Category: US Senate

Source: United States Senator for Louisiana Bill Cassidy

06.12.23

(Click here to download and here to watch)

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) today delivered a speech on the U.S. Senate floor highlighting Americans’ desire to see Washington address the looming financial crisis facing Social Security. Cassidy recently released the first installment of Bill on the Hill, a video in which he interviewed Americans visiting the Capitol about what they want to see done to save Social Security.

“Since we have seen zero presidential leadership on the issue in years and no engagement on our plan from the current White House, I decided to go directly to the American people,” said Dr. Cassidy. “The bottom line is this: Americans want to see Social Security saved.”

“When I told one lady that President Biden and Donald Trump have the same plan [to address Social Security], she was a bit taken aback. After gasping, her disappointed reaction was: ‘I want to laugh, and I want to cry at the same time,’” continued Dr. Cassidy. “Americans are watching Washington flounder as the deadline until retirees receive a 24 percent benefit cut approaches.”

Click here to watch Cassidy’s full speech.

Cassidy’s opening remarks as prepared for delivery can be found below:

Madam President,

Social Security is a sacred trust between the American people and the American government. 

For the worker who is about to retire with no savings other than Social Security, or the woman who relies on Social Security to pay for her medication—they need to know that the government is not going to break this sacred trust. 

That’s why I’ve been leading a bipartisan working group of over a dozen members to develop a solution. And we have what we call the “Big Idea” to save Social Security.

But, before describing the “Big Idea” thought, I have to tell you why right now it doesn’t matter what good ideas are being discussed.

President Biden made it clear in the State of the Union that he was going to run for reelection attacking Republicans on the issue of Social Security.

He has not introduced legislation. 

His previous plan was not serious. 

And the money he said he would use for his unserious plan, he has already spent on other priorities. 

President Biden was not even willing to acknowledge the problem Social Security faces.

In fairness, he is not alone. 

Donald Trump refuses to acknowledge the issue. 

He never introduced legislation or sought to work with Congress when he was president. 

And now he criticizes anyone who suggests there may be a problem. 

Doing nothing like both Biden and Trump suggest would have disastrous consequences for American seniors. 

Retirees would see a 24 percent benefit cut, elderly poverty would double, and after 75 years of borrowing to cover the cost of promised benefits, we would rack up 562 trillion dollars in Social Security debt alone. 

Our “Big Idea” will avoid this disaster by setting up a new investment fund separate from the Social Security Trust Fund.  

We would tie the success of American seniors to the growth of the American economy. 

It wouldn’t raise the retirement age to 70, as some suggest. And it would not touch the way Social Security payments are distributed, ensuring no one sees a disruption in their benefits.  

It’s an idea that both works and could pass Congress. 

Since we have seen zero presidential leadership on the issue in years and no engagement on our plan from the current White House, I decided to go directly to the American people.

A few weeks ago, we recorded a video we are calling “Bill on the Hill.” 

I took a walk around the Capitol grounds and spoke to Americans from across the country who were visiting that day.

I ran into a couple from Louisiana, a family from Pennsylvania, a veteran, a pastor from Massachusetts, and several others who gave us their unvarnished opinions on what they want to see Washington do about Social Security. 

The bottom line is this: Americans want to see Social Security saved.  

And they deserve a real solution to the problem, not more grandstanding. 

One blue-collar work I spoke to from rural Pennsylvania told me: “jobs that I have had haven’t necessarily had retirement plans…” 

He added that it was “very discouraging” to hear a 24 percent cut was coming if we chose to do nothing. 

A doctor from Opelousas, Louisiana put it in stark terms when I told him that doing nothing means poverty among the elderly will double. 

He said that people he knows would “have to start choosing between their medicines and food.” 

People who rely on Social Security—who had faith in that sacred trust—should not have to choose between their medicines and their food because we choose to do nothing. 

People like Reverend Paul Kim—a Korean War veteran and pastor—told me what he wanted from a president: 

“He has to be honest and keep the promise” of Social Security. 

Dr. Kim is right. 

The president needs to be honest with the American people about Social Security, but he’s not.

He refuses to even acknowledge the issue exists.

The fact is, Social Security is going insolvent in 9 years. 

