Congress Failed to Correct Mistreatment of Volunteers
With Congress now recessed at least until the November elections, here is latest news relating to the charitable volunteer mileage deduction issue.
Background
Federal tax law treats America’s volunteers unfairly. Although business and government employees can get reimbursed 58.5 cents per mile for driving their cars to do their paid work, volunteers can deduct only 14 cents per mile for driving to do their volunteer work. As gas prices have gone up, the number of volunteers has fallen down.
Senators Schumer (NY-D) and Ensign (NV-R) provided bipartisan leadership by introducing the GIVE Act (S.3429) to (i) increase the volunteer rate to 70% of the standard rate, (ii) remove the volunteer rate from statute so it would automatically increase whenever the standard rate increases, and (iii) stop taxing volunteers who are reimbursed up to the standard rate. The GIVE Act garnered 27 Senate sponsors, but in mid-September, with time running out to get something enacted this year, the GIVE Act was revised to meet demands of other Senators who wanted the rate set at a lower amount of 27 cents a miles (which is just 46% of what paid employees get).
The Bad News
Although it looked like passage of the bill would occur, the unexpected blockbuster Wall Street bailout bill of $700 billion wiped this and many other worthy issues off the table from consideration. Congress failed to vote on the GIVE Act, the revised GIVE Act, or any other form of comprehensive legislation to address the unfair treatment of America’s volunteers.
The Good News
Although it is tempting to look at getting legislation introduced and widely supported yet not enacted as a glass half empty, a fair assessment will also acknowledge the portion that is half-full. Highlights include:
· We collectively proved that our state association network works:
o A state association saw this national volunteer crisis brewing and got others involved in the struggle to fix it. Initial leadership on this issue by the Pennsylvania Association of Nonprofit Associations (PANO) persuaded NCNA to become deeply involved, which in turn led to 40 state associations and hundreds of other nonprofits across America – from AARP and the American Red Cross to Independent Sector and United Way of America – joining forces, all in less than six weeks.
o The state association network rallied quickly to support PANO and NCNA, not only speaking out officially by signing onto a joint endorsement letter, but also getting hundreds of their members across the nation to join that endorsement letter.
o State associations with proactive public policy programs were able to utilize their programs, while many state associations responded quickly by putting new programs together, which will help them be prepared in the future.
· We collectively discovered our grassroots muscles – given the timing of the issue late in the legislative session while members of Congress were returning home to their districts for the August recess, NCNA and the state association network designed and implemented an immediate grassroots effort that:
o Activated member Action Alerts that generated thousands of email letters to members of Congress;
o Spawned an unprecedented media campaign with op ed articles, letters to the editor, and editorials published in newspapers across the nation, from the Boston Globe and Chicago Tribune to the Montana Standard and Orlando Sentinel; and
o Raised the visibility of state associations with their members, potential members, policy makers, and media.
· We collectively learned – who our sector’s true allies are. With our ability to track which Senators received lots of emails and media coverage but still refused to co-sponsor the GIVE Act, we saw who really cares. We urge you to review the list below of those Senators who stepped forward to co-sponsor the GIVE Act, and if your Senator is on the list, please contact her or him to express your sincere appreciation for their leadership – and let them know you will be back to enlist their help again as we continue this effort to treat America’s nonprofits fairly.
· We collectively set the stage – for future positive action. Rarely does proactive legislation get passed in the same legislative session in which it is introduced. By getting a significant numbers of Senators (27) to support the GIVE Act, and an even higher number (40) who supported the GIVE Act and/or the revised GIVE Act, we planted the seeds for future action.
Conclusion
There has been some talk of Congress returning after the elections to conduct a lame duck session, although the situation is fluid and nothing is certain. Should we hear of this idea turning to reality, we will let you know.
Co-sponsors of the GIVE Act (S.3429) – at the 70% rate (date co-sponsored)
Arkansas
Sen. Blanche Lincoln (9/22)
California
Sen. Barbara Boxer (9/17)
Connecticut
Sen. Chris Dodd (8/1)
Delaware
Sen. Joe Biden (9/16)
Georgia
Sen. Saxby Chambliss (9/29)
Sen. Johnny Isakson (9/10)
Illinois
Sen. Barack Obama (9/9)
Iowa
Sen. Tom Harkin (9/10)
Kansas
Sen. Pat Roberts (9/24)
Massachusetts
Sen. John Kerry (9/8)
Michigan
Sen. Carl Levin (9/10)
Sen. Debbie Stabenow (9/11)
Minnesota
Sen. Norm Coleman (9/9)
Montana
Sen. John Tester (9/16)
Nevada
Sen. John Ensign (8/1)
New Jersey
Sen. Robert Menendez (9/18)
New York
Sen. Chuck Schumer (8/1)
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (9/18)
North Carolina
Sen. Richard Burr (9/8)
Sen. Elizabeth Dole (9/8)
Oregon
Sen. Gordon Smith (9/15)
Sen. Ron Wyden (9/15)
South Carolina
Sen. Lindsey Graham (9/11)
Tennessee
Sen. Lamar Alexander (9/22)
Washington
Sen. Maria Cantwell (9/18)
Sen. Parry Murray (9/16)
Wisconsin
Sen. Russ Feingold (8/1)
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