I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7849 

To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance 

Act to require the President to establish an individual household disaster 

mitigation program, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 29, 2024 

Mr. THOMPSON of California (for himself and Mr. LAMALFA) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, 

and in addition to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, 

for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case 

for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 

committee concerned 

A BILL 

To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to require the President to establish 

an individual household disaster mitigation program, and 

for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Disaster Resiliency and 

5 Coverage Act of 2024’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. INDIVIDUAL HOUSEHOLD DISASTER MITIGATION 

2 PROGRAM. 

3 Title II of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 

4 Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5131 et seq.) is 

5 amended by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 206. INDIVIDUAL HOUSEHOLD DISASTER MITIGATION 

7 PROGRAM. 

8 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The President shall estab9 lish a program to provide grants to States and Indian trib10 al governments for qualifying pre-disaster mitigation ac11 tivities on individual residential households that are at risk 

12 of being damaged by a major disaster. 

13 ‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT OF ELIGIBLE DISASTER

14 AREAS.—In carrying out the program under this section, 

15 the President shall— 

16 ‘‘(1) establish eligible disaster areas, in con17 sultation with States, that the President determines 

18 to be at risk of a natural hazard, including— 

19 ‘‘(A) a description of the type, likelihood, 

20 and severity of each potential natural hazard 

21 affecting each such risk area; and 

22 ‘‘(B) by taking into account previously de23 clared major disasters impacting such areas; 

24 and 

25 ‘‘(2) provide technical assistance to the States 

26 or Indian tribal governments in developing the plan 


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1 described in subsection (c) and administering grants 

2 provided for individual households under the pro3 gram. 

4 ‘‘(c) PLAN FOR ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES.—To be eligi5 ble for a grant under this section, a State or Indian tribal 

6 government shall submit to the President a plan that in7 cludes— 

8 ‘‘(1) each disaster risk area established by the 

9 President under subsection (b) in which the State or 

10 Indian tribal government proposes to provide funds 

11 under the program; 

12 ‘‘(2) an assessment of the status of the avail13 ability and affordability of homeowner insurance cov14 erage in each such risk area; 

15 ‘‘(3) a list of each qualifying mitigation activity 

16 that is eligible for funds in each such risk area; 

17 ‘‘(4) the criteria by which a State or Indian 

18 tribal government will evaluate applicants, which 

19 shall include consideration of the household income 

20 of the applicant and whether the residence is located 

21 in a Community Disaster Resilience Zone; and 

22 ‘‘(5) a financial plan that includes maximum 

23 amounts available to a household for each qualifying 

24 mitigation activity. 


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1 ‘‘(d) CONSULTATION.—In establishing the program 

2 under this section, the President shall consult with the Di3 rector of the Federal Insurance Office to determine what 

4 qualifying mitigation activities are likely to incentivize 

5 homeowner insurance companies to offer, or increase cov6 erage of, homeowners insurance to households located in 

7 eligible disaster areas. 

8 ‘‘(e) LIMITATIONS.— 

9 ‘‘(1) HIGH-RISK AREAS.—Funds provided under 

10 this section may only be used in eligible disaster 

11 areas that the State or Indian tribal government de12 termines are at a high risk of experiencing a major 

13 disaster for the major disaster that presents such a 

14 risk. 

15 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION BASED ON ADJUSTED GROSS

16 INCOME.—An individual shall not be eligible to re17 ceive a grant under this section if the adjusted gross 

18 income of such individual exceeds $250,000 

19 ($500,000 in the case of a joint tax return) for the 

20 taxable year ending in the calendar year immediately 

21 preceding the calendar year with respect to which a 

22 grant application is filed. 

23 ‘‘(3) DEFINITION OF ADJUSTED GROSS IN24 COME.—In this section, the term ‘adjusted gross inVerDate Sep 11 2014 18:53 Apr 14, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7849.IH H7849

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1 come’ has the meaning given such term in section 

2 62(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 

3 ‘‘(f) MULTI-TIERED MITIGATION STANDARDS.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The President, acting 

5 through the Administrator of the Federal Emer6 gency Management Agency, shall establish mitiga7 tion standards for individual households that carry 

8 out each type of qualifying mitigation activity eligi9 ble for funds under the program, which may include 

10 a multi-tiered standard. 

