Shaheen & Lankford Push to Increase Charitable Giving Deduction in Coronavirus Aid Bill

Statement

Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) today offered with Senator James Lankford (R-OK) and their colleagues a bipartisan amendment to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARE) Act, which would increase the bill's $300 limit on the charitable giving deduction to one-third of the standard deduction: to up to $4,000 for an individual's and $8,000 for married couples for the remainder of 2020.

"Charities and non-profits are on the frontlines of the coronavirus outbreak and rely on donations to continue performing their vital work," said Shaheen. "By increasing the charitable giving deduction, this bipartisan amendment would encourage people to support these organizations as they carry out their missions of providing relief to Granite Staters and Americans impacted by this crisis. As negotiations continue, I'll fight to include this amendment in the final coronavirus aid package."

The amendment was also cosponsored by Chris Coons (D-DE), Tim Scott (R-SC), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Mike Lee (R-UT).

As the coronavirus outbreak continues, Shaheen has been a strong supporter of non-profits and their relief efforts. Shaheen has been communicating with Granite State stakeholders affected by the public health emergency, including non-profit service organizations and charities who are assisting response efforts in communities throughout the state. On Friday, Shaheen introduced the Supporting Charitable Institutions Act, legislation that would create a new incentive for individuals to make donations to non-profit organizations as they respond to this public health crisis by establishing a refundable tax credit for charitable contributions.

On Wednesday, Shaheen voted in favor of robust economic coronavirus response legislation to provide financial support to workers, businesses and families impacted by the spread of the coronavirus. The President signed the bill into law Wednesday night. On Friday, Shaheen sent a letter to Senate leadership highlighting critical health care-related priorities that need to be included in the third package of coronavirus response legislation.

Senator Shaheen has been sounding the alarm on the need for additional federal funding to reduce the spread of the coronavirus. Following calls from Shaheen and others in Congress, President Trump declared a national emergency in response to the spread of coronavirus. Shaheen supported bipartisan government funding legislation to help states' response efforts, which was recently signed into law. The CDC disbursed an initial $4.9 million in funds for New Hampshire included in that funding package. Last week, Shaheen led the New Hampshire delegation in calling on the Department of Health and Human Services to urgently provide guidance to health care providers in New Hampshire and across the country on the steps being taken to deliver personal protective equipment (PPE), ventilators and other essential supplies to hospitals as they prepare for an increase of coronavirus patients in the weeks to come. She is also introducing legislation to assist health care workers with child and elder care so that they can continue to treat patients in the midst of school and senior center closures. Shaheen shared a video message with Granite Staters in response to the spread of the coronavirus, which can be viewed in full here.

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