Political Quotes

“I rise to speak in support of the ``Disaster Mitigation and Tax Parity Act,'' which Senator Burr and I introduced today. Representative Mike Thompson (D-CA) has introduced companion legislation in the House of Representatives. Encouraging homeowners to take steps to reduce the risk of natural catastrophe damage to their homes has long been a goal of policy makers. In California, it has been a special challenge to incentivize individuals to purchase earthquake insurance and to harden their homes against potential earthquake damage. The threat of natural disasters and extreme weather events has become a much greater problem in recent years due to climate change, which is driving an increasing frequency and severity of wildfires, droughts, hurricanes, and other catastrophic events. This, in turn, is reducing the availability and increasing the costs of insurance for individuals and businesses. A growing number of states, including California, have begun offering rebates to homeowners to improve their homes to mitigate against damage from such events. Unfortunately, many homeowners are unaware that they are required to pay Federal income taxes on these rebates and are surprised to be stuck with that bill. Other homeowners who are aware of the tax implications are disincentivized from making these improvements to their homes. The ``Disaster Mitigation and Tax Parity Act'' would exempt such State rebates for disaster mitigation improvements from taxable income.…”