House Passes Disaster Relief Bill After Lawmakers Force Vote

A disaster relief bill overwhelmingly passed the House on May 21 through a mechanism that rarely succeeds. The Federal Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2023 passed 382-7 through an expeditious process that requires a two-thirds majority. All no votes came from Republicans. Introduced by Rep. Greg Steube (R-Fla.), the bill would give federal tax relief to victims of natural disasters and provide federal tax relief to those impacted by the toxic train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, in February last year. The bill was brought to the floor through a discharge petition, which must be signed by 218 members to force a vote.  The petition, which was also put forth by Mr. Steube, got the signatures with all but 26 coming from Democrats....