[announce] Cosponsor Update on Vehicle Donation Legislation

[Eric Bridges]

H.R. 860, the vehicle donation bill continues to make excellent progress as
12 new members have signed on as cosponsors. This brings the total number of
cosponsors to 83.  The new list of members is below along with the complete
list. I thought it would be interesting to share  the states that have the
greatest representation in cosponsorship. Here they are. 

 

California 10

New York 7

Florida 6

Ohio 6

Illinois, Massachusetts, and Texas tied with 5

 

Many thanks to ACB affiliates in these  states for your outstanding
advocacy! At the bottom of this message is the Dear Colleague letter that
was desciminated to Capitol Hill offices when this legislation was
introduced. Please share this letter with members of the House who have yet
to sign on.  Let me know if I can be of assistance in any way. 

 

Eric 

 

H.R. 860 <http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d112:H.R.860:>  To amend
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to promote charitable donations of
qualified vehicles. 

Introduced 3/1/2011

John B. Larson, [CT-1])

House Committee on Ways and Means. 

 

 

New Cosponsors

 

Brian P. Bilbray [R-CA-50] 

John R. Carter [R-TX-31] 

Danny K. Davis [D-IL-7] 

Eliot L. Engel D-NY-17] 

Anna G. Eshoo [D-CA-14] 

Brian Higgins [D-NY-27] 

Jesse L. Jackson, Jr. [D-IL-2] 

Christopher S. Murphy, [D-CT-5] 

Tom Reed [R-NY-29] 

Dennis Ross R-[FL-12] 

Steven R. Rothman [D-NJ-9] 

Bobby L. Rush [D-IL-1]

 

83 Cosponsors

 

W. Todd Akin, [R-MO-2] 

Lou Barletta, [R-PA-11] 

Roscoe G. Bartlett, R-[MD-6] 

Joe Barton [R-TX-6] 

Shelley Berkley, [D-NV-1] 

Brian P. Bilbray [R-CA-50] 

Gus M. Bilirakis [R-FL-9] 

Rob Bishop [R-UT-1] 

Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. [D-GA-2]

Jo Bonner, [R-AL-1] 

Michael E. Capuano [D-MA-8] 

Dennis A. Cardoza [D- CA-18] 

John R. Carter [R-TX-31] 

Jason Chaffetz, [R-UT-3] 

Mike Coffman, [R-CO-6] 

Gerald E. "Gerry" Connolly [D-VA-11] 

Jim Cooper [D-TN-5] 

Jim Costa, [D-CA-20] 

Joe Courtney [D-CT-2] 

Ander Crenshaw [R-FL-4] 

Danny K. Davis [D-IL-7] 

Rosa L. DeLauro [D-CT-3] 

John J. Duncan, Jr. R-[TN-2] 

Jo Ann Emerson, [R-MO-8] 

Eliot L. Engel D-NY-17] 

Anna G. Eshoo [D-CA-14] 

Sam Farr [D-CA-17] 

Bob Filner, [D-CA-51] 

Barney Frank [D-MA-4] 

Marcia L. Fudge [D-OH-11]

Christopher P. Gibson [R-NY-20] 

Charles A. Gonzalez [D-TX-20] 

Raul M. Grijalva, [D-AZ-7] 

Brian Higgins [D-NY-27] 

Tim Holden [D-PA-17]

Jay Inslee [D-WA-1] 

Steve Israel [D-NY-2] 

Jesse L. Jackson, Jr. [D-IL-2] 

Eddie Bernice Johnson [D-TX-30] 

Henry C. "Hank"Johnson, Jr. [D-GA-4] 

Timothy V. Johnson [R-IL-15] 

James R. Langevin, [D-RI-2] 

Rick Larsen [D-WA-2] 

Robert E. Latta [R-OH-5]

Barbara Lee [D-CA-9] 

John Lewis [D-GA-5] 

Blaine Luetkemeyer [R-MO-9] 

Carolyn B. Maloney [D-NY-14] 

Jim McDermott [D-WA-7] 

James P. McGovern [D-MA-3]

James P. Moran [D-VA-8] 

