Oklahoma U.S. Senator James Lankford testified before Congress on Tuesday on the need to provide a more significant tax deduction for charitable donations amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
Lankford says Congress needs to encourage more giving to nonprofit organizations as they are more efficient in getting assistance to local communities than the government is.
"Government is efficient at writing a check. Government is efficient at developing a program to be able to facilitate activities," Lankford said. "Government cannot meet the human needs that are there like a family can and like a local nonprofit can."
In March, Lankford offered an amendment to the federal CARES Act to increase the cap on charitable giving, but it failed to make it in the final bill.
"We recommended one-third of the standard deduction — that is $4,000 for the individual, $8,000 for the married filer — for them to be able to right off," Lankford said. "That is a significant encouragement."
Lankford is advocating for Congress to make sure nonprofits, charities and houses of worship are helped if there is another phase of relief in response to the coronavirus.
Lankford says he understands many of the needs nonprofits have because of his career serving nonprofits before being elected to Congress.
