[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 25 (Wednesday, March 11, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1797-S1798]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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                      IRA ROLLOVER TO CHARITY ACT

 Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, yesterday, I introduced, on 
behalf of our Nation's charitable organizations, the IRA Rollover to 
Charity Act. It will allow donors to roll assets in an IRA to a charity 
or a deferred charitable gift plan. The effect would be to unlock 
certain taxable income and allow individuals to choose to direct

[[Page S1798]]

personal resources to charitable causes penalty-free.
  Under my proposal, a person who has reached age 59\1/2\ will be 
allowed to move assets penalty-free from an IRA directly to charity or 
into a qualifying deferred charitable gift plan--e.g. charitable 
remainder trust, pooled income funds and gift annuities. In the latter 
case the donor would be able to receive an income stream from the 
retirement plan assets that would be taxed according to normal rules 
for those giving methods. Upon the death of the individual or the 
individual's spouse, the remainder would be transferred to charity.
  Recent studies show that assets of qualified retirement plans 
comprise a substantial part of the net worth of many professionals. The 
IRA Rollover to Charity Act lifts current law disincentives to this 
important source of charitable giving. IRA assets represent untaxed 
income and cannot be withdrawn without being subject to taxation in 
full at the time of withdrawal. As a result, if an IRA is transferred 
into a charitable remainder trust, donors are required to recognize all 
such income. Therefore, absent the changes called for in the 
legislation, the donor will have taxable income in the year the gift is 
funded.
  Mr. President, this bill will unleash an enormous resource for 
charities servicing cultural, educational, environmental, health-
related, religious and humanitarian purposes. If passed, the bill could 
be a huge asset for charitable organizations and I urge my colleagues 
to cosponsor this bill.

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