11 ‘‘(2) CONSIDERATION.—In establishing the 

12 mitigation standards under paragraph (1), the 

13 President, acting through the Administrator— 

14 ‘‘(A) may consider any standards estab15 lished by— 

16 ‘‘(i) Insurance Institute for Business 

17 and Home Safety; and 

18 ‘‘(ii) any other standard-issuing entity 

19 determined appropriate; and 

20 ‘‘(B) may— 

21 ‘‘(i) adopt a standard considered 

22 under subparagraph (A); or 

23 ‘‘(ii) establish alternative standards. 

24 ‘‘(g) GUIDANCE TO INSURANCE PROVIDERS.—To be 

25 eligible for a grant under the program under this section, 


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1 a State or Indian tribal government shall establish, and 

2 make available to the public, guidance to insurance pro3 viders that includes suggested incentives for households 

4 that carry out disaster mitigation activities under the pro5 gram, including— 

6 ‘‘(1) the mitigation standards established under 

7 subsection (f); 

8 ‘‘(2) increased eligibility for insurance coverage; 

9 and 

10 ‘‘(3) discounts for households that carry out 

11 such mitigation activities. 

12 ‘‘(h) MAXIMUM AMOUNTS.—A State or Indian tribal 

13 government may not provide more than an amount of 

14 $10,000, not to exceed the actual cost of mitigation activi15 ties, to any individual household under the program. Such 

16 amount shall be increased yearly to reflect any increase 

17 in the Consumer Price Index. 

18 ‘‘(i) GROSS INCOME.—For purposes of the Internal 

19 Revenue Code of 1986, gross income shall not include 

20 amounts provided under this section. 

21 ‘‘(j) DEFINITION OF QUALIFYING MITIGATION AC22 TIVITY.—In this section, the term ‘qualifying mitigation 

23 activity’ means an activity relating to a housing unit— 

24 ‘‘(1) for property to— 


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1 ‘‘(A) improve the strength of a roof deck 

2 attachment; 

3 ‘‘(B) create a secondary water barrier to 

4 prevent water intrusion or mitigate against po5 tential water intrusion from wind-driven rain; 

6 ‘‘(C) improve the durability, impact resist7 ance (not less than class 3 or 4 rating), or fire 

8 resistance (not less than class A rating) of a 

9 roof covering; 

10 ‘‘(D) brace gable-end walls; 

11 ‘‘(E) reinforce the connection between a 

12 roof and supporting wall; 

13 ‘‘(F) protect openings from penetration by 

14 wind-borne debris; 

15 ‘‘(G) protect exterior doors and garages 

16 from natural hazards; 

17 ‘‘(H) complete measures contained in the 

18 publication of the Federal Emergency Manage19 ment Agency entitled ‘Wind Retrofit Guide for 

20 Residential Buildings’ (P–804); 

21 ‘‘(I) elevate the qualified dwelling unit, as 

22 well as utilities, machinery, or equipment, above 

23 the base flood elevation or other applicable min24 imum elevation requirement; 


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1 ‘‘(J) seal walls in the basement of the 

2 qualified dwelling unit using waterproofing com3 pounds; or 

4 ‘‘(K) protect propane tanks or other exter5 nal fuel sources; 

6 ‘‘(2) to install— 

7 ‘‘(A) check valves to prevent flood water 

8 from backing up into drains; 

9 ‘‘(B) flood vents, breakaway walls or open 

10 lattice for homes located in V zones; 

11 ‘‘(C) a stormwater drainage system or im12 prove an existing system; 

13 ‘‘(D) natural or nature-based features for 

14 flood control, including living shorelines; 

15 ‘‘(E) roof coverings, sheathing, flashing, 

16 roof and attic vents, eaves, or gutters that con17 form to ignition-resistant construction stand18 ards; 