Christopher S. Murphy, [D-CT-5] 

Grace F. Napolitano [D-CA-38] 

John W. Olver [D-MA-1] 

Bill Pascrell, Jr. [D-NJ-8] 

Ed Pastor [D-AZ-4] 

Ron Paul [R-TX-14] 

Bill Posey, [R-FL-15] 

Mike Quigley [D-IL-5] 

Tom Reed [R-NY-29] 

David G. Reichert, [R-WA-8] 

Ileana Ros-Lehtinen R-FL-18] 

Dennis Ross R-[FL-12] 

Steven R. Rothman [D-NJ-9] 

C. A. Dutch Ruppersberger [D-MD-2]

Bobby L. Rush [D-IL-1] 

Tim Ryan, [D-OH-17]

John P. Sarbanes, [D-MD-3] 

Aaron Schock R-IL-18] 

Fortney Pete Stark, [D-CA-13] 

Steve Stivers [R-OH-15]

Betty Sutton [D-OH-13] 

Glenn Thompson, [R-PA-5] 

Patrick J. Tiberi [R-OH-12]

John F. Tierney [D-MA-6]

Edolphus Towns, [D-NY-10] 

Allen B. West [R-FL-22] 

Lynn A. Westmoreland [R-GA-3] 

Joe Wilson [R-SC-2] 

Robert J. Wittman, [R-VA-1] 

Frank R. Wolf [R-VA-10]

Lynn C. Woolsey, [D-CA-6]

John A. Yarmuth [D-KY-3]

 

Dear Colleague 

 

Congress of the United States

Washington, DC

 

March 9, 2011

 

RESTORE BALANCE TO TAX TREATMENT OF CAR DONATIONS

 

Bipartisan Bill Attracted Over 200 Cosponsors Last Session

 

Dear Colleague: 

 

We urge you to join us in supporting legislation to encourage charitable
vehicle donations, which provide a substantial source of service
organizations' annual operating budgets. Six years ago, Congress enacted
changes in the tax code related to charitable donation of vehicles. While
those changes were focused on addressing abuses within the system, they
inadvertently created a serious new problem causing car donations to plummet
and thousands of charities to reduce services across the country. As
bipartisan members of the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee, we
have introduced HR 860 to restore balance to these rules. 

 

Until 2005, a taxpayer could deduct the fair-market value of vehicles
donated to charity if that amount was less than $5,000. Otherwise, an
appraisal was required. Unfortunately, some taxpayers were gaming the system
and IRS oversight was insufficient to detect or police these abuses. In
response, Congress limited deductions for vehicles worth over $500 to the
amount for which the charity resold the donated vehicle, regardless of
appraised value. 

 

For potential donors, this created uncertainty and confusion. To donate a
vehicle in good condition, a donor had to hand over his or her car, keys,
and title without any idea - for weeks or even months - how much it may
eventually sell for or how it might affect his or her tax liability. 

 

In the first year after the law changed, the IRS reported a 67 percent
decline in the number of vehicles donated to charities and an 80 percent
decline in their value. This contradicted reassurances during the 2004
debate that the changes would not adversely affect charitable revenues. 

 

HR 860 would allow tax deductions based on fair market value up to $2,500
and require an appraisal over that threshold, while preserving all of the
necessary tracking and enforcement safeguards enacted in 2004. This would
protect against abuse without scaring away donations altogether. 

 

Last session, this legislation attracted over 200 bipartisan cosponsors.
It's a modest bill that would help stock food bank shelves, advance medical
research and provide shelter to the homeless. For details or to cosponsor,
please call Lee Slater (Larson) at 225-2265 or Jason Edgar (Reichert) at
225-7761. 

 

Sincerely, 

 

John B. Larson

 

Dave Reichert

 

 

 

 

 

Eric Bridges

Director of Advocacy and Governmental Affairs

American Council of the Blind

2200 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 650

Arlington, VA 22201

202-467-5081

ebridges at acb.org

www.acb.org

Follow us on Twitter @acbnational

 

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://www.acb.org/pipermail/announce/attachments/20110621/fec42528/attachment-0001.html>