Bush Rice Robert B. Zoellick State

Bush Rice nominate Robert B. Zoellick to be Deputy Secretary of State. FULL STREAMING VIDEO

Personnel Announcement January 7, 2005

President George W. Bush today announced his intention to nominate one individual to serve in his administration:

The President intends to nominate Robert B. Zoellick to be Deputy Secretary of State. Mr. Zoellick has served as the 13th United States Trade Representative since 2001. During his tenure, he completed negotiations to bring China and Taiwan into the World Trade Organization (WTO) and has moved talks forward in the Doha Development Round. He completed Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with 12 nations, launched negotiations with 12 others, and worked with Congress to pass the Trade Act of 2002 to renew the President's trade negotiating authority.

During President George H.W. Bush's Administration, Mr. Zoellick served as Under Secretary of State for Economic and Agricultural Affairs, as well as Counselor to the Department. In 1992, Mr. Zoellick was appointed Assistant to the President and White House Deputy Chief of Staff. In 1993, he moved to Fannie Mae as an Executive Vice President. From 1985 to 1988, Mr. Zoellick served at the Department of the Treasury in various positions, including Counselor to the Secretary.

He received a J.D. from Harvard Law School and a Master of Public Policy degree from Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government. Mr. Zoellick graduated from Swarthmore College. ###

For Immediate Release Office of the Press Secretary January 7, 2005

H.R.241 tax charitable contributions relief tsunami

To accelerate the income tax benefits for charitable cash contributions for the relief of victims of the Indian Ocean tsunami. (Enrolled as Agreed to or Passed by Both House and Senate)

One Hundred Ninth Congress of the United States of America AT THE FIRST SESSION Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday, the fourth day of January, two thousand and five

An Act: To accelerate the income tax benefits for charitable cash contributions for the relief of victims of the Indian Ocean tsunami.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. ACCELERATION OF INCOME TAX BENEFITS FOR CHARITABLE CASH CONTRIBUTIONS FOR RELIEF OF INDIAN OCEAN TSUNAMI VICTIMS.

(a) IN GENERAL- For purposes of section 170 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, a taxpayer may treat any contribution described in subsection (b) made in January 2005 as if such contribution was made on December 31, 2004, and not in January 2005.

(b) CONTRIBUTION DESCRIBED- A contribution is described in this subsection if such contribution is a cash contribution made for the relief of victims in areas affected by the December 26, 2004, Indian Ocean tsunami for which a charitable contribution deduction is allowable under section 170 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.

Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.

RELATED:

• tax deduction tsunami relief donations - Sen. Chuck Grassley, chairman of the Committee on Finance, today joined Sen. Max Baucus, ranking member, in announcing a plan to extend the period of time in which Americans can claim tax deductions for charitable donations to assist victims of the earthquake and tsunami that hit Southeast Asia on December 26.
• tsunami disaster relief tax deduction - U.S. Senator Max Baucus (D-Mont), Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee, joined by Chairman Chuck Grassley, applauded the passage of tax legislation to allow extra time for Americans to make cash donations (deduction) to charities supporting relief operations in the Indian Ocean basin.
• Baucus and Grassley Applaud Passage of Proposal to Aid Tsunami Victims
• IRS Publication 3833, Disaster Relief: Providing Assistance through Charitable Organizations (PDF 507K), explains how the public can use charitable organizations to help victims of disasters, and how new organizations can obtain tax-exempt status.