Yet he’s steadfast in his position that there is nothing wrong and there is no need for a plan.

It’s dishonest, and any politician who tells you there is no problem is lying. 

That’s true of President Biden, and it’s true of former President Trump.  

It appears their plan to address Social Security is exactly the same—do nothing and demagogue those who choose to responsibly address the issue. 

When I told one lady that President Biden and Donald Trump have the same plan, she was a bit taken aback. 

After gasping, her disappointed reaction was: “I want to laugh, and I want to cry at the same time.” 

Americans are watching Washington flounder as the deadline until retirees receive a 24 percent benefit cut approaches. 

And they don’t know whether to laugh at the absurdity or cry at the horror.  

We owe it to the American people to take this sacred trust seriously.

We owe it to them to save Social Security before it is too late. 

I am open to discussing new ideas or meeting with anyone who is willing to have a serious conversation.

But we need the political courage to at least attempt to tackle this third rail. 

With that, I yield.

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Source: United States Senator for New Jersey Bob Menendez

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and Congressman Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.-5) sent a letter to the U.S Department of Transportation (DOT), urging them to further investigate the environmental impact of the MTA’s Congestion Tax with a full Environmental Impact Statement. By the MTA’s own admission in their report, their Congestion Tax plan would increase pollutants and mobile air toxins, including carcinogens through 2045 in the Bronx, Staten Island, Nassau County, and Bergen County. 

The Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) and the DOT “Draft Finding of No Significant Impact for the New York City Central Business District Tolling Program (Draft FONSI)” will devastate the health and safety of New Jersey children and families. 

“Despite concessions from the MTA that nearly $100 million of further negative environmental mitigation efforts may be needed in communities in New Jersey’s Bergen and Essex Counties and other communities surrounding the Central Business District, the FHWA did not request a full Environmental Impact Statement,” wrote Senator Menendez and Congressman Gottheimer in a Letter to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “According to the MTA’s own report last year, the Congestion Tax will result in an increase of pollutants and toxins — including carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide, particulate matter, and even formaldehyde, a carcinogen — in New Jersey communities and the surrounding New York outer boroughs. This would be the direct result of the increased traffic diverted from Manhattan to New Jersey into towns in our state, including an estimation of nearly a thousand additional trucks into Fort Lee, New Jersey.”

The lawmakers added, “We are deeply concerned with the FHWA and the DOT’s willingness to move ahead with the Congestion Tax. We ask that you reconsider such approval. New Jersey families stand to be hit the hardest, paying more to commute while being subject to more traffic and more pollution.”

The MTA’s initial Environmental Assessment admitted the Congestion Tax will hurt the environment and increase air pollution: 

1. More cars and trucks will be diverted to Northern New Jersey and the outer boroughs just outside of the tolling zone — hurting lower income families. 
2. There will be increases in traffic, pollutants, and mobile air toxins through 2045 in the Bronx, Staten Island, Nassau County, and Bergen County (pages 10-21, 10-37, and 10-40). 
3. There will be increases in particulate matter, nitrogen oxide, carbon monoxide, and carcinogens like formaldehyde in Bergen County, as well as toxins like formaldehyde (pages 10–26 through 10-34). 
4. In the Bronx alone, it is reported that the diverted traffic will increase the soot from truck traffic by about 5%. Bergen County could face nearly a thousand more trucks to Fort Lee.
5. The MTA is prepared to spend $130 million from tolling to try to mitigate the Congestion Tax’s negative environmental impacts on families in the Bronx and parts of the outer boroughs. However, New Jersey will receive no funding as a part of the MTA’s plan.
6. The MTA’s proposed solutions include installing new air filtration units near schools, more vegetation, and spending $25 million on an asthma treatment program due to the Congestion Tax — an admission of environmental guilt. New Jersey will receive no funding as a part of the MTA’s plan.

In May, Sen. Menendez held a press conference with advocates, business leaders, and transportation officials to address how New York’s proposed Congestion Tax will negatively impact New Jersey commuters and small business owners, as well as to rollout new legislation to stop this misguided proposal. Around the same time, Gottheimer also sounded the alarm on the negative environmental impacts of New York’s and the MTA’s proposed Congestion Tax. 

