Tomorrow, the House of Representatives will vote on H.R. 9495, the so-called “Stop Terror-Financing and Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act.” While much of the legislation is not controversial, there is one chilling section whose potential impact initially went unnoticed by some legislators. “Section 4″ of the bill would give the U.S. Treasury Secretary the ability to unilaterally designate any U.S. nonprofit as a “terrorist supporting organization” and strip it of its tax-exempt status, at their discretion and without requiring the government to share evidence or reasoning with accused groups.
This provision is ripe for abuse, particularly by an administration with a grudge. Passage of this legislation could be disastrous, not just for AJWS and thousands of other life-saving nonprofits, but for the millions of vulnerable people we support worldwide.
The stakes are high. Please…we are asking you to pick up the phone and call Congress TODAY, as we join the many others, Jewish and secular organizations alike who are mobilizing their members to stop this bill in its tracks.
Below is a sample call script you can use, as well as a list of the House members who initially voted for the bill last week and those who did not vote at all. If you see your Congressional Representative’s name here, please reach out ASAP. The bill is currently scheduled for a vote this week. You can find your representative’s phone number here or by calling the Congressional switchboard at 202-224-3121.
For additional information about H.R. 9495, we’ve included a full explainer below the list of Representatives.
CALL SCRIPT:
Hi, my name is {NAME}, and I’m calling to urge {REPRESENTATIVE} to vote NO on H.R. 9495 when it comes up for a vote this week.
As someone who follows human rights headlines closely, I understand the harms caused by organizations that foment hate and terror. That is why I appreciate that there is already a sound process to address these issues in the U.S. Code. Our current process is less susceptible to political interference or the chilling effect on speech and organizing than H.R. 9495 will have.
It is deeply concerning that Section 4 of this bill would give the U.S. government the power to effectively shut down any tax-exempt organization without due process or a full explanation.
This bill is a threat to our democracy and it’s critical that {REPRESENTATIVE} votes NO on H.R. 9495. Please remind them that their constituents are following along closely, and we expect them to protect our democracy.
House Democrats who voted YES last week — ask them to vote NO on HR 9495 this week:
Allred (TX-32)
Budzinski (IL-13)
Caraveo (CO-8)
Case (HI-1)
Castor (FL-14)
Costa (CA-21)
Craig (MN-2)
Cuellar (TX-22)
Davids (KS-3)
Davis (NC-1)
Dingell (MI-6)
Frankel, Lois (FL-22)
Golden (ME-2)
Gