Yesterday, November 21, by a vote of 219-184, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 9495, harmful legislation that would empower the U.S. Treasury Secretary to unilaterally deem nonprofits as terrorist-supporting organizations and revoke their tax exemptions with little due process.The bill now moves to the U.S. Senate.

Although the House did end up passing H.R. 9495, it's worth noting that the margin was much closer than its previous vote on November 12. Several New Jersey Representatives changed their votes, and it was clear that your advocacy made a huge difference. A list of how New Jersey's Members of Congress voted November 12 and November 21 appears below.

Feel free to contact us with any questions. Thank you for your advocacy.

NEXT STEPS:

Although it seems unlikely that the Senate under Majority Leader Schumer will take up this bill in current form before the end of the session, it's still important that our Senators hear from us.

• Contact U.S. Senators Cory Booker and George Helmy to urge them to oppose H.R. 9495 if it is taken up in the Senate. Senator-elect (currently Congressman) Andy Kim voted against H.R. 9495 on November 21. Sample messaging: “Please vote NO on H.R. 9495 if it comes up in the Senate. This legislation inappropriately combines well-intentioned tax relief for Americans held hostage abroad with deeply destructive provisions that would allow the Treasury Secretary to designate nonprofits as ‘terrorist-supporting organizations’ and strip their tax exemptions with little justification or due process. This bill in its current form is extremely harmful to nonprofits and the people and communities we serve.” 
• Contact your Congressional Representative to follow up on the vote.  If they voted NO on H.R. 9495, and especially if they changed their vote, please take a moment to thank them for standing up for nonprofits. If they voted YES, you can still reinforce the message of the dangers this bill poses to nonprofits and the people and communities we serve, so that they will be aware of your views when similar measures come up again. You can find contact information for your Member of Congress here. 

 

BACKGROUND:

H.R. 9495, the "Stop Terror-Financing and Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act," purports to stop bad actors from using nonprofit organizations to fund terrorism, as is already prohibited under current law. It also includes some laudable provisions to extend tax deadlines for those unlawfully or wrongfully detained or held hostage abroad. 

But H.R. 9495 goes much, much farther, building on provisions in previous legislation, H.R. 6408, to empower the Secretary of Treasury to designate 501(c) organizations as “terrorist supporting organizations” and revoke their tax-exempt status with minimal due process. It would allow the Secretary to bring such accusations without disclosing the evidence behind them, provides for a 3-year lookback period, and would place the burden of proof on the organization to disprove the allegations. The potential for overreach, subjective application, and abuse of this authority is enormous, and the consequences for organizations and the people they serve cannot be overstated.  

For additional background, see the joint statement of the National Council of Nonprofits, Council on Foundations, Independent Sector, and United Philanthropy Forum opposing H.R. 9495.