19 ‘‘(F) wall components for wall assemblies 

20 that conform to ignition-resistant construction 

21 standards; 

22 ‘‘(G) a wall-to-foundation anchor or con23 nector, or a shear transfer anchor or connector; 

24 ‘‘(H) wood structural panel sheathing for 

25 strengthening cripple walls; 


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1 ‘‘(I) anchorage of the masonry chimney to 

2 the framing; 

3 ‘‘(J) prefabricated lateral resisting sys4 tems; 

5 ‘‘(K) a standby generator system con6 sisting of a standby generator and an automatic 

7 transfer switch; 

8 ‘‘(L) a storm shelter that meets the design 

9 and construction standards established by the 

10 International Code Council and the National 

11 Storm Shelter Association (ICC–500), or a safe 

12 room that satisfies the criteria contained in— 

13 ‘‘(i) the publication of the Federal 

14 Emergency Management Agency entitled 

15 ‘Safe Rooms for Tornadoes and Hurri16 canes’ (P–361); or 

17 ‘‘(ii) the publication of the Federal 

18 Emergency Management Agency entitled 

19 ‘Taking Shelter from the Storm’ (P–320); 

20 ‘‘(M) a lightning protection system; 

21 ‘‘(N) exterior walls, doors, windows, or 

22 other exterior dwelling unit elements that con23 form to ignition-resistant construction stand24 ards; 


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1 ‘‘(O) exterior deck or fence components 

2 that conform to ignition-resistant construction 

3 standards; 

4 ‘‘(P) structure-specific water hydration 

5 systems, including fire mitigation systems such 

6 as interior and exterior sprinkler systems; 

7 ‘‘(Q) flood openings for fully enclosed 

8 areas below the lowest floor of the dwelling 

9 unit; 

10 ‘‘(R) lateral bracing for wall elements, 

11 foundation elements, and garage doors or other 

12 large openings to resist seismic loads; or 

13 ‘‘(S) automatic shutoff valves for water 

14 and gas lines; or 

15 ‘‘(3) for services or equipment to— 

16 ‘‘(A) create buffers around the qualified 

17 dwelling unit through the removal or reduction 

18 of flammable vegetation, including vertical 

19 clearance of tree branches; 

20 ‘‘(B) create buffers around the dwelling 

21 unit through— 

22 ‘‘(i) the removal of exterior deck or 

23 fence components or ignition-prone land24 scape features; or 


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1 ‘‘(ii) replacement of the components 

2 or features described in clause (i) with 

3 components or features that conform to ig4 nition-resistant construction standards; 

5 ‘‘(C) perform fire maintenance procedures 

6 identified by the Federal Emergency Manage7 ment Agency or the United States Forest Serv8 ice, including fuel management techniques such 

9 as creating fuel and fire breaks; or 

10 ‘‘(D) replace flammable vegetation with 

11 less flammable species; 

12 ‘‘(4) for property relating to satisfying the 

13 standards required for receipt of a FORTIFIED 

14 designation from the Insurance Institute for Busi15 ness and Home Safety, provided that the qualified 

16 dwelling unit receives such designation following in17 stallation of such property; or 

18 ‘‘(5) for any other hazard mitigation activity 

19 which has been identified by the President, in con20 sultation with the Administrator of the Federal 

21 Emergency Management Agency, for mitigation of a 

22 natural hazard.’’. 


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1 SEC. 3. EXCLUSION OF AMOUNTS RECEIVED FROM STATE2 BASED CATASTROPHE LOSS MITIGATION 

3 PROGRAMS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 139 of the Internal Rev5 enue Code of 1986 is amended by redesignating subsection 

6 (h) as subsection (i) and by inserting after subsection (g) 

7 the following new subsection: 

8 ‘‘(h) STATE-BASED CATASTROPHE LOSS MITIGATION

9 PROGRAMS.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Gross income shall not in11 clude any amount received by an individual as a 

12 qualified catastrophe loss mitigation payment under 

13 a program established or administered by a State, or 

14 a political subdivision or instrumentality thereof, for 

15 the purpose of making such payments. 