Full text of the letter can be found here and below:

June 9, 2023

The Honorable Pete Buttigieg Secretary

U.S. Department of Transportation 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE Washington, DC 20590

Dear Secretary Buttigieg:

On behalf of communities and families we represent across New Jersey, during this thirty-day public review period, we are writing to urge you to reconsider the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) and the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) “Draft Finding of No Significant Impact for the New York City Central Business District Tolling Program (Draft FONSI).”

The findings confirmed in the Draft FONSI make clear that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s (MTA) Central Business District Tolling Program, hereafter referred to as the “Congestion Tax”, will devastate New Jersey commuters and families. Despite concessions from the MTA that nearly $100 million of further negative environmental mitigation efforts may be needed in communities in New Jersey’s Bergen and Essex Counties and other communities surrounding the Central Business District, the FHWA did not request a full Environmental Impact Statement. Instead, the FHWA merely accepts that the MTA will consider placement of these additional mitigation efforts in impacted communities after implementation, if deemed necessary by further analyses conducted by the MTA itself. It is clear that the Draft FONSI fails to fully appreciate and mitigate the expected environmental harm to NJ. A program of this magnitude and large-scale environmental impact should require more than the sole judgment of the agency seeking to implement it.

The MTA has long claimed that the Congestion Tax will help the environment. But, according to the MTA’s own report last year, the Congestion Tax will result in an increase of pollutants and toxins — including carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide, particulate matter, and even formaldehyde, a carcinogen — in New Jersey communities and the surrounding New York outer boroughs. This would be the direct result of the increased traffic diverted from Manhattan to New Jersey into towns in our state, including an estimation of nearly a thousand additional trucks into Fort Lee, New Jersey.

The Congestion Tax serves as nothing more than a potential $23-per-day frivolous tax on commuters, many of whom may have no other option but to drive into Manhattan for work, to drive their children to school, or for doctor’s appointments. This tax is on top of the daily tolls New Jersey drivers already pay to drive into Manhattan. Despite this, the MTA’s proposed discounts fail to provide any relief for hard- working New Jersey middle class families.

We are deeply concerned with the FHWA and the DOT’s willingness to move ahead with the Congestion Tax. We ask that you reconsider such approval. New Jersey families stand to be hit the hardest, paying more to commute while being subject to more traffic and more pollution. We look forward to hearing from you on this urgent matter.

Sincerely,

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Source: United States Senator for New Jersey Bob Menendez

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) today led a bipartisan coalition of 34 Senate colleagues in requesting the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator, Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, use the agency’s special exceptions and adjustments authority to update the proposed payment update in the final inpatient prospective payment system rule.

“We write today to express our concern regarding the proposed payment updates included in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) inpatient prospective payment system (IPPS) proposed rule for fiscal year (FY) 2024,” wrote the senators to Administrator Brooks-LaSure. “We are concerned that the proposed payment updates do not fully account for the current cost of care and will result in an overall payment reduction for hospitals in FY2024.”

The senators highlighted that in the FY2024 proposed rule, CMS relies on historical data that does not predict the impact of the current elevated cost of providing care and the increased growth in expenses due to labor and supply chain costs. They also pointed out that the productivity update included in the proposed rule assumes hospitals can replicate the general economy’s productivity gains, when in fact hospitals and health systems continue to face productivity declines.

“Conditions like the ones currently facing hospitals require a heightened review of payment policy. We respectfully request that CMS consider using its special exceptions and adjustments authority to make a retrospective adjustment to account for the difference between the market basket update that was implemented for FY 2022 and what the market basket actually is for FY 2022,” added the senators. “These important changes will ensure Medicare payments for acute care services more accurately reflect the cost of providing hospital care today and for the coming year. On behalf of our hospitals and health systems nationwide, we appreciate your attention to these concerns.”

This effort is supported by the American Hospital Association.

“The American Hospital Association (AHA) thanks Senators Menendez and Cramer for leading this important bipartisan effort urging CMS to ensure hospitals and health systems have the resources they need to continue delivering high-quality care to their patients and communities,” said Lisa Kidder Hrobsky, AHA Senior Vice President, Advocacy and Political Affairs. “This support is more needed than ever as the hospital field continues to confront rising inflation, workforce shortages and surging costs for supplies and drugs.”

