This is not an official government website.
© 2026 PLEJ LC. All rights reserved.
Congressional Daily Record
This section captures a floor statement or debate entry. It mentions legislation such as Survivor Justice Tax Prevention Act, members such as Jason Smith.
Issued
April 27, 2026
house side of the record
People
3
Linked members mentioned in this section
Legislation
1
Bills and resolutions linked from this section
Committees
0
No linked committees in this section
Senate Holds
0
No hold activity linked here
Source Document
Connected Data
People mentioned
Bills and resolutions
Source Control
Reader mode is for comprehension. The linked government PDF is the official published source.
Download official House Record PDFReturn to issue contextMr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2347) to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to exclude from gross income any damages, other than punitive damages, received on account of any sexual acts or sexual contact, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 2347
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the “Survivor Justice Tax
Prevention Act”.
SEC. 2. EXCLUSION FROM GROSS INCOME OF ANY DAMAGES, OTHER
THAN PUNITIVE DAMAGES, RECEIVED ON ACCOUNT OF
SEXUAL ACTS OR SEXUAL CONTACT.
(a) In General.—Section 104(a)(2) of the Internal Revenue
Code of 1986 is amended by striking “on account of personal
physical injuries or physical sickness;” and inserting “on
account of—
“(A) personal physical injuries or physical sickness, or
“(B) any sexual act (as defined in paragraph (2) of
section 2246 of title 18, United States Code, as in effect on
the date of the enactment of this subparagraph) or sexual
contact (as defined in paragraph (3) of such section, as so
in effect), whether or not there are medical records or
observable injuries of such act or contact;”.
(b) Burden of Proof With Respect to Whether Damages Are on
Account of Sexual Act or Sexual Contact.—Section 104 of such
Code is amended by redesignating subsection (d) as subsection
(e) and by inserting after subsection (c) the following new
subsection:
“(d) Burden of Proof With Respect to Whether Damages Are
on Account of Sexual Act or Sexual Contact.—For purposes of
subsection (a)(2), if a decision or agreement states that any
damages received therefrom are on account of a sexual act or
sexual contact referred to in subsection (a)(2)(B)—
“(1) such statement shall be treated as credible evidence
that such damages are so on account for purposes of section
7491(a), and
“(2) the taxpayer shall be treated as having met the
requirements of section 7491(a)(2) with respect to the issue
of whether such damages are so on account.”.
(c) Effective Date.—
(1) In general.—The amendments made by this section shall
apply to amounts received pursuant to decisions made, and
agreements entered into, after the date of the enactment of
this Act.
(2) Special rule for decisions.—For purposes of paragraph
(1), a decision shall be treated as made after the date of
the enactment of this Act if the first payment pursuant to
such decision is received after such date.
(3) Special rule for agreements.—For purposes of paragraph
(1), an agreement shall not be treated as entered into after
the date of the enactment of this Act if such agreement
replaces, supersedes, or revises an agreement entered into on
or before such date.
(d) No Inference With Respect to Effect of Medical Records
or Observable Injuries on Determinations With Respect to
Personal Physical Injuries or Physical Sickness.—No
inference may be drawn from the amendment made by subsection
(a) (or from section 104(a)(2)(B) of the Internal Revenue
Code of 1986, as amended by subsection (a)) with respect to
whether the term “personal physical injuries or physical
sickness” as used in section 104(a)(2) of such Code includes
injuries or sickness with respect to which there are no
medical records or observable injuries.
(e) Promotion of Public Awareness of Exclusion.—The
Secretary of the Treasury (or the Secretary's delegate), in
consultation with the Department of Justice Office on
Violence Against Women and other relevant Federal agencies,
shall conduct a program to promote public awareness of the
exclusion from gross income provided by section 104(a)(2)(B)
of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended by this
section.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Smith) and the gentlewoman from Wisconsin (Ms. Moore) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Missouri.
general leave
Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and submit extraneous material on this bill under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Missouri?
There was no objection.
Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2347, the Survivor Justice Tax Prevention Act, bipartisan legislation introduced by Representatives Lloyd Smucker and Gwen Moore.
having to battle with the IRS over keeping the compensatory damages or settlements that they receive.
survivor would have to provide to the IRS, including medical records to prove that they deserve to have their settlement funds excluded from gross income for tax purposes, ignores the fact that such victims often do not have the same observable physical injuries that other victims of assault might have.
