural
disaster.
This bill allows for the postponing of tax filing deadlines for
Americans living in a State-declared disaster area that has yet to
receive a Federal disaster declaration.
This bipartisan effort will help those Americans still reeling from a
devastating event. After all, they should be focused on restoring their
lives and livelihoods first and foremost.
If Washington is slower than a State government to respond, that is
not a good enough reason to deny Americans the help they need. This
legislation will lighten the load carried by families affected by a
natural disaster.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
{time} 1645
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. 517, 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.
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