[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 71 (Wednesday, May 25, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5932-S5933]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. SANTORUM:
  S. 1125. A bill to reform liability for certain charitable 
contributions and services; to the Committee on the Judiciary.
  Mr. SANTORUM. Mr. President, I am introducing the Expanding 
Charitable and Volunteer Opportunities Act of 2005. I am proud of the 
charitable work that is continuously done throughout this country. 
However, individual charitable giving rates among Americans have 
stagnated over the past fifty years. As legislators, we must provide 
incentives for charitable giving and opportunities for low-income 
families to build individual assets, and support faith-based and 
secular organizations as they provide charitable social services. We 
must also eliminate unnecessary road blocks that might keep businesses 
and individuals from donating to the needy. I remain committed to 
promoting increased opportunities for the less fortunate to obtain help 
through faith-based and community organizations. There are people all 
around the country waiting to give more to charity--they just need a 
little push.
  The Expanding Charitable and Volunteer Opportunities Act provides 
such a push. This legislation builds on the Volunteer Protection Act of 
1997 that immunizes individuals who do volunteer work for non-profit 
organizations

[[Page S5933]]

or governmental entities from liability for ordinary negligence in the 
course of their volunteer work. My bill prevents a business from being 
subject to civil liability when a piece of equipment has been loaned by 
a business entity to a nonprofit organization unless the business has 
engaged in gross negligence or intentional conduct. This provision 
passed the House of Representatives in the 107th Congress as part of 
H.R. 7, and I am hopeful we can do the same here in the Senate in the 
109th.
  This bill also builds on the success of the Good Samaritan Food 
Donation Act by providing similar liability protections for volunteer 
firefighter companies. The basic purpose of this provision is to induce 
donations of surplus firefighting equipment by reducing the threat of 
civil liability for organizations (most commonly heavy industry) and 
individuals who wish to make these donations. The bill eliminates civil 
liability barriers to donations of surplus fire fighting equipment by 
raising the liability standard for donors from ``negligence'' to 
``gross negligence.'' By doing this, the legislation saves taxpayer 
dollars by encouraging donations, thereby reducing the taxpayers' 
burden of purchasing expensive equipment for volunteer fire 
departments.
  The Good Samaritan Volunteer Firefighter Assistance Act of 2005 is 
modeled after a bill passed by the Texas state legislature in 1997 and 
signed into law by then-Governor George W. Bush which has resulted in 
more than $10 million in additional equipment donations from companies 
and other fire departments for volunteer departments which may not be 
as well equipped. Now companies in Texas can donate surplus equipment 
to the Texas Forest Service, which then certifies the equipment and 
passes it on to volunteer fire departments that are in need. The 
donated equipment must meet all original specifications before it can 
be sent to volunteer departments. Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, 
California, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Nevada, South 
Carolina, and Pennsylvania have passed similar legislation at the state 
level.
  Finally, my legislation provides commonsense medical liability 
protections to physicians who volunteer their time to assist patients 
at community health centers. The Expanding Charitable and Volunteer 
Opportunities Act would extend the medical liability protections of the 
Federal Torts Claim Act (FTCA) to volunteer physicians at community 
health centers. These protections are necessary to ensure that the 
centers can continue to lay an important role in lowering our Nation's 
health care costs and meeting the needs for affordable and accessible 
quality healthcare.
  Community health centers offer an affordable source of quality health 
care, but we need more of them. The President has proposed a $304 
million increase for community health center programs to create 1,200 
new or expanded sites to serve an additional 6.1 million people by next 
year. In order to meet that goal, the centers must double their 
workforce by adding double the clinicians by 2006. Hiring this many 
doctors would be costly, but encouraging more to volunteer would help 
to meet this need. While many physicians are willing to volunteer their 
services at these centers, they often hesitate due to the high cost of 
medical liability insurance. As a result, there are too few volunteer 
physicians to meet our health care needs. Expanding FTCA protection to 
these physicians cannot come at a more opportune time.
  The spirit of giving is part of what makes America great. But more 
can be done to assist the needy. The Expanding Charitable and Volunteer 
Opportunities Act provides added incentives to those who wish to donate 
equipment or time. I encourage my colleagues to support this 
legislation.
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