Mark Souder: “the Cato Institute estimates that spending on welfare programs by all levels of government runs over $35,000 for every…”

“the Cato Institute estimates that spending on welfare programs by all levels of government runs over $35,000 for every family of four below the poverty line. But it is painfully obvious that the average poor family does not even come close to receiving this much money. The bulk is spent on bureaucratic overhead, not on the people it is intended to help. Today, I will be introducing a bill to expand the tax incentive for charitable giving, thereby offering average citizens a chance to do more for those in need than the government ever could. My bill--the Giving Incentive and Volunteer Empowerment Act, or the GIVE Act--will encourage more charitable donations to private sector charities and other nonprofits, which get a much bigger bang for their bucks than do government-run programs. The GIVE Act will do four things: First, allow all individual filers to deduct from taxable income 120 percent of the value of their charitable donation. Second, once again allow non-itemizers to deduct for charitable deductions, as long as they give more than $1,000, or $2,000 filing jointly. Third, exclude charitable giving from the overall limitation on itemized deductions. Fourth, extend the deadline for making tax-deductible charitable donations until April 15, when taxpayers are past the end-of-the-year cash crunch and can better estimate their tax liability. I want to make it plain the GIVE Act is not meant to supplant all Government spending on social programs.”