Senate Finance Committee Hearing on Nonprofits: Commentary and Statements
(April 6, 2005)
On Tuesday, April 5, 2005, the Senate Finance committee
held a hearing on Charities and Charitable Giving: Proposals for
Reform. Leading up to the hearing, a number of local and national
organizations and publications have published comments, letters
and articles about the purpose of the hearings and the Nonprofit
Panel’s Interim Report, which formed part of the basis for
the hearing. This page consolidates some of the key commentaries
on the hearing and report, which you will see encompass reactions
ranging from support to a sense that new regulations would be burdensome
to a sense that the Panel’s recommendations don’t go
far enough.
Click here for member and witness statements at the hearing:
http://finance.senate.gov/sitepages/hearing030505.aspx
The Council on Foundations delivered a letter to Senator Grassley
which addressed specific issues around administrative expenses,
compensation, increasing philanthropy donor advised funds, supporting
organizations and improved financial reporting. Click here to see
full text of the letter:
http://www.cof.org/files/Documents/Government/05_SFC_Letter_-_0405Hearing.pdf
Commentary by Heather R. Higgins, co-founder of The Alliance for
Charitable Reform. Ms. Higgins published an op-ed piece in the Wall
Street Journal on April 4, suggesting that regulations and reforms
being considered by the Finance Committee would be overly burdensome
to nonprofits.
http://www.wsj.com (Note: you need
to be a subscriber to access online.)
Washington Post reported on the March 30 letter submitted by the
IRS Commissioner Mark Everson to the Senate Finance Committee. “Tax
Abuse Rampant in Nonprofits, IRS says”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A26388-2005Apr4.aspx
The National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy has offered
a critique of the Interim Report of the Panel on the Nonprofit Sector,
finding the Panel’s recommendations “feeble” and
“off-the-mark.”
http://www.ncrp.org/Statements/Statement-040405-Response%20to%20IS%20Committee.pdf
The National Council of Nonprofit Associations (NCNA) submitted
recommendations to the Senate Finance Committee supporting efforts
toward nonprofit capacity building and reporting reform and simplification.
However the NCNA opposes legislating best practices or accreditation
or federal fees on small nonprofits with annual revenues of less
than $500,000. Click below for the full text of the recommendations
NCNA submitted to Congress:
http://www.ncna.org/_uploads/documents/live//NCNA_Oversight_4-4-05.doc
The NonProfit Times summarized the key Panel recommendations and
detailed some of the concerns in the nonprofit community about the
Panel’s processes and approaches. http://www.nptimes.com/Apr05/npt1.aspx
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