[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 17 (Thursday, January 30, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1835-S1836]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. SANTORUM (for himself, Mr. Lieberman, Mr. Grassley, Mr. 
        Bayh, Mr. Hatch, Ms. Landrieu, Mr. Smith, Mr. Nelson of 
        Florida, Mr. Talent, Mr. Lugar, Mr. Frist, and Mr. Miller):
  S. 272. A bill to provide incentives for charitable contributions by 
individuals and businesses, to improve the public disclosure of 
activities of exempt organizations, and to enhance the ability of low 
income Americans to gain financial security by building assets, and for 
other purposes; to the Committee on Finance.
  Mr. SANTORUM. Mr. President, I want to express support on behalf of 
The Charity Aid, Recovery and Empowerment, CARE, Act of 2003, which I 
am introducing today with Senator Lieberman, Finance Committee Chairman 
Grassley, Senator Bayh, Majority Leader Frist and other bipartisan 
cosponsors with the support of President Bush. The CARE Act was 
introduced in the last Congress and was considered by the Senate 
Finance Committee but was never debated on the floor of the Senate 
because of repeated objections to unanimous consent requests to bring 
up the bill. The time has come to move this important resources package 
forward to help those in need and to assist those charitable 
organizations walking alongside them to restore families and 
communities.
  The CARE Act reflects America's renewed spirit of unity, community 
and responsibility in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks 
and the new challenges that have faced us since then. It is an 
important legislative package to encourage giving, saving, and fairness 
which builds on the President's Faith-Based and Community Initiative. 
This bipartisan consensus bill seeks to harness the potential of 
charitable organizations in order to better serve the most needy 
members of our society in partnership with government efforts. A 
coalition of more than 1,600 national and grassroots charitable 
organizations helping those in need endorsed nearly similar legislation 
last year. The bill offers incentives to individuals and corporations 
to increase charitable giving, rewards low-income citizens who choose 
to save, and insists on fairness for faith-based organizations by 
leveling the playing field so that non-governmental organizations 
involved in charitable activities may compete for government funds to 
provide social service delivery.
  Throughout our country many social entrepreneurs and community 
healers are making a difference in the lives of those who are 
struggling and in the neighborhoods and communities seeking to revive 
themselves in the face of poverty, crime, failing schools, and 
unemployment. Many of these heroic individuals and organizations are 
also motivated by faith. For example, more than 75 percent of the food 
banks across our Nation have a religious affiliation.
  The CARE Act attempts to help with the current challenges that 
charitable organizations are facing and expand the base of private and 
governmental resources well into the future to better help those in 
need such as the hungry, the homeless, the addicted, the sick, at-risk 
children, and the elderly through a variety of tools and resources. The 
tremendous outpouring of generosity by Americans after September 11 is 
to be celebrated. Yet the reality is that many needs remain unmet 
throughout the country as some charitable giving has been redirected 
and other human needs have increased. Unfortunately, as a result of the 
tragic events of September 11, a struggling stock market, and the 
recent recession, numerous charitable organizations have suffered 
financial losses, in some cases, up to 20 percent or more. The bill 
seeks to expand the capacity of the voluntary and charitable sectors in 
this country which is one of the greatest strengths and traditions of 
our country.

  The CARE Act seeks to address these needs through a number of 
expanded tax incentives. The bill restores a charitable tax deduction 
for the 84 million

[[Page S1836]]

Americans who do not itemize for a maximum deduction of up to $250 for 
individual taxpayers and $500 for couples for charitable giving beyond 
a base level of $250 for individuals and $500 couples. To encourage 
larger donations, IRA holders will also be allowed to make charitable 
contributions without tax penalties. Corporations and farmers will be 
offered tax deductions for their donations of food to charity, 
amounting to $1 billion dollars over 10 years in order to provide more 
food to the needy rather than letting it go to waste. A deduction is 
also provided for contributions of books to schools.
  The CARE Act also attempts to narrow the gap between the rich and the 
poor. Through Individual Development Accounts, IDAs, low-income 
Americans are encouraged to save and build assets and provided training 
in financial education. These special savings accounts offer matching 
contributions from the sponsoring bank or community organization 
reimbursed through a Federal tax credit, on the condition that the 
proceeds go to buying a home, starting a business or paying for post-
secondary education. Low-income Americans are now being given the 
possibility of sharing in the American dream. The provision would 
provide for a phased-in 300,000 savings accounts for a national 
demonstration.
  The CARE Act helps small faith and community-based organizations. 
Through the Compassion Capital Fund, it provides these community 
healers with additional resources for technical assistance such as 
enabling incorporation, grant writing and accounting skills. It also 
allows social service agencies with experience in administering 
government contracts to play an intermediate role between government 
agencies and smaller charities. These provisions will help smaller 
faith-based charities to survive and to grow into viable charitable 
organizations. The legislation also expands resources through 
significant increases in the Social Services Block Grant, SSBG, funds 
of more than $1.2 billion.
  Despite the positive advantages of the CARE Act, some are wary of the 
impact of its provisions. Some critics on the left argue that the 
provisions violate the Constitution by fusing church and state because 
preferential treatment is given to religious groups. This is false. 
Instead, the CARE Act gives religious charitable organizations the 
opportunity to compete with secular organizations for Federal funding 
by strengthening the principle of nondiscrimination against faith-based 
organizations through the codification of basic and commonsense equal 
treatment protections. The proposed legislation creates a more level 
playing field for faith-based charities by ensuring that they cannot be 
discriminated against in applying for government funds because of their 
religious nature by ensuring the right to maintain religious icons, 
religious names, religious governance criteria, and religious 
references in founding documents. The provision also makes clear that 
the mere fact that a faith-based provider has not previously received 
government funding does not disqualify them from consideration.
  On the other hand, some critics on the right argue that the CARE Act 
will undermine the religious nature of faith-based organizations by 
restricting their abilities to promote religious values and by 
controlling the hiring process. But the moral integrity of faith-based 
organizations is protected by the Act. Though the question of hiring is 
not addressed in the bill, current laws will continue to apply, the 
equal treatment for non-governmental organizations provision in the 
bill assures that organizations which seek federal funds are not 
required to remove religious symbols, change their names, or change 
their governing structures to qualify. Hence, faith-based organizations 
can still adhere to the values and beliefs that motivate, make them 
unique, and reflect the diversity of America as they serve those in 
need. The initiative does not require faith-based organizations to 
participate with government funds in their efforts to serve those in 
need, it merely gives them the option if they feel that doing so is 
consistent with their mission and prevents the government for excluding 
qualified social services providers merely because they are faith-based 
in character.
  The CARE Act is supported by both Democrats and Republicans. The time 
has come to get this legislation on the President's desk as he has 
repeatedly called for. The Senate Majority Leader, Tom Daschle, wrote 
shortly after the bill's introduction last year that ``the CARE Act is 
not a Republican or Democratic plan. it is a bipartisan proposal that 
strikes the right balance between harnessing the best forces of faith 
in our public life without infringing on the First Amendment . . . I 
look forward to working with President Bush and my congressional 
colleagues to get this proposal signed into law.''
  The time has come for the Senate to pass this important legislation. 
The Senate Finance Committee will take an important step next week when 
the legislation is considered in committee. The CARE Act advances our 
common interest in turning the immense spirit of volunteerism and civic 
duty in our country toward building strong communities. The Act's 
ultimate goal is to help those most in need in our society, the poor, 
the hopeless and the destitute. I thank my colleagues for their support 
and the many generous Americans working to transform lives and improve 
communities for the difference that they make each day.

                          ____________________