Good coverage in the Chronicle of Philanthropy of last week’s House Ways and Means Committee hearing on the charitable deduction.

It was interesting to read that Rep. Griffin is now employing the “takers vs. makers” rhetoric when describing nonprofit organizations’ relationship to government funding:

Some lawmakers hinted they were itching to explore nonprofit issues beyond the charitable deduction. Rep. Tim Griffin, Republican of Arkansas, said he was shocked to learn that some nonprofits in his district rely on government money for up to 80 percent of their revenue.

He questioned whether it would be more efficient to encourage people to give to them directly, rather than to pay taxes to the federal government, which then trickle down to the nonprofit through the state and county.

“They’ve become dependent nonprofits,” he said. “The tools in the philanthropy tool box rust. They don’t have to court big donors, and they love that. They don’t have to have annual dinners, and they love that. They just get that big check from the federal government.” (my emphasis)