A Republican lawmaker is looking to force a vote on bipartisan legislation that would provide financial relief to victims of natural disasters.
Florida Rep. Greg Steube last week filed a discharge petition for his “Federal Disaster Tax Relief Act,” H.R. 5863. The legislation passed the House in January as part of a sweeping tax package, but senators’ disagreements on unrelated tax policies have kept it from becoming law.
The petition would trigger a vote on a resolution, H. Res. 961, to bring the “Federal Disaster Tax Relief Act” up for a vote if a majority of the House — 218 members — sign on. The petition had 15 signatures as of Monday afternoon.
Steube said in a statement that he filed the discharge petition because “the tax package now appears to be stuck in the Senate, and House leadership has been unwilling to bring my bipartisan disaster tax relief legislation up as a standalone bill.”