FYI, AAM sent the following message to the Museum Advocacy Team
yesterday.  Questions welcome.

Andy Finch
aam-us.org
American Association of Museums

P.S.  For non-U.S. listers:  "IRA" stands for Individual Retirement
Account.  People can put funds into these accounts and let them grow
without paying tax on them (assuming they grow over time) and without
withdrawing them until reaching retirement age.

To:     M U S E U M   A D V O C A C Y   T E A M

From:   AAM Government Affairs
Date:   May 27, 1999
Re:     Congressional CO-SPONSORS Needed
              Proposal for New Incentive for Charitable Giving


AAM strongly supports a bipartisan tax proposal to create a new
incentive for charitable gifts.  We'd like to ask you to ask your
members of Congress to become co-sponsors.

The title of the proposal is the Charitable IRA Rollover Incentive Act
(H.R. 1311 in the House and S. 1086 in the Senate).  In brief, it would
allow donors to transfer funds from their IRA accounts to charity,
without paying the tax that would apply if they withdrew funds for their
own personal use.  This proposal could unlock funds, unneeded by donors,
that charities could use to provide more services to the public.  If
you'd like to look at the text of the legislation, go to
http://thomas.loc.gov and follow the easy instructions there.

Please ask your House members to cosponsor H.R. 1311, introduced by Phil
Crane (R-IL) and Richard Neal (D-MA).  Ask your Senators to cosponsor
S. 1086, introduced by Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) and Dick Durbin
(D-IL).  Please give us copies of any return correspondence, especially
if it is favorable.

The following members of the House have already cosponsored the bill.
If any of them are "your" members, thanks are in order!  Alphabetical by
state: Jim Kolbe (AZ), Ed Pastor (AZ), Mary Bono (CA) Henry Waxman (CA),
Jim Davis (FL), Dan Miller (FL), Karen Thurman (FL), Sanford Bishop
(GA), Dave Camp (MI), Vernon Ehlers (MI) Jim Ramstad (MN), Sue Kelly
(NY), Jack Metcalf (WA), & George Nethercutt (WA).  There are two
cosponsors in the Senate.  If you are from their states, please thank
them.  They are: Dianne Feinstein (CA) and Jesse Helms (NC).  (Note the
bipartisanship!)

        If you have any questions, contact Andy Finch in AAM Government
Affairs at [log in to unmask]; 202-289-9125; FAX 289-6578.  Thanks!

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