Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions

Floor Speech

STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS -- (Senate - April 17, 2007)

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By Ms. MURKOWSKI:

S. 1132. A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow Indian tribes to receive charitable contributions of apparently wholesome food; to the Committee on Finance.

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I rise to introduce a bill that will help increase the amount of food donations going to American Indians and Alaska Natives nationwide.

Unfortunately, the poverty rate among American Indians and Alaska Natives continues to be high. Specifically, the poverty rate for our Nation's American Indians and Alaska Natives is over three times that of non-Hispanic whites, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Not only do natives face greater challenges in securing basic household necessities, but in securing food as well.

According to a 2005 U.S. Department of Agriculture report, 35.1 million Americans face challenges in getting enough food to eat. This includes 12.4 million children. Of these statistics, Natives constitute a disproportionate number due to the higher poverty rate among this group.

And yet, charitable organizations that provide hunger relief are unable to meet the basic needs of Natives due to an oversight in the federal tax code. Section 170(e)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code allows corporations to take an enhanced tax deduction for donations of food; however, the food must be distributed to 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations, such as food banks. Nonprofit organizations cannot then transfer such donations to tribes. Although many donations to tribes are tax deductible under section 7871 of the Internal Revenue Code, tribes are not among the organizations listed under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. To clarify, section 170(e)(3) does not allow tribes to be eligible recipients of corporate food donations to nonprofit organizations since they are not listed under Section 501(c)(3) as an eligible entity.

With this legislation, I intend to make a simple correction to the tax code that clearly indicates that tribes are eligible recipients of food donated under section 170(e)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. This correction is long overdue and would remedy an egregious inequity in the Federal tax code that affects natives nationwide.

Please allow me to provide a few examples of how this legislation could foster positive change. In Alaska, approximately half of the food donated to the Food Bank of Alaska from corporations could go to tribes throughout Alaska. Much of this food would go to villages that are only accessible by air or water. In South Dakota, roughly 30 percent of the food the Community Food Banks of South Dakota distributes could go to reservations. In North Dakota, the amount of food donated to the Great Plains Food Bank could double if this legislation were enacted. The Montana Food Bank Network projects that food donations could increase by 16 percent. A food bank based in Albuquerque, NM, estimates that their food donations could triple in the first year alone.

It is imperative that we address this important issue expeditiously. The health and well-being of low income American Indians and Alaska Natives across the Nation is at stake.

I ask unanimous consent that the text of this bill be printed in the RECORD.

There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be printed in the Record as follows:

S. 1132

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