Protect Innocent Victims of Taxation After Fire Extension Act

Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Relief for Farmers Hit with PFAS Act. I thank my colleagues Senator King and Senator Shaheen for joining me in introducing this important legislation for farmers across America and particularly in Maine and New Hampshire.

The Relief for Farmers Hit with PFAS Act would provide vital assistance to farmers affected by PFAS contamination. PFAS are man-made chemicals--sometimes referred to as ``forever chemicals''--that can bioaccumulate in humans over time. They may traditionally be found in certain nonstick pans, some furniture, and firefighting foam and have been linked to cancer, thyroid disease, liver damage, decreased fertility, and hormone disruption. PFAS contamination is a growing problem, and additional resources are needed to support affected communities.

In Maine, PFAS contamination affecting many different sectors, including agriculture, has been discovered over the past several years. The presence of PFAS in wastewater sludge once spread as fertilizer has prevented some Maine farms from selling their products, thus leading to significant financial hardship for these family farmers. One such farmer is Fred Stone, a dairy farmer in Arundel, ME. In 2016, Fred discovered that the milk produced on his farm contained some of the highest levels ever reported for a PFAS contaminant at that time. More recently, a dairy farm in Fairfield, ME, found PFAS levels in its milk that were 153 times higher than the State's standard.

Dairy is not the only agricultural sector affected by these harmful chemicals. Adam Nordell and his wife Johanna Davis, from Unity, ME, learned that PFAS contaminated the soil and water in their organic vegetable farm, the result of sludge spread on their land in the 1990s. Tests showed that Adam and Johanna had levels of PFAS in their blood that were even higher than chemical plant workers who had manufactured PFAS for decades.

Currently, USDA Provides limited support through the Dairy Indemnity Payment Program, DIPP, to dairy farmers who have been directed to remove their milk from the commercial market. This program, however, falls far short in meeting the growing needs of all affected farmers in the State of Maine. Moreover, this program helps only dairy farmers, excluding the farmers of other agricultural products who have had their livelihoods disrupted by PFAS contamination. USDA should do more to assist all farmers harmed by these chemicals. That is what our legislation aims to do.

Specifically, the funds authorized by the Relief for Farmers Hit with PFAS Act could be used for a variety of purposes at the State level, including financial assistance to affected farmers; capacity building for PFAS testing for soil or water sources; blood monitoring for individuals to make informed decisions about their health; equipment to ensure a farm remains profitable during or after known PFAS contamination; alternative production systems or remediation strategies; educational programs for farmers experiencing PFAS contamination; and research on soil and water remediation systems and the viability of those systems for farms.

In addition to making new resources available, our bill would create a task force at USDA charged with identifying other USDA programs to which PFAS contamination remediation should be added as an eligible activity. This would help bring more resources to farmers through existing programs. Additionally, the task force would provide technical assistance to States to help them coordinate their responses effectively.

USDA needs to step up and provide support to farmers, who through no fault of their own are at risk of losing their livelihoods because of PFAS contamination. The Relief for Farmers Hit with PFAS Act would direct the Department to help where it is needed most. I know Secretary of Agriculture Rollins cares about this problem due to our discussions on PFAS.

I urge my colleagues to support this bill. As the members of the Senate Agriculture Committee begin work on the 2026 farm bill, I hope that we can work together to pass the Relief for Farmers Hit with PFAS Act into law.

Mr. President, literacy opens the door for lifelong opportunity and economic success. Yet, the long-term trend in the National Assessment of Educational Progress, NAEP, shows continued declines in reading scores with record-low percentages of students reporting regularly reading for fun outside of school. We need urgent action to ensure that all children have the means and the right to read. That is why I am pleased to join Representative Adelita Grijalva and Senators Schatz, Hirono, Durbin, King, Whitehouse, and Wyden in introducing the Right to Read Act.

The Right to Read Act leverages the tools that will make our students strong, lifelong readers. It requires States and school districts to have policies protecting the right to read, which includes access to evidence-based reading instruction; access to effective school libraries; access to developmentally and linguistically appropriate materials--including at home; family literacy support; and the freedom to choose reading materials.

Research consistently shows that investing in school libraries and school librarians improves literacy outcomes, with the connection between high-quality school library programs and student achievement being particularly pronounced for the most vulnerable learners. But not every student has access to library services. In 2020 to 2021, the first full school year after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, 29.5 percent of schools reported not having a full- or part-time librarian, an increase from 25.4 percent in 2015 to 2016. Schools with high percentages of economically disadvantaged and minority students were even less likely to have access to certified librarians.

Moreover, school libraries are most effective when they offer resources that resonate, engage, and empower students and that align with their first amendment rights. Too many students are subject to ill-conceived book bans. During the 2024 to 2025 school year, PEN America recorded 6,870 instances of book bans across 23 States. Many of the banned titles address issues of racial, ethnic, or gender identity.

