[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 7]
[Senate]
[Pages 8972-8973]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




     CHARITIES HELPING AMERICANS REGULARLY THROUGHOUT THE YEAR ACT

  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, today I wish to discuss a topic that has 
been near and dear to me my entire life: the importance of charities 
and charitable giving to the well-being of America. I am taking this 
moment to discuss this issue for several reasons.
  Late last year, Congress managed to make permanent a few of the 
temporary charitable tax provisions that I have supported for years. 
Since then, two of my esteemed colleagues, Senator Thune and Senator 
Wyden, have introduced legislation to enact several more important 
charitable tax provisions. And later this week, the Alliance for 
Charitable Reform, the Council on Foundations, and the Independent 
Sector will send its members to fan out across Capitol Hill to tell 
Members of Congress and their staffs about the good and essential work 
charities and nonprofits perform every day in America.
  Alexis de Tocqueville wrote in ``Democracy in America'' of the 
importance of intermediate associations that stand between the 
individual and a centralized state. The Catholic Church speaks about 
subsidiarity, the principle that matters ought to be handled by the 
least centralized competent authority. To put these insights into 
constitutional terms, the Federal Government cannot--and should not--do 
it all. The truth of these moral and legal principles is embodied in 
the work of America's churches and charities, which have played a 
critical role in securing the welfare of Americans throughout our 
Nation's history when faced with difficulties like war, natural 
disasters, and economic recessions and depressions.
  And it is no secret that our economy has been growing much too slowly 
in recent years. That means that a healthy, well-resourced charitable 
community is essential to the well-being of those in need. As State and 
local governments grapple with budget deficits and revenue shortfalls 
and as Americans face unemployment, stagnant wages, and lower workforce 
participation, people in need are turning for help in ever greater 
numbers to churches, charities, shelters, and other social welfare 
groups.
  But charities need resources to meet these needs, and charitable 
giving by generous and civic-minded Americans is where it all starts. 
That is why I have defended the tax deduction for charitable giving and 
I have resisted attempts by some to raise revenue for reckless 
government spending by reducing the incentives for charitable giving. 
As my friend and colleague Senator Wyden, the ranking member of the 
Senate Finance Committee, has said: ``The charitable deduction is a 
lifeline, not a loophole.''
  It is essential that charities have sufficient resources to carry 
forward the good works our society so desperately needs them to 
perform. It makes perfect sense to provide the greatest tax incentive 
for giving to the donors with the greatest capacity to give. These 
donors, the ones in the high marginal tax brackets, are the very donors 
that are in a position to give substantial amounts to charity. It 
should come as no surprise that for nearly 100 years the Tax Code has 
provided such an incentive.
  And the charitable tax deduction is truly special. It is the only 
deduction that encourages you not to spend or invest your income, but 
to give it away. Every charitable gift has one thing in common: The 
donor is always left worse off financially, but society is made better.
  So, yes, I am a champion of the charitable sector. And in addition to 
defending the charitable deduction, I have promoted positive 
improvements in the charitable tax law. Some of these proposals have 
been enacted. For example, last year, Congress made the IRA charitable 
rollover a permanent feature of the Tax Code, as well as the

[[Page 8973]]

deduction for contributions of food inventory to charity. Congress also 
extended public charity status to agricultural research organizations 
associated with a university.
  But there is more to do.
  Two colleagues that are leading the way in this Congress are Senator 
Thune and Senator Wyden. They recently introduced the Charities Helping 
Americans Regularly Throughout the Year, or CHARITY, Act. This bill 
would complete some of the unfinished business from previous years. For 
example, it expands the group of organizations eligible to receive 
charitable IRA distributions, it makes a much needed reform to the 
private foundation excise tax, and it allows foundations to own 
businesses devoted to philanthropy.
  We got close to passing some of these proposals late last year. They 
didn't make it over the finish line, but we ought to revisit them and 
try to pass them this year. These provisions, taken together, will help 
advance the causes of worthwhile charities by allowing American 
taxpayers to more freely donate their own resources. That is a good 
thing in my book, and that is why I intend to help my colleagues on the 
Finance Committee process the CHARITY Act and enact it into law.
  Thank you.

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