NRMCA to Lead Legislative Effort to Save Lives, Protect Property in Natural Disasters

NRMCA urges you to contact your U.S. House of Representative and tell him or her to cosponsor HR 3397, the Disaster Savings and Resilient Construction Act. The bill will help save taxpayers’ money, reduce destruction and prevent the loss of lives in disaster prone areas. Representatives Tom Reed (R-NY), Bill Pascrell (D-NY), Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL) and Peter DeFazio (D-OR) introduced HR 3397 with Andy Barr (R-KY), Kevin Yoder (R-KS), Elizabeth Esty (D-CT), Brett Guthrie (R-KY), Bill Huizenga (R-MI), Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-MO), Matt Cartwright (D-PA) and Kenny Marchant (R-TX) as cosponsors. HR 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, respectively, when the structure meets the 2009 or later International Building Code (published by the International Code Council©) 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 up to three years following the occurrence of the disaster, would be eligible for the credit.

When a home or building is certified resilient it means that the structure is of quality construction built with specific features – including ready mixed concrete – to ensure that it can withstand destruction brought on by disasters like the recent flooding in Louisiana and the tornadoes in Indiana. A FORTIFIED® designation provides an evaluation of the structure’s overall construction and ability to withstand a disaster, including an evaluation of the methods used during the building process.