Sens. Menendez and Cramer were joined by Sens. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.V.), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Tom Carper (D-Del.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Angus King (I-Maine), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), John Boozman (R-Ark.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), Katie Britt (R-Ala.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), John Hoeven (R-N.D), James Risch (R-Idaho), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), and Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.).

The full text of the letter can be found HERE and below:

Dear Administrator Brooks-LaSure,

We write today to express our concern regarding the proposed payment updates included in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) inpatient prospective payment system (IPPS) proposed rule for fiscal year (FY) 2024. We are concerned that the proposed payment updates do not fully account for the current cost of care and will result in an overall payment reduction for hospitals in FY2024. We request CMS consider using its special exceptions and adjustments authority to update the proposed payment update in the final IPPS rule.

In the FY2024 proposed rule, CMS relies on historical data that does not predict the impact of the current elevated cost of providing care and the increased growth in expenses due to labor and supply chain costs. Additionally, the productivity update included in the proposed rule assumes hospitals can replicate the general economy’s productivity gains. However, in reality the critical financial pressures that hospitals and health systems continue to face have resulted in productivity declines, not gains. 

Conditions like the ones currently facing hospitals require a heightened review of payment policy. We respectfully request that CMS consider using its special exceptions and adjustments authority to make a retrospective adjustment to account for the difference between the market basket update that was implemented for FY 2022 and what the market basket actually is for FY 2022. These important changes will ensure Medicare payments for acute care services more accurately reflect the cost of providing hospital care today and for the coming year.

On behalf of our hospitals and health systems nationwide, we appreciate your attention to these concerns. We look forward to working with you on these important issues.

Sincerely,

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Source: United States Senator for New Jersey Bob Menendez

HOBOKEN, N.J. – Today, U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Governor Phil Murphy, Mayor Ravi S. Bhalla, and other officials joined together for the ribbon cutting and grand opening of ReslienCity Park at 12^th and Madison Streets. Formerly known as the Northwest Resiliency Park, ResilienCity Park is the largest resiliency park in New Jersey, offering more than five acres of public open space amenities and two million gallons of stormwater detention through above- and below-ground infrastructure. 

“Today we are cutting the ribbon on a project that is a shining example of community investment at its best – building the green infrastructure of tomorrow and an innovative stormwater management system that will reduce the risk of devastating floods, while providing Hoboken residents with a new active open space and multi-purpose athletic fields,” said Sen. Menendez. “I was proud to advocate for $10 million in FEMA funding that helped make this project a reality, in partnership with the city, state, and county, as we work to meet the climate challenges of the 21st century head on.”

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“I extend my deepest gratitude to the Biden Administration and our congressional delegation for their continued investment in the health and resilience of New Jersey communities, and to the City of Hoboken for its ongoing efforts to expand opportunity among its residents,” said Gov. Murphy. “The ResilienCity Park – the largest of its kind in the state – will connect New Jerseyans to green, open space while offering our children and families a host of recreational activities. Just as importantly, amid the increasing intensity and frequency of storm events due to climate change, this resiliency park will help protect Hoboken’s residents and properties from extreme flooding.” 

“I am incredibly thrilled to celebrate the grand opening of ResilienCity Park, a testament to our City’s unwavering commitment to both our residents and the environment,” said Mayor Bhalla. “This park opening is a significant milestone in our ongoing efforts to create a sustainable and resilient community, serving as the largest resiliency park in our great state and a model for the rest of the county. Not only does this park provide much-needed, state-of-the-art open space amenities, it will also provide a critical defense against rainfall flooding, two critical quality of life improvements for our residents. Today, we celebrate the multi-year effort to transform this blighted land into a model of resiliency for all to enjoy. I am beyond grateful to all of our partners at the county, state and federal level for helping make this day possible, along with the members of our community who have waited for this day for years.”  

“I applaud Mayor Bhalla and the City of Hoboken on the grand opening of our state’s largest resiliency park,” said Sen. Booker. “ResilienCity Park represents the type of state-of-the-art resilient infrastructure New Jersey needs to mitigate the impact of climate change, such as extreme flooding and sea level rise. I am proud to have secured federal investment for this project and will continue fighting for funding so we can better protect our communities.”

