Council on Foundations Legislative
Network
Update – September 29,
2006
In This Update:
·
Council Sends Draft Guidance to
Treasury Department
·
Treasury Department Issues Updated
Anti-Terrorism Guidelines
·
Congressional Leaders Considering
an H.R. 4 Corrections Bill
·
Trifecta Bill Continues to Lose
Momentum
·
Have You Been to the Council’s H.R.
4 webpage?
·
Call for Nominations to the Council’s
Board of Directors
·
Nominate a Foundation for the 2007
Ylvisaker Award
·
Legislative Network Schedule
Update
·
Sign Up for the Legislative Network
SAVE THE DATE!
Foundations on the Hill will take place February 27-28, 2007, immediately
following the Council’s 2007 Family
Foundations Conference in
Council Sends Draft
Guidance to Treasury Department
On Tuesday, September 26, the Council on Foundations
sent the U.S. Treasury Department a draft notice that the Internal Revenue
Service (IRS) could publish to provide immediate guidance on the donor-advised
fund and supporting organization provisions in H.R. 4.
- Council’s
September 26, 2006 Letter to Treasury Department
- Council’s
Draft Notice for Treasury Department – Please note that this is NOT official
guidance.
- Council’s
August 16, 2006 Letter to Treasury Department
Specifically, the draft notice covers the provisions
that took effect on or before August 17, 2006, the bill’s date of
enactment. The Council submitted the draft in an effort to expedite
guidance on the key issues identified in our August 16th letter. While we
expect that the IRS will find the draft helpful in formulating guidance, the
draft has no official standing and should not be confused with a notice
officially issued by the IRS.
In the coming weeks, the Council will send a second
request for guidance to the Treasury Department that will cover H.R. 4
provisions that take effect at the beginning of the organization's
next tax year ( January 1, 2007 for those grantmaker that
file Form 990/990-PF on a calendar year). For more information,
contact Janne Gallagher (202/467-0288) or Kelly Shipp Simone (202/467-0464).
Treasury Department
Issues Updated Voluntary Anti-Terrorism Guidelines
The U.S. Department of the Treasury today issued a new
version of the “Anti-terrorist Financing Guidelines: Voluntary Best Practices
for U.S.-Based Charities. The “Guidelines” were originally issued in November
2002 and revised in December 2005 to assist charitable organizations in
complying with Executive Order 13224 and the USA Patriot Act following 9/11. View the
Revised Anti-Terrorist Financing Guidelines: Voluntary Best Practices for
U.S.-based Charities.
The
Treasury Department also released today a document responding to public comments
received during the comment period following the release of the second version
of the Guidelines in December 2005. View the Response to Comments Submitted on the U.S. Department of
the Treasury Anti-Terrorist Financing Guidelines: Voluntary Best Practices for
U.S.-Based Charities.
These
comments include a submission by the Treasury Guidelines Working Group, a
broadly representative group of more than 40
The group developed the Principles of International
Charity that identifies eight principles to guide the
anti-terrorism efforts of charities. The Principles of International Charity were
submitted to the Treasury Department in March, 2005. For more information,
contact Rob Buchanan (202/467-0391) or Kalyani Grasso (202/467-0386).
Congressional Leaders
Considering an H.R. 4 Corrections Bill
As Congress prepares to leave Washington until November,
it appears that House and Senate leaders are considering the introduction of a
technical corrections bill for the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (H.R. 4). The contents of this bill and the
timing of its introduction remain unclear. We do know that members of Congress
have been hearing a great deal about a number of technical problems in H.R. 4.
Council staff will continue to monitor these efforts and update the Legislative Network as we receive new
information.
Trifecta Bill Continues
to Lose Momentum
Prospects for passage of the “trifecta” bill (H.R. 5970)
this year remain dim. Congress will leave town this weekend without taking final
action on the bill, so named because it contains a permanent reduction in
the estate tax, an increase in the minimum wage and popular tax cut extensions.
And key Senators are indicating that it is now unlikely that the Senate will
consider the “trifecta bill” during the lame-duck session in November.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Charles Grassley
(R-IA) and Ranking Member Max Baucus (D-MT) continue to push for the House and
Senate to pass the tax cut extensions separately from the trifecta bill.
However, House and Senate GOP leaders have been unwilling to separate the tax
extensions from the estate tax and minimum wage proposals.
The Council on Foundations has a longstanding practice
of not supporting or opposing tax legislation that has a broad effect beyond the
charitable field, such as the estate tax. However, the Council does monitor and
share information and research on the effect that such tax changes may have on
the charitable field. According to some studies, a repeal or significant
reduction of the estate tax, particularly on large estates, reduces charitable
giving. But other studies conclude that repeal would not affect giving because
bequests would take the form of lifetime gifts. Council staff will continue to
monitor estate tax legislation. For more information, contact Luis Maldonado
(202/467-0394) or Brian Flahaven
(202/467-0424).
Have You Been to the
Council’s H.R. 4 webpage?
The Council’s legal and government relations teams
continue to post new resources on our H.R. 4 webpage, www.cof.org/hr4. We will continue to post new
analyses in the coming weeks so please continue to visit the webpage. And make
sure you send any questions on H.R. 4 to govt@cof.org. For more information, contact Luis Maldonado
(202/467-0394) or Janne Gallagher (202/467-0288).
Call for Nominations to
the Council’s Board of Directors
The selection of strong leaders to serve on the
Council's Board of Directors is one of the most important tasks we undertake as
a membership organization. You are invited to suggest nominees for the Council
membership to vote on at the 2007 business meeting. At least four new board
members will be elected to the class of 2010. For more information or to suggest
a nominee, visit the Council’s Board
Nominations webpage. Nominations will be accepted through Friday, November 3, 2006.
Nominate a Foundation
for the 2007 Ylvisaker Award
Do you know a foundation doing innovative public policy
work? Has your foundation made a difference on a critical or timely public
policy issue? The Council on Foundations is now accepting nominations for the
2007 Paul Ylvisaker Award for Public Policy Engagement. View
the 2007 Ylvisaker Award Call for Entries. Nomination materials are due by
Friday, December 8, 2006. The
award will be presented at the Council’s 2007 Annual Conference in
Both the House and Senate are expected to recess today
(Friday, September 29, 2006) until after the November election. They will not
re-convene until Monday, November 13, 2006.
View
the 2006 congressional schedule.
Legislative Network
Schedule Update
The Council on Foundations’ Legislative Network (Leg
Net) provides weekly updates when Congress is in session. When Congress is not
in session, the Council sends out Leg Net updates when new information becomes
available. Weekly updates will resume in November. Sign up for the Legislative
Network.
Legislative
Network is a
service of the Government Relations and Public Policy Department at the Council
on Foundations. For assistance, contact:
Vice President
Director
Coordinator
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Member!
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