16 ‘‘(2) QUALIFIED CATASTROPHE LOSS MITIGA17 TION PAYMENT.—For purposes of this section, the 

18 term ‘qualified catastrophe loss mitigation payment’ 

19 means any amount which is received by an indi20 vidual to make improvements to such individual’s 

21 residence for the sole purpose of hazard mitigation 

22 with respect to such residence. 

23 ‘‘(3) NO INCREASE IN BASIS.—Rules similar to 

24 the rules of subsection (g)(3) shall apply in the case 

25 of this subsection.’’. 

26 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 


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1 (1) Section 139(d) is amended by striking ‘‘and 

2 qualified’’ and inserting ‘‘, qualified catastrophe 

3 mitigation payments, and qualified’’. 

4 (2) Section 139(i) (as redesignated by sub5 section (a)) is amended by striking ‘‘or qualified’’ 

6 and inserting ‘‘, qualified catastrophe mitigation 

7 payment, or qualified’’. 

8 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

9 this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after 

10 December 31, 2024. 

11 SEC. 4. EXCLUSION FROM GROSS INCOME OF CERTAIN 

12 EMERGENCY AGRICULTURAL ASSISTANCE. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 139 of the Internal Rev14 enue Code of 1986, as amended by the preceding provi15 sions of this Act, is amended by redesignating subsection 

16 (i) as subsection (j) and by inserting after subsection (h) 

17 the following new subsection: 

18 ‘‘(i) CERTAIN AGRICULTURAL ASSISTANCE.—For 

19 purposes of this section, the term ‘qualified disaster relief 

20 payment’ shall include any assistance received under any 

21 of the following: 

22 ‘‘(1) Assistance received under the Wildfires 

23 and Hurricanes Indemnity Program Plus under sub24 part O of part 760 of title 7, Code of Federal Regu25 lations. 


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1 ‘‘(2) Assistance received under section 1501 of 

2 the Agricultural Act of 2014 (7 U.S.C. 9081). 

3 ‘‘(3) Noninsured crop assistance under section 

4 196 of the Federal Agriculture Improvement and 

5 Reform Act of 1996 (7 U.S.C. 7333). 

6 ‘‘(4) Assistance under a food assistance pro7 gram under part 9 of title 7, Code of Federal Regu8 lations. 

9 ‘‘(5) Assistance under title IV of the Agricul10 tural Credit Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2201 et seq.). 

11 ‘‘(6) Assistance under the Quality Loss Assist12 ance Program.’’. 

13 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

14 this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after 

15 December 31, 2024. 

16 SEC. 5. CREDIT FOR DISASTER MITIGATION EXPENDI17 TURES. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart B of part IV of sub19 chapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 

20 1986 is amended by inserting after section 27 the fol21 lowing new section: 

22 ‘‘SEC. 28. DISASTER MITIGATION EXPENDITURES. 

23 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There shall be allowed as a cred24 it against the tax imposed by this chapter for the taxable 

25 year an amount equal to 30 percent of the expenditures 


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1 paid for qualifying mitigation activities paid or incurred 

2 by the taxpayer during such taxable year with respect to 

3 real property owned or leased by the taxpayer. 

4 ‘‘(b) QUALIFIED DISASTER MITIGATION ACTIVI5 TIES.—For purposes of this section— 

6 ‘‘(1) QUALIFYING MITIGATION ACTIVITY.—The 

7 term ‘qualifying mitigation activity’ has the meaning 

8 given such term in section 206(j) of the Robert T. 

9 Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance 

10 Act. 

11 ‘‘(2) TREATMENT OF REIMBURSEMENTS.—Any 

12 amount originally paid or incurred by the taxpayer 

13 which is reimbursed by a State under a qualified 

14 State disaster mitigation program shall be treated as 

15 paid by such State (and not by such taxpayer). 

