Rep. Pascrell Lauds Sandy Tax Relief Passing Committee

WASHINGTON, June 21 -- Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr., D-New Jersey, issued the following news release:

U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-09), New Jersey's only member of the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee, praised passage in the committee of a provision that will give the victims of Hurricane Sandy needed tax relief. The provision was included in H.R. 3301, The Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2019, which cleared the Ways and Means Committee last night.

"I am delighted that the Ways and Means Committee has passed this relief for the victims of Hurricane Sandy," said Rep. Pascrell, a longtime champion in Congress for aiding Sandy victims. "Today's disaster relief package incorporated a provision that I have included before in my National Disaster Relief legislation. While the relief H.R. 3301 provides is limited, it will help Sandy victims in need of help, allowing those who would have been eligible for EITC and CTC benefits to go back and amend their 2012 returns. I hope we can do much more for the victims of Hurricane Sandy as we move forward. We can and must do more to provide additional relief for victims of natural disasters. I look at this as a down payment until Congress can move a permanent disaster relief package like the National Disaster Act that I have sponsored in past Congresses."

The Sandy provision passed by the Ways and Committee permits victims of Sandy to use their earned income from 2011 to qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit in 2012 and allows them to amend their returns for that year.

A lead cosponsor of the National Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2017, Rep. Pascrell has consistently led the fight to provide federal relief for victims of Hurricane Sandy, securing several federal grants for New Jersey as the state continues to rebuild. Rep. Pascrell also excoriated Donald Trump and congressional Republicans last year after they sought to redirect $107 million in disaster relief funds from New Jersey to pay for their deficit-funded tax scam bill ratified in 2017.