“From the County’s perspective, ResilienCity Park was an appealing “two-fer” for our Open Space Trust Fund,” said Hudson County Executive DeGise. “Not only were we able to contribute to new open space in a corner of the city that desperately needs it, but we are also able to support flood mitigation in Hoboken again with Trust dollars—something our administration has supported since Super Storm Sandy’s devastating impact on Hoboken back in 2012.”

ResilienCity Park transforms a former industrial site into public open space that provides the public with a new multi-purpose athletic field, a basketball court that doubles as a stormwater detention basin, playground, open lawn space, water spray area, and other open space amenities. The park’s terrace pavilion, which will include a café and community room, is currently under construction and it is scheduled to open this fall.

An example of the City’s parks as a climate mitigation strategy, the park was funded by the State and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Rebuild by Design project, which aims to mitigate flooding caused by heavy rain events that have become more severe and frequent due to climate change. Due in part to Hoboken’s topography, low-lying areas of western Hoboken can experience flooding if the city receives more than 0.8 inches of rain per hour. 

ResilienCity Park can detain up to 2 million gallons of stormwater that would have otherwise flooded city streets and residential basements through a 1-million-gallon stormwater detention tank located below ground and up to another 1 million gallons through above-ground green infrastructure such as rain gardens and a cistern for on-site irrigation. During heavy rain events, stormwater will be captured by the above-ground infrastructure and fill the below-ground detention tank. The on-site 30 million gallon per day flood pump, constructed through a partnership with the North Hudson Sewage Authority, will pump the water from the tank to the Hudson River. 

ResilienCity Park was funded in part by a $10 million grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Building Resilient Infrastructure in Communities (BRIC) program, low-interest financing with $2 million in principal forgiveness through the New Jersey Infrastructure Bank through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Clean Water State Revolving Loan Fund, as well as $1 million in grants from the Hudson County Open Space Trust Fund. Due to the multiple funding sources, including Hoboken’s dedicated Open Space Trust Fund, the park has been constructed at no impact to the municipal tax levy.

“My DEP colleagues and I commend Hoboken on the grand opening of ResilienCity Park,” said Commissioner of Environmental Protection Shawn M. LaTourette. “By reclaiming contaminated land to provide recreational opportunities and mitigate flooding, this remarkable park exemplifies the creative ideas communities across New Jersey, with the DEP’s help, are implementing to respond to the impacts of climate change – and it truly embodies the resilient spirit of the people of Hoboken.”

“We are very pleased be a partner in this grand endeavor which brings parkland to the community and diverts millions of gallons of CSO to our Hoboken Treatment Plant, thus reducing the amount of untreated wastewater going into the river,” said Dr. Richard J. Wolff, Executive Director of The North Hudson Sewerage Authority. “The park, the storage tank below it, and the attendant pump station contribute to a cleaner waterway and bring us one, very big step closer to a truly recreational Hudson River.” 

“With the unveiling of ResilienCity Park, the City of Hoboken showcases its commitment to sustainable infrastructure and innovative solutions that protect people from hazardous flooding,” said Angie Fyfe, Executive Director of ICLEI USA. “As a pioneer in the Cities Race to Zero and with its nation-leading Rebuild by Design initiative, Hoboken continues to lead on climate adaptation and serves as an inspiring resilience blueprint for cities everywhere.”

Sen. Menendez has long been a leader in the fight to increase flood protections for New Jersey residents. Earlier this month, Sen. Menendez joined with Governor Phil Murphy, Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-N.J.-06), and New Jersey State Senator Vin Gopal to highlight the commencement of the Two Rivers Water Reclamation Authority (TRWRA) sewer/pump station project, to which the Murphy Administration will commit $20 million in federal grant funding. These measures will bolster the resilience of crucial wastewater and stormwater infrastructure while safeguarding the station and surrounding communities from future storms.

