The basic objectives of these Regional Leadership Conferences, in addition to reducing the cost of attending various conferences, is to encourage attendance by District and Post or Unit leadership and to provide a format wherein an individual could receive instructions in any program of The American Legion or Auxiliary in one weekend. Noted speakers are featured in each of the sections of the conferences.

Departments shall be assigned to the Regional Conferences as follows:

THE

PUBLICATION

HE AMERICAN LEGION AUXILIARY has a national publication, National News of the American Legion Auxiliary, which goes to all senior (adult) members bi-monthly. Many state and local publications also are issued.

AUXILIARY EMERGENCY FUND)

In 1970, as a National President's project (Mrs. H. M. Davidson, National President) and to be a continuing project of the American Legion Auxiliary, there was established an Auxiliary Emergency Fund. This project was originally funded by interest from a part of an estate bequeathed to the Auxiliary by a deceased Auxiliary member, Helen Co by Small from the Department of Wisconsin, supplemented by gifts from individual Auxiliary members and Departments of the Auxiliary is an emergency fund for Auxiliary members to provide temporary financial assistance (said Auxiliary member must have been a member for the immediate past five consecutive years-including the current year). Applications and information are available in the office of the Department Secretary.

AUXILIARY INSURANCE PROGRAM

In 1970, there was also established (after a study of several years), a Life Insurance Program for American Legion Auxiliary members. Period

96

HISTORY AND ORGANIZATION

ically, advertisements and application blanks are carried in the NATIONAL NEWS. The program featured a constant, never-increasing premium with the coverage determined by the age of applicant when insurance is first issued (said coverage not to be diminished or canceled by the company). This insurance is available only to Auxiliary members. For information, you should contact the office of the Department Secretary or National Headquarters. This insurance program has been expanded to include an In-Hospital income program and a heart-cancer-stroke insurance program.

CAVALCADE OF MEMORIES

In 1972 at the National Convention, the American Legion Auxiliary created a special section of national headquarters in Indianapolis-known as the Cavalcade of Memories Room. In this area-which encompasses four rooms at National Headquarters, and houses the memorabilia of the 50year history of the American Legion Auxiliary. Furnishings have been donated by Departments. In 1973, the major renovation was completed and the area was dedicated at the 1973 Department Presidents and Secretaries Conference. It continues to grow with interesting memorabilia.

THE

EIGHT AND FORTY

The "Eight and FORTY," officially La Boutique des Huit Chapeaux et Quarante Femmes, is a subsidiary organization of the American Legion Auxiliary. Its membership is limited to women who have been members of the Auxiliary for at least three years and who have performed outstanding service in the parent organization. Special projects of the Eight and Forty are the combating of tuberculosis and cystic fibrosis among children.

CHAPTER IV

REVIEW QUESTIONS

THE AMERICAN LEGION AUXILIARY

1-Can a woman whose deceased brother was a veteran of World War II but never belonged to The American Legion become a member of the American Legion Auxiliary?

2-Can the daughter of a Legionnaire, age four, become a member of the American Legion Auxiliary?

3—What are the Auxiliary's "Christmas Gift Shops?"

4-Who makes the Auxiliary's Memorial Poppies and who distributes them? 5—What is the name given to the Auxiliary's annual radio-television awards?

Mr. MILLER. Mr. Chairman, and members of the Subcommittee on Taxation and Debt Management, the American Legion is pleased to appear before you today to present its views in support of S. 1167 and S. 1579, proposed legislation that would amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 to increase the volunteer mileage deduction to the same level enjoyed by persons engaged in using privately owned vehicles for business and Government activities. The American Legion, perhaps the Nation's largest volunteer organization,_strongly encourages the enactment of the proposals of Senator Durenberger and Senator Armstrong to correct an inequity in the treatment of volunteers who use their POV's for volunteer related activities. The Legion and its auxiliary represent more than 3.6 million members who serve their communities and fellow Americans without pay. Many of our members depend upon the volunteer mileage tax deduction to defray a portion of the cost of providing their services to charitable activities. We would like to emphasize that the deduction volunteers take for miles driven is not compensation; rather, it is to help offset the expense of operating an automobile which is being used to conduct volunteer activities. More importantly, however, it is the individuals who are helped by the Legion as well as other volunteer organization programs who are the real beneficiaries of the volunteer mileage tax deduction. But without it and adequate reimbursement, the programs aiding Americans in need might be greatly curtailed.

Presently an inequity exists that threatens to deny beneficiaries those services that they desperately need. The inequity that we are referring to is between the allowable mileage tax rate deduction which can be taken by persons driving for business and the deduction which can be taken by those persons who use their automobiles to conduct charitable activities.

In 1982, this subcommittee was presented with a table showing the anticipated revenue loss from a bill which was introduced by Senator Durenberger, S. 473. The Treasury estimated that the revenue loss, from fiscal year 1982 through fiscal year 1987, would total $573 million. I would invite the subcommittee's attention to that chart, and notice that the anticipated revenue losses increased dramatically from $7 million in the first fiscal year to $55 million in the second fiscal year, and again by $47 million in the third fiscal year. Clearly, something dramatic would have to be at work in order to account for these increases which gradually level out in fiscal years 1984 to 1987. There are several possibilities for the dramatic increases during the early fiscal years as shown by the Treasury's chart. First, there could be a substantial increase in the use of privately owned vehicles for charitable purposes. Second, there could be a substantial increase in the use of privately owned vehicles for charitable purposes and a corresponding increase in the number of individuals claiming the charitable mileage deductions. And, third, the number of charitable miles driven annually might remain constant and thus the increased allowance will simply reflect the added cost per mile.

