S.Amdt. 701

SA 701. Mr. COBURN submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to
amendment SA 687 proposed by Ms. Mikulski (for herself and Mr. Isakson)
to the bill H.R. 1388, to reauthorize and reform the national service
laws; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

On page 5, before line 1 and after the item relating to
section 6101, insert the following:

SEC. 2. SENSE OF THE SENATE.

(a) Findings.--The Senate finds the following:
(1) Total private giving increased to $306,000,000,000 in
2007, equal to 2.2 percent of the gross domestic product of
the United States.
(2) Total private giving has more than doubled in a 10-year
period, and individual giving reached $229,000,000,000 in
2007.
(3) The people of the United States donate 3\1/2\ times as
much, per capita, as the people of any other developed
nation.
(4) There are nearly 1,400,000 charitable organizations in
the United States, and approximately 355,000 religious
congregations.
(5) Nonprofit organizations, including public charities and
private foundations, account for approximately 8 percent of
the wages and salaries paid in the United States.
(6) The nonprofit sector employs more than 10,000,000
people, and 7 percent of the people of the United States are
paid employees of nonprofit organizations.
(7) A proposed cut to charitable tax deductions for wealthy
taxpayers may result in a 10 percent drop in charitable
giving by wealthy individuals that is equal to
$6,000,000,000.
(b) Sense of the Senate.--It is the sense of the Senate
that--
(1) all citizens of the United States should continue in
the selfless generosity and noble spirit of charitable
giving;
(2) Congress should support measures that incentivize
charitable giving by wealthy Americans to nonprofit
organizations, public charities, private foundations, and
religious congregations; and
(3) Federal tax law should encourage, and not punish,
charitable donations by all people of the United States,
regardless of income.
______