Proposed House Legislation Promotes Resilient Construction

Last week, Representatives Tom Reed (R-23-NY), Bill Pascrell (D-09-NJ), Mario Diaz-Balart (R-25-FL) and Peter DeFazio (D-04-OR) introduced the Disaster Savings and Resilient Construction Act of 2015 (H.R. 3397) that will help save money, reduce destruction and prevent the loss of lives in disaster-prone areas. H.R. 3397 offers a tax credit of $3,000 and $25,000 per structure, for home and building owners who use life-and-property saving techniques in residential and commercial construction when the structure meets the 2009 or later International Building Code (published by the International Code Council) requirements and has received the designation from the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety of FORTIFIED for Safer Living/Business. Structures that are built within a federally declared disaster zone would be eligible for the credit for up to three years following the date of the disaster.

This legislation promotes investing in resilient construction in the wake of natural disasters and works to mitigate the impact of future disasters. Disasters in the United States are increasing in number and severity each year. Once a disaster strikes, we are faced with the task of rebuilding our communities so Americans can get back to work. This legislation will ensure that builders and contractors will take the time to learn resilient building techniques to properly train employees and subcontractors while home and builder owners receive the tax credit. NRMCA applauds Reps. Reed, Pascrell, Diaz-Balart and DeFazio for recognizing the importance and need for introducing this legislation. A Congressional Budget office analysis has found that where federal dollars are spent on pre-disaster mitigation programs, like H.R. 3397, "on average, future losses are reduced by about $3 for every $1 spent on those projects..."