Federal Update

The president’s “Big, Beautiful Bill” is being voted on in the Senate, and passage is expected sometime today. While some provisions in the Senate bill create permanent and robust opportunities for expanded charitable giving, others impose new financial constraints on giving that would divert billions of dollars from charitable purposes to the federal government. The Senate version excludes the tiered increase to the private foundation excise tax; retains the expanded increased non-itemizer charitable deduction set at $1,000 for single filers and $2,000 for joint filers; maintains the 0.5 percent floor on charitable contributions for itemizers; and includes a 1-percent floor on charitable contributions for corporations.

Next, the bill will head back to the House for consideration. Speaker Johnson intends for the House to vote this week to meet Republicans’ and President Trump’s July 4th deadline.

Once the bill returns to the House (expected mid-week), it is critical to contact your House members this week, as they will be voting on a version which is different than the bill they previously passed. To find contact information for your US Congressional Representative from Virginia, click here. To find talking points for phone calls or e-mails, click here.

After special primaries held last week, the leadership of Virginia’s 11^th Congressional District (formerly represented by Rep. Gerry Connolly, who died in May) will be determined in a special election on September 9 between James Walkinshaw, Fairfax County Supervisor and Stewart Whitson, a lawyer at a conservative think tank.

Virginia Update

The new state budget goes into effect as of today. For a summary of the new laws that go into effect today, July 1, click here and here.