Edwards upset that Louisiana left out of disaster tax relief

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - Gov. John Bel Edwards says he can’t “wrap my head around the idea” that Congress passed special disaster tax breaks for victims of this year’s hurricanes while leaving out victims of last year’s flooding that wrecked parts of south Louisiana.

Congress included the tax relief in the six-month extension of the Federal Aviation Administration that passed last week.

The bill includes five tax relief provisions for victims of hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria, allowing, for example, money from retirement accounts to be withdrawn without penalty for storm-related expenses.

Members of Louisiana’s congressional delegation unsuccessfully sought similar tax relief after the August 2016 floods.

Edwards said in a statement Wednesday that Louisiana understands hurricane victims’ suffering. He added: “Congress shouldn’t be in the business of pitting storm victims against one another.”