Cassidy proposes bipartisan, bicameral Shelter Act to aid disaster mitigation costs

U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) on June 25 cosponsored a bipartisan, bicameral measure that would allow American families and business owners to write off 25 percent of qualifying disaster mitigation expenses.

“What’s better than a quick recovery after a flood is never flooding at all,” Sen. Cassidy said. “Investing in flood mitigation projects decreases the impact of storms and saves families from total devastation.”

Sen. Cassidy introduced the Shelter Act, S. 1958, with bill sponsor U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO) to help Americans protect their homes or businesses against hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, drought, and wildfires in disaster-prone areas across the United States.

U.S. Reps. Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) and Charlie Crist (D-FL) on Tuesday also unveiled the same-named H.R. 3462 in their chamber.

If enacted, the bill would establish a tax credit with an annual limit of up to $5,000 per taxpayer, according to the bill’s text, which notes that eligible properties would include homes or businesses located in or adjacent to an area that the federal government has declared a disaster within the past 10 years.

Taxpayers who rent a property in eligible areas also could receive the credit, according to a bill summary provided by the lawmakers.

“The credit, establishing section 25E and 25T in the tax code, begins to phase down for households that earn more than $168,000 for joint filers and phases out entirely for households that earn more than $250,000,” according to the summary. “For businesses, the credit begins to phase down when a business earns $5 million and phases out completely when its revenue is more than $10 million.”

Among supporters of the bill are the National Realtors Association, the National Association of Home Builders, the Smarter Safer Coalition, and Home Depot.