Articles
Tornado Rebuilding will Strengthen Massachusetts
Washington, DC,
August 1, 2011
By Together, we’ve represented Springfield and Western Massachusetts in Congress for a combined 48 years. In all those years, we’ve never seen anything in Massachusetts that equaled the devastation from the tornadoes which ripped across Massachusetts last month. Just hours after those storms hit, it was difficult to even believe we were standing on the street we had always known as High Street in Monson witnessing the damage to the First Church. Buildings were toppled and houses had been literally thrown onto other buildings. In the East Forest Park neighborhood of Springfield, homes were completely demolished. In shelters, families showed us cell phone pictures of their demolished homes, and business owners questioned what would come next. One of the benefits of our seniority in Congress is that we are a bi-cameral tag team for Massachusetts on the House and Senate Committees with the power to write tax laws - the House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee. To help Western Massachusetts recover, on Monday we’re introducing new legislation to deliver tax relief to everyone who’s been impacted by these disastrous storms. Whether you’re an individual taxpayer or a small business owner, this bill will get you tax benefits that will help with the cost of the damage. We’re calling it the Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2011 - and it won’t just help Springfield. It’s a broad package of benefits for anyone affected by a federal disaster. For instance, the bill will allow anyone, regardless of how much money they make, to deduct a lot of the damage costs brought on by natural disaster. It will give businesses the chance to deduct some of the costs of cleanup. And on top of that, the bill will encourage donations and charitable contributions to help communities still struggling from a disaster long after it strikes. This same sort of tax relief played a big role in helping Americans recover from natural disasters in 2008 and 2009. Unfortunately, those tax relief provisions expired soon after, but with our country facing a record number of weather disasters this year, it’s clear they’re needed again - and there’s no time to waste. This year there have already been 57 major disasters in 34 states, from droughts and floods to wildfires and tornadoes. All around the country people just need a break until they get back on their feet, and we’re going to work in Congress to make sure that Washington has their backs. These communities across America are on the mend from their weather disasters. Like Springfield, the heartbreaking scenes of devastation are slowly being replaced by the sights and sounds of hammers and saws, mortar and brick. And there’s no reason why our tax code can’t be used as just one more tool to make Massachusetts and our country stronger as we work to rebuild. There’s still plenty of work ahead, and we won’t and can’t let any moss grow beneath our feet. But when we look at the businesses reopening all around Springfield, when we see the roofs being repaired and the kids getting ready to go back at school, we know that Massachusetts is going to come back stronger than ever. We’re going to keep working to make sure we’ve got the resources to get it done. Click here to view the original article. |