Kustoff Bill to Help Americans Recover from Natural Disasters Passes Ways and Means Committee

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, the bill filed by Reps. David Kustoff (R-TN) and Judy Chu (D-CA), H.R. 517, the Filing Relief for Natural Disasters Act, passed unanimously out of the House Committee on Ways and Means. This legislation will provide relief for taxpayers impacted by natural disasters and emergencies. 

Click here to watch Congressman Kustoff's remarks in favor of the Filing Relief for Natural Disasters Act in the Ways and Means Committee. 

Congressman Kustoff said in part, "My district, which is West Tennessee, has been hit by a number of natural disasters over the years – ranging from tornados to most recently major flooding . . . Anyone who has toured a disaster area, spoken to victims, or watched the damage from television or social media should know: Recovering and rebuilding is not easy, and it doesn’t happen overnight. For impacted Americans, families, and communities – it is critical they have timely access to the support, the resources, and the relief they need to begin the recovery process and start getting their lives back on track."

He went on to say, "That’s why Rep. Chu and I introduced the Filing Relief for Natural Disasters Act. This legislation makes two straightforward, commonsense reforms to the Internal Revenue Code that will ensure disaster victims are able to receive timely relief."

“The last thing survivors of natural disasters should have to worry about is missing a tax deadline while they’re piecing their lives back together. Representative Kustoff’s legislation will allow the IRS the option to postpone federal tax deadlines for those impacted by state-declared disasters. I want to thank Representative Kustoff for his leadership in fighting for the folks in Tennessee and taxpayers across the country to give them this much-needed flexibility," said Ways and Means Chairman Jason Smith (R-MO).

Background:
Currently, the U.S. Department of Treasury has the authority to postpone tax filing deadlines to taxpayers affected by federally-declared disasters. However, this does not extend to state-level emergencies. The Filing Relief for Natural Disasters Act would authorize the Treasury, in consultation with FEMA, to extend relief to impacted taxpayers as soon as the governor of a state declares a disaster or state of emergency. This legislation would also expand the current mandatory extension following a federally-declared disaster declaration from 60 to 120 days.
 

Click here to read the full text of the bill.

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