[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 72 (Wednesday, May 3, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H4517]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


           THE GIVING INCENTIVE AND VOLUNTEER EMPOWERMENT ACT

  (Mr. SOUDER asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. SOUDER. Mr. Speaker, the Cato Institute estimates that spending 
on welfare programs by all levels of government runs over $35,000 for 
every family of four below the poverty line. But it is painfully 
obvious that the average poor family does not even come close to 
receiving this much money. The bulk is spent on bureaucratic overhead, 
not on the people it is intended to help.
  Today, I will be introducing a bill to expand the tax incentive for 
charitable giving, thereby offering average citizens a chance to do 
more for those in need than the government ever could. My bill--the 
Giving Incentive and Volunteer Empowerment Act, or the GIVE Act--will 
encourage more charitable donations to private sector charities and 
other nonprofits, which get a much bigger bang for their bucks than do 
government-run programs.
  The GIVE Act will do four things:
  First, allow all individual filers to deduct from taxable income 120 
percent of the value of their charitable donation.
  Second, once again allow non-itemizers to deduct for charitable 
deductions, as long as they give more than $1,000, or $2,000 filing 
jointly.
  Third, exclude charitable giving from the overall limitation on 
itemized deductions.
  Fourth, extend the deadline for making tax-deductible charitable 
donations until April 15, when taxpayers are past the end-of-the-year 
cash crunch and can better estimate their tax liability.
  I want to make it plain the GIVE Act is not meant to supplant all 
Government spending on social programs. But as we seek to reassert 
fiscal responsibility in government, increased private giving and 
volunteer involvement can fill a need the deficit spending cannot--and 
with more success, efficiency, and compassion.

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