NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - President Bush on Friday approved a bill that would extend the deductibility of donations made for tsunami disaster relief.

The bill would enable people to deduct donations made through Jan. 31, 2005, on their 2004 returns.

Without the extension, those who donated after Dec. 31 would have had to wait until filing their 2005 returns -- in the winter and spring of 2006 -- to take the charitable deductions.

Senators Chuck Grassley, Republican from Iowa, and Max Baucus, Democrat of Montana, proposed the bill on Tuesday and it was passed by unanimous consent by Congress on Thursday.

Americans have reacted to the tsunami disaster in Asia with an outpouring of giving to a variety of charities -- the American Red Cross alone has already received more than $119 million in pledges.

According to the IRS, gifts to charities located in foreign countries are only deductible on U.S. federal income tax forms if a U.S. organization has full control over the funds.