16 ‘‘(c) APPLICATION WITH OTHER CREDITS.— 

17 ‘‘(1) BUSINESS CREDIT TREATED AS PART OF

18 GENERAL BUSINESS CREDIT.—So much of the credit 

19 which would be allowed under subsection (a) for any 

20 taxable year (determined without regard to this sub21 section) that is attributable to expenditures made in 

22 the ordinary course of the taxpayer’s trade or busi23 ness (or, in the case of expenditures made by a 

24 State, would have been expenditures made in the or25 dinary course of the taxpayer’s trade or business if 


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1 made by the taxpayer) shall be treated as a credit 

2 listed in section 38(b) for taxable year (and not al3 lowed under subsection (a)). 

4 ‘‘(2) PERSONAL CREDIT.—For purposes of this 

5 title, the credit allowed under subsection (a) for any 

6 taxable year (determined after application of para7 graph (1)) shall be treated as a credit allowable 

8 under subpart A for such taxable year. 

9 ‘‘(d) REDUCTION OF CREDIT PERCENTAGE WHERE

10 TAXPAYER EXPENDITURES LESS THAN 30 PERCENT.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If the expenditure percent12 age with respect to any item of expenditure de13 scribed under subsection (a) is less than 30 percent, 

14 subsection (a) shall be applied by substituting ‘the 

15 expenditure percentage’ for ‘30 percent’ with respect 

16 to such item of expenditure. 

17 ‘‘(2) EXPENDITURE PERCENTAGE.—For pur18 poses of this section, the term ‘expenditure percent19 age’ means, with respect to any item of expenditure 

20 described under subsection (a) any portion of which 

21 is paid or incurred by a State, the ratio (expressed 

22 as a percentage) of— 

23 ‘‘(A) the taxpayer’s expenditure for such 

24 item, divided by 


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1 ‘‘(B) the sum of the taxpayer’s and such 

2 State’s expenditures for such item. 

3 ‘‘(e) SPECIAL RULES.— 

4 ‘‘(1) TREATMENT OF EXPENDITURES RELATED

5 TO MARKETABLE TIMBER.—An expenditure shall not 

6 be taken into account for purposes of this section 

7 (whether made by the taxpayer or a State) if such 

8 expenditure is properly allocable to timber which is 

9 sold or exchanged by the taxpayer. The preceding 

10 sentence shall not apply to the extent that such 

11 amount exceeds the gain on such sale or exchange. 

12 ‘‘(2) BASIS REDUCTION.—For purposes of this 

13 subtitle, if the basis of any property would (but for 

14 this paragraph) be determined by taking into ac15 count any expenditure described under subsection 

16 (a), the basis of such property shall be reduced by 

17 the amount of the credit allowed under subsection 

18 (a) with respect to such expenditure (determined 

19 without regard to subsection (c)). 

20 ‘‘(3) DENIAL OF DOUBLE BENEFIT.—The 

21 amount of any deduction or other credit allowable 

22 under this chapter for any expenditure for which a 

23 credit is allowable under subsection (a) shall be re24 duced by the amount of credit allowed under such 


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1 subsection for such expenditure (determined without 

2 regard to subsection (c)).’’. 

3 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

4 (1) Section 38(b) of such Code is amended by 

5 striking ‘‘plus’’ at the end of paragraph (40), by 

6 striking the period at the end of paragraph (41) and 

7 inserting ‘‘, plus’’, and by adding at the end the fol8 lowing new paragraph: 

9 ‘‘(42) the portion of the disaster mitigation ex10 penditures credit to which section 28(c)(1) applies.’’. 

11 (2) Section 1016(a) of such Code is amended 

12 by redesignating paragraphs (35) through (38) as 

13 paragraphs (36) through (39), respectively, and by 

14 inserting after paragraph (34) the following new 

15 paragraph: 

16 ‘‘(35) to the extent provided in section 

17 28(e)(2),’’. 

18 (3) The table of sections for subpart B of part 

19 IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 of such Code is 

20 amended by inserting after the item relating to sec21 tion 27 the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 28. Qualified disaster mitigation expenditures.’’. 

22 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

23 this section shall apply to expenditures paid or incurred 


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1 after the date of the enactment of this Act, in taxable 

2 years ending after such date. 

Æ 


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