Mr. Speaker, this clarification in law is desperately needed. I thank Representatives Smucker and Moore for the true compassion they have shown in fighting to right this wrong for victims of sexual assault.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I want to start out by thanking Chairman Smith and Ranking Member Neal for bringing this important bill to the floor for consideration during Sexual Assault Awareness Month.
As a survivor of sexual assault, I thank Mr. Smucker for teaming up with me to develop this important legislation that supports victims of sexual abuse who so often have no voice.
Mr. Speaker, at its core, this bill is about fairness, dignity, and justice for survivors.
Nation and, indeed, even this institution have with sexual abuse and assault.
on account of personal physical injuries or physical sickness, and they are excluded from gross Federal income and, therefore, not subject to taxation.
We all know that sexual abuse doesn't just cause physical harm. There is indelible mental harm that is caused by sexual assault. Yet, these survivors face challenges proving that sexual assault resulted in physical injuries because they don't have evidence of so-called “observable bodily harm” and have been denied the tax exemption.
so proud to lead with Representative Lloyd Smucker, addresses this situation by allowing a tax exemption for all harms caused by sexual abuse.
{time} 1620
are working to ensure the survivors do not have to be retraumatized by proving so-called observable bodily harm or having to produce deeply personal records or to be abused on a settlement on which they have to pay taxes.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Smucker), who is the sponsor of this legislation and who has done great bipartisan work in advancing a much-needed solution to support survivors of sexual assault.
Mr. SMUCKER. Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Smith for the time and also for bringing this bill up to the Ways and Means Committee.
I thank Ms. Moore for working with me cosponsoring and introducing this bill, and I thank the members of the Ways and Means Committee who supported this on a unanimous basis because they realize the injustice that is occurring today in the way the IRS is applying the current tax code.
I think the chairman and Ms. Moore both have described it really well. The core problem here, first of all, we believe our current law already says that any victim of physical abuse and any victim of sexual abuse who receives a settlement does not owe tax on that settlement, which makes complete sense. If you think of the trauma that these individuals have gone through, Mr. Speaker, if you think of the work they are doing to rebuild their lives, the last thing we should be doing is taking a portion of that settlement that they so desperately need to rebuild their lives for tax purposes. The law already says that settlement is not taxed.
observable physical harm like bruises, cuts, or some other apparent evidence of damages to qualify that settlement as tax-free.
As you can imagine, Mr. Speaker, sexual violence doesn't always leave visible scars.
can face a second injustice under the current law or the way that the IRS is applying the law, and that is by being taxed on their compensation simply because their suffering doesn't meet some arbitrary standard.
Our bill fixes that problem. It fixes that injustice, and it helps these victims. It does it in a targeted way. It clarifies that payments related to sexual assault automatically are treated as tax exempt. This ensures that survivors are treated fairly and they are treated consistently under the law.
H.R. 2347 is about dignity. It is about clarity, and it is about making sure that survivors receive justice, not a tax bill, from the IRS.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill. Once again, I thank Representative Gwen Moore for her partnership on this important issue.
Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I yield myself the balance of my time to close.
Mr. Speaker, I will start by acknowledging the very passionate words of my cosponsor, Mr. Smucker. I am so pleased that he took this on with such generosity and passion.
Mr. Speaker, we hear all the time about the high-profile civil cases involving sexual abuse. I am thinking about the accounts of trusted gymnast physicians abusing star athletes and the victims of Jeffrey Epstein and many of his associates. We even hear about sexual assault that occurs within our own body, and we have to address that problem.
not make the headlines. Every time a survivor comes forward, it takes extraordinary courage in the face of personal risk, scrutiny, and cost.
approach to ensure that settlement payments, whether arising from a court judgment, private arbitration or mediation, that are made on account of sexual abuse are not subject to taxation.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues in the House to support this effort to make the tax code better serve all survivors who receive settlements after prevailing against their abusers by not saddling them with a tax bill or having to fight the IRS.
We need to get this fix passed into law. I am so pleased to be standing here in this Chamber and asking for a vote by suspension of the rules. We need to pass this into law to ensure fair treatment of the tax law, dignity in the face of undue administrative burdens, and justice for survivors who prevail against their abusers.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, it is disturbing to think that the IRS is allowed to tax survivors of sexual assault on the compensatory damages or the settlements that they have received. Such victims should not have to relitigate their case before the agency, adding insult to the injuries that they have already suffered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Smith) that the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 2347, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.