Friday, April 10,2009
 
Name
Address
City, State Zip
 
RE: Please Sponsor H.R. 1547/S. 781
 
Dear _____________:

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Please consider co-sponsoring the Collegiate Housing and Infrastructure Act of2009 (H.R. 1547/S. 781), a bill giving equal tax treatment to all charitablecontributions made to not-for-profit student housing. I am [A MEMBER/THECHAPTER PRESIDENT/AN ALUMNUS] of [FRATERNITY OR SORORITY] at [NAME OFINSTITUTION], and I feel that this bill will ensure safe and modern housing forall college students.

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In this ailingeconomy, students are having a harder time than ever before funding theireducation.  Fraternities andsororities fill an important need in providing housing that is often moreaffordable than on-campus housing.  This housing creates an environmentpromoting academic and personal enrichment.  Unfortunately, the conditionof fraternity and sorority housing on my campus is deteriorating and funds forlong-term safety and capital improvements are desperately needed.

The problem of deterioratingstructures and dated fire safety systems, heating, cooling, and electricalsystems that are unsafe and energy-inefficient can be addressed by correctingthe needless tax disparity between not-for-profit student housing. Colleges and universities are allowed to use charitable gifts to build,improve, and renovate residence halls and other student housing facilities theyown.  However, the current tax code prevents fraternities and sororities,who provide similar housing facilities for students, from using the samecharitable donations to improve and renovate the buildings we own.  Thisarbitrary distinction in the tax code means colleges and universities can usetax-deductible funds to install fire detection and prevention systems in theirstudent housing, but fraternities and sororities cannot use donated funds totake the same life-saving measures in their student housing.

I support theCollegiate Housing and Infrastructure Act of 2009 because it will allow theeducational foundation of my fraternal organization to raise funds to improvethe safety and poor condition of our houses.  We are just a piece of thenot-for-profit student housing market but our more than 4,000 housing unitsnationwide have at least a $1 billion backlog of housing improvements, renovationsand construction that can be started soon after the Collegiate Housing andInfrastructure Act of 2009 becomes law. 

Given the ageand condition of non-profit collegiate housing, there is a pressing need toinstall modern heating and cooling units, in addition to electrical systemsthat are safe, energy-efficient and environmentally friendly.  In addition, more than 60% of ourhousing units are not equipped with fire sprinklers.  Since 2000, 80 percent of all fatalities in student housingfires have occurred in off-campus housing such as is provided by fraternitiesand sororities, making fire safety and prevention a paramount concern. Funding these improvements and safety measures through our educationalfoundations affords the necessary upgrades without any additional cost to ourcampus.

The CollegiateHousing and Infrastructure Act of 2009 eliminates a pointless inequality in thelaw by allowing tax-deductible charitable contributions to be used similarly byall not-for-profit student housing providers.  It ensures that safe andmodern structures are available to students and forestalls preventable injuryand death.  Moreover, passing the Act creates tens of thousands of jobs inconstruction and manufacturing industries nationwide and is very cost effective. 

Please become aco-sponsors of H.R. 1547/S. 781 and demonstrate your support for this bill.