Assuming that the third possibility is representative of what will actually occur, then we are left with the perplexing problem of explaining the mammoth increases projected by the Treasury for fiscal year 1983, a rate which is double the projected increases for

each of the remaining outyears. Since even nonitemizers are now permitted to claim a deduction for charitable mileage, the increase cannot be attributed solely to an increase in the number of people claiming exemptions unless there is a corresponding increase in the number of miles driven on behalf of charitable activities, which, in turn, will further decrease the demand for federal rev

enues.

Another argument that has been advanced in opposition to the increase in the volunteer mileage deduction is that "of the difficulty in identifying and quantifying the amount of indirect costs in operating privately owned vehicles for charitable purposes that are properly attributable to the charitable endeavors." The problem with this argument, as we see it, is that it assumes a difficulty that would not, in fact, be present since the volunteer mileage rate deduction would be tied to the business/Federal employees' mileage deduction rate. Indeed, 1167 and S. 1579 will simplify the regulatory burden of the Treasury Department because there will be one rate and one formula to determine that rate.

Moreover, arguments which argue current law, as opposed to arguments which examine the merits of the proposed change, are not really arguments but rather statements in support of the maintenance of the status quo. Mr. Chairman, let's look for a moment at the maintenance of the status quo. In 1957, the year prior to the institution of the volunteer mileage tax deduction, the average cost of a gallon of gasoline in the United States was 30.9¢ a gallon, and the allowable tax deduction was $0.07 per mile. During 1983, the average cost of a gallon of gasoline has been $1.27 and the allowable tax deduction $0.09 per mile.

Looking at these figures in another way, we see that during the last 25 years the allowable tax deduction for charitable privately owned vehicle use has increased by 28.6 percent, while during the same period, motor fuel has increased by 310 percent. Likewise, in 1957, the allowable deduction represented 22.7 percent of the cost of a gallon of gasoline, but by 1983, the allowable deduction represented only 7 percent of the cost of a gallon of gasoline. For today's driver to maintain parity with the volunteer driver of 1958, in terms of percentage of cost, he would have to be allowed a deduction of $0.28 a mile.

Mr. Chairman, the volunteer community is not asking that the volunteer mileage deduction be raised to $0.28 a mile. Instead, the volunteer community is only asking for a parity with persons who, today, use their automobiles for Government and commercial purposes. We believe that this is not only a fair request, but a responsible request as well.

Mr. Chairman, it came to my attention this weekend that the Small Business Administration reimburses its volunteers in the Service Corps of Retired Executives, SCORE, with 20.5 cents a mile. I would be happy to respond to any questions that you might have.

Senator ARMSTRONG. Thank you very much. We will be back to you in a moment. Mr. Chromy, am I saying your name correctly? Mr. CHROMY. Yes, sir.

Senator ARMSTRONG. Mr. John Chromy, you are here to represent the board of directors of VOLUNTEER. We are very happy to have you with us.

STATEMENT OF JOHN CHROMY, MEMBER, BOARD OF DIRECTORS, VOLUNTEER: THE NATIONAL CENTER FOR CITIZEN INVOLVEMENT, WASHINGTON, D.C.

Mr. CHROMY. Thank you, Senator. As I sit here, it is amusing to myself that I am delighted to be here to testify in support of these two bills for three reasons. First of all, it is kind of a personal one. I have been a volunteer all of my life. And when I heard I was going to testify on behalf of this, I put in a telephone call to my brother and my nephew, both of whom are small town boys in Minnesota, who work and earn salaries ranging about $11,000 to $13,000 a year, and both of whom serve as emergency medical technicians and run along with 16 other men and women in that community the town's only ambulance service. And I asked them if it would make a difference to them and their colleagues if they were able to get an additional 10 or 15 cents a mile deduction for all the mileage that they put in every time that beeper goes off, and they run out of church or leave their work at the grocery store or their job as a stock clerk in the Minnesota valley engineering program, and run off to grab that ambulance and get out there and help people who have had accidents and so on. Both my brother and my nephew said, "My God, John, that can only help. And I would be delighted if there was some way that that kind of thing could be arranged." I mention that only because I think my brother and my nephew are one of tens of hundreds of thousands of men and women in the communities across the country who do just this kind of thing.

I am also delighted because I was out of town during 2 weeks in July down at Baton Rouge, La., where the program that I work for, the special Olympics, was conducting its international special Olympics games. I was delighted to come back to Washington and find out because when you come back to Washington you seldom expect to hear good news in July and August-the good news that you had scheduled this hearing, and that you were going to speak up for at least let people speak up for-the 92 million people who volunteer in this country. That was good news and a delight for me to have. The third reason I am delighted to be here is because I consider it a real privilege and an honor to be at the same table with people representing two of our Nation's largest and certainly the most super volunteer organizations who have done so much for the country, both the Association of Junior Leagues and the American Legion. I know we could not run special Olympics without the volunteer help from both of those organizations. In special Olympics this past year, we calculated that probably we had 137 million hours of volunteer time to help a million mentally retarded athletes have a chance to train and compete in sports. That is the kind of thing we are supporting and trying to protect with this bill. Senator ARMSTRONG. How many hours did you say? Mr. CHROMY. 137 million in the last year.