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It is Time to Pass CARE
By Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA)
September 30, 2005
While there are many character traits that have contributed to the development and greatness of our nation, Americans have demonstrated incredible reserves of courage and compassion. Generations of American men and women have drawn on these reserves to pull our nation through difficult times, making us stronger on the other side. It should no longer surprise us when, as has happened in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, Americans open up their hearts, homes, and wallets to our neighbors in need. The desire to give is inherently part of who we are, and it is the responsibility of our elected officials to create an environment in which charitable giving is encouraged and where less fortunate Americans have the opportunity to improve their stock in life.
There are countless images of Katrina that may never leave us--many of them of the widespread devastation that came with the storm. But what will also stay with me is the incredible responsiveness of non-profit, charitable organizations. Countless churches, the Salvation Army, America’s Harvest: these organizations and scores of others served as a beacon of hope in what was, for many, a time of nothing but despair. These groups and their members were not forced to search through rulebooks to determine what they could and could not do--they simply acted, swiftly and graciously, providing food, shelter and comfort, and undoubtedly, saving lives. Katrina proved that America, and the world, needs these groups, and that now, more than ever, we need them to have the resources to meet these needs.
As we always do, Americans have responded to this tragedy with a tremendous outpouring of financial support. But we need charitable organizations to have adequate resources at all times, so they can be prepared to respond immediately following a disaster--and, equally important, they are able to continue all the incredible work that occurs every day, all around the world. To encourage charitable giving across the country, Senator Joe Lieberman and I recently introduced the bipartisan Charity, Aid, Recovery, and Empowerment (CARE) Act. The CARE Act contains a number of important provisions that will have an enormous benefit for charitable organizations and our society as a whole.
Whether or not an individual will receive a tax benefit has proven to be a major factor in that individual’s inclination to make a charitable donation. Yet, as it currently stands, more than two-thirds of American taxpayers are deprived of the chance to receive a tax deduction because they do not itemize on their tax returns. The CARE Act will address this problem, providing the almost 83 million Americans who fall into this category the opportunity to deduct a portion of their charitable contributions.
This legislation provides incentives for the donation of food by farmers, restaurants and corporations. America’s Second Harvest estimates this change would provide $2 billion in food donations, the equivalent of 878 million meals for hungry Americans, over ten years.
Katrina also exposed the intense poverty that exists in New Orleans and other parts of the Gulf Coast region. For generations, policies have been enacted with the goal of extending a hand to those in poverty and lifting them up. Painfully evident is the fact that many of these policies simply did not work. Attempting to take a different approach to attacking poverty, the CARE Act provides 900,000 low-income, working Americans the opportunity to build assets through matched savings accounts, called Individual Development Accounts (IDAs), to go to college, purchase a home, or start a small business.
Additionally, the CARE Act offers incentives for individuals to give tax-free contributions from their Individual Retirement Accounts for charitable purposes, helping a large number of non-profit organizations, specifically educational institutions. Likely to provide billions of dollars to educational organizations and scholarship funds, this provision will help make higher education more accessible and affordable.
The CARE Act is a bill that I have been working on for many years because I believe it provides real solutions to some of the biggest problems we face as a nation. When the CARE Act was introduced last congress, it passed the Senate with overwhelming bipartisan support but partisan politics prevented it from going to conference. I can see no reason that my colleagues who have supported this bill in the past will not continue to support it moving forward, especially following the amazing outpouring of charitable giving we have just witnessed. Trust that I will do everything in my power to ensure that this legislation, which will do so much good for the less fortunate in our society, becomes law.
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