[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 7 (Monday, January 22, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Page S313]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. LUGAR (for himself, Mr. Leahy, Mr. Fitzgerald, Mr. Harkin, 
        Mr. Roberts, Mr. Dodd, Mr. DeWine, Mr. Reid, Mr. Santorum, Mr. 
        Bayh, and Mr. Johnson):
  S. 37. A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide 
for a charitable deduction for contributions of food inventory; to the 
Committee on Finance.


           the good samaritan hunger relief tax incentive act

  Mr. LUGAR. Mr. President, I rise today with Senators Leahy, 
Fitzgerald, Harkin, Roberts, Dodd, DeWine, Reid, Santorum, and Bayh to 
introduce the Good Samaritan Hunger Relief Tax Incentive Act, 
bipartisan legislation aimed at increasing food donations to our 
nation's food banks. Next week, Congressman Tony Hall, who has been a 
leader in Congress in the fight against hunger, will introduce 
companion legislation in the House of Representatives. This bill would 
provide important incentives for farmers, restaurant owners, and 
corporations to donate food to front-line organizations that serve the 
hungry.
  The demand on our nation's food banks, church pantries, soup kitchens 
and shelters continues to rise. According to an August 2000 report on 
Hunger Security by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 31 million 
Americans (around 10 percent of our citizens) are living on the edge of 
hunger. One segment of our population--families with incomes between 50 
and 130 percent of the poverty level--has experienced an increase in 
the number of households that are food insecure since 1995. This study 
confirms what food bank managers and workers have been telling me--
while many families are moving from welfare to work, these families are 
still vulnerable to hunger and are using food banks to supplement their 
nutritional needs.
  Unfortunately, many food banks cannot meet this increased demand for 
food. A December 1999 study by the U.S. Conference of Mayors found that 
requests for emergency food assistance increased by an average of 18 
percent in American cities over the previous year and that 21 percent 
of emergency food requests could not be met.
  These figures are troubling because of the enormous amount of food 
that goes unused annually. The United States Department of Agriculture 
estimates that up to 96 billion pounds of food goes to waste each year 
in the United States. If a small percentage of this wasted food could 
be redirected to food banks, we could make important strides in our 
fight against hunger.
  In many ways, current law is a hindrance to food donations. The tax 
code provides corporations with a special deduction for donations to 
food banks, but it excludes farmers, ranchers, and restaurant owners 
from the same tax incentive. For many of these businesses, it is more 
cost effective to throw away food than to donate it to charity.
  The Good Samaritan Hunger Relief Tax Incentive Act would address this 
inequity by extending the special deduction to all business taxpayers 
and by increasing it to the fair market value of the donation. The 
hunger relief community believes that these changes will markedly 
increase food donations. One Hoosier food bank, Second Helpings of 
Indianapolis, estimates that this legislation will cause an additional 
400,000 pounds of food to be donated to its coffers.
  This bipartisan legislation, which enjoys the support of Republicans 
and Democrats alike, has been endorsed by a diverse set of 
organizations, including America's Second Harvest Food Banks, the 
Salvation Army, the American Farm Bureau Federation, the National 
Farmers Union, the National Restaurant Association, the Grocery 
Manufacturers of America, At-Sea Processors Association, California 
Emergency Foodlink, Council of Chain Restaurants, National Cattlemen's 
Beef Association, National Fisheries Association, and the National Milk 
Producers Federation.
  Last year, this legislation unanimously passed the Senate as part of 
an agricultural tax amendment offered by Senator Grassley to H.R. 8, 
the Death Tax Elimination Act. Although the measure was ultimately 
stripped from the underlying legislation, the vote indicated strong 
support for this legislation in the Senate.
  I am hopeful that Congress will thoughtfully address the hunger 
problem in the U.S. by passing this bill into law.
                                 ______