The Right to Read Act addresses the disparities in access to school library resources, ensuring that low-income, minority children, English learners, and students with disabilities are not disproportionately enrolled in schools that lack effective school libraries. It supports the development of effective school libraries, including the recruitment, retention, and professional development of State-certified school librarians. It will also increase the Federal investment in literacy by reauthorizing comprehensive literacy state development grants at $500 million and the Innovative Approaches to Literacy Program at $100 million, targeting critical literacy resources in high- need communities. Importantly, the bill protects access to quality reading materials and provides the resources needed to create a foundation for learning and student success.

In developing this legislation, Representative Grijalva and I worked closely with the library community, including the American Library Association and the American Association of School Librarians. We are also pleased to have the support of the American Federation of Teachers, the National Education Association, the National Council of Teachers of English, PEN America, and Reach Out and Read. These are the experts in helping kids become lifelong readers and learners. I appreciate their insight and assistance on this bill, and I urge my colleagues to join us in cosponsoring this legislation to ensure that all students have a right to read.

Mr. President, I rise to introduce the bipartisan Protect Innocent Victims of Taxation After Fire Extension Act. This legislation would extend and make permanent the tax relief that Congress has provided for individuals and families that have received compensation for losses and damages suffered during a wildfire.

The Protect Innocent Victims of Taxation After Fire Extension Act would make permanent the exclusion of certain qualified wildfire relief payments from gross income, including compensation for losses, expenses, or damages, such as compensation for additional living expenses, lost wages, personal injury, death, or emotional distress.

It would also allow taxpayers to claim the exemption in the year they receive payments rather than have to file, for a refund. This will provide more immediate and much needed certainty to wildfire survivors. It would also ensure that future recipients of wildfire-related settlements are able to use the entire sum of compensation towards the intended purpose of rebuilding.

Unfortunately, utility-caused fires are becoming increasingly common, meaning more States now have qualifying settlements or active litigation related to such disasters.

Congress acknowledged the fact that wildfire survivors should not be subject to the financial uncertainty of not knowing how much of their claims will be made available for recovery when it passed the Federal Disaster Tax Relief Act, P.L. 118-148, which included my bill to create this exclusion. This is a policy that passed the Senate with unanimous consent.

Unfortunately, this exclusion will expire at the end of the 2025 calendar year, which means any settlement payments beginning in 2026 will again be subject to Federal income tax obligations. The Protect Innocent Victims of Taxation After Fire Extension Act will make this exclusion permanent so that we might provide at least some sense of certainty to all who have suffered devastating losses.

I would like to thank Senators Lummis, Wyden, and Sheehy for introducing this bill with me in the Senate, and I would like to thank Representatives LaMalfa and Thompson for leading this bipartisan legislation in the House. I hope my colleagues will join us again in supporting this bill to ensure wildfire victims receive full and proper compensation to help rebuild their lives and communities.

Mr. President, I rise to introduce the bipartisan Protect Innocent Victims of Taxation After Fire Extension Act. This legislation would extend and make permanent the tax relief that Congress has provided for individuals and families that have received compensation for losses and damages suffered during a wildfire.

The Protect Innocent Victims of Taxation After Fire Extension Act would make permanent the exclusion of certain qualified wildfire relief payments from gross income, including compensation for losses, expenses, or damages, such as compensation for additional living expenses, lost wages, personal injury, death, or emotional distress.

It would also allow taxpayers to claim the exemption in the year they receive payments rather than have to file, for a refund. This will provide more immediate and much needed certainty to wildfire survivors. It would also ensure that future recipients of wildfire-related settlements are able to use the entire sum of compensation towards the intended purpose of rebuilding.

Unfortunately, utility-caused fires are becoming increasingly common, meaning more States now have qualifying settlements or active litigation related to such disasters.

Congress acknowledged the fact that wildfire survivors should not be subject to the financial uncertainty of not knowing how much of their claims will be made available for recovery when it passed the Federal Disaster Tax Relief Act, P.L. 118-148, which included my bill to create this exclusion. This is a policy that passed the Senate with unanimous consent.

Unfortunately, this exclusion will expire at the end of the 2025 calendar year, which means any settlement payments beginning in 2026 will again be subject to Federal income tax obligations. The Protect Innocent Victims of Taxation After Fire Extension Act will make this exclusion permanent so that we might provide at least some sense of certainty to all who have suffered devastating losses.

I would like to thank Senators Lummis, Wyden, and Sheehy for introducing this bill with me in the Senate, and I would like to thank Representatives LaMalfa and Thompson for leading this bipartisan legislation in the House. I hope my colleagues will join us again in supporting this bill to ensure wildfire victims receive full and proper compensation to help rebuild their lives and communities.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.