Last month, Sens. Menendez and Cory Booker (D-N.J.) announced a combined total of $8.8 million from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to mitigate flood risks in the City of Bayonne and in Rutherford, NJ. In March, Sen. Menendez joined with Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. to hold a groundbreaking ceremony with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) for the Union Beach flood control project to reduce flooding and better protect the area from rising seas and future catastrophic weather events. In March, Senators Menendez and Kennedy introduced the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) Consultant Accountability Act of 2023 to protect homeowners who are victims of natural disasters from working with third parties that are found guilty of property damage assessment fraud.

During a Senate Banking Committee hearing in April, Sen. Menendez emphasized the importance of keeping flood insurance affordable to lower housing costs for working families and highlighted the reintroduction of the bipartisan National Flood Insurance Program Reauthorization and Reform (NFIP-RE) Act coming soon. In the same month, Sens. Menendez, Cory Booker, Kristen Gillibrand and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer introduced the New York-New Jersey Watershed Protection Act to improve water quality and increased flood protections for residents near these vital water resources.

Sen. Menendez has been the leading advocate in Congress for an overhaul of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), since Superstorm Sandy devastated New Jersey 10 years ago. The NFIP-RE Act, which Sen. Menendez plans to reintroduce soon, would extend the program for five years, while implementing a series of sweeping reforms to address the waste, abuse and mismanagement plaguing the system. Sen. Menendez first exposed the problem of widespread lowballing of flood insurance claims during Congressional hearings, he chaired in 2014, and then successfully pushed FEMA to reopen every Sandy flood insurance claim for review, which compensated Sandy victims with more than $260 million in additional payments they were initially denied.

Sen. Menendez authored the Superstorm Sandy Relief and Disaster Loan Program Improvement Act, which extended and expanded access to federal disaster loans through the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). His Homeowner’s Flood Insurance Affordability Act was signed into law in 2014 to address skyrocketing rates many Sandy survivors were encountering. In 2013, the Senator shepherded the original $50 billion federal Sandy aid package through Congress.

For event photos, click HERE.

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Source: United States Senator for Oklahoma James Lankford

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Source: United States Senator for West Virginia Joe Manchin

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Source: United States Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn)

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) introduced bipartisan legislation with Senators Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), John Kennedy (R-La.), and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) to provide relief for impacted taxpayers in states that have issued state-level disaster declarations. Currently, the IRS has the authority to postpone filing deadlines in the event of a presidentially-declared federal disaster, but this does not extend to state-level emergencies.

Companion legislation is being introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Representatives Judy Chu (D-Calif.) and David Kustoff (R-Tenn.).

Tennesseans are frequently the victims of natural disasters including severe storms, tornadoes, earthquakes, and wildfires. Senator Blackburn’s legislation would ensure that even if the federal government does not declare a major disaster or state of emergency, Tennesseans will still be eligible for tax relief. 

“Many Tennesseans lose their livelihoods when a natural disaster hits, and it is essential that they are eligible to receive tax relief from the federal government even in the absence of a major disaster or state of emergency declaration,” said Senator Blackburn. “The Filing Relief for Natural Disasters Act would ensure that when extreme weather or natural disasters strike Tennessee, the governor can extend tax relief to those who have been affected.”  

“While I’m glad the administration heeded my call and issued a federal disaster declaration for Nevada counties impacted by severe flooding, too many communities harmed by natural disasters each year miss out on the critical tax relief that comes with federal recognition,” said Senator Cortez Masto. “My bipartisan bill will fix this problem and support more Nevada taxpayers experiencing extreme weather and wildfires.”

Background:

The Filing Relief for Natural Disasters Act would allow the governor of a state or territory to extend a federal tax filing deadline in the event of a state-declared emergency or disaster, which happens automatically for federally-declared disasters. Extending this authority to states gives them the ability to provide relief independent of the federal government’s involvement in an emergency or natural disaster. The legislation expands the mandatory federal filing extension from 60 days to 120 days.

In 2022, Blackburn led the Tennessee delegation in requesting Biden approve Governor Lee’s request for a Major Disaster Declaration following storm damage and wildfire in Sevier County. This past April, Blackburn led a bipartisan letter urging President Biden to approve Governor Lee’s request for a Major Disaster Declaration after severe thunderstorms and tornadoes impacted the state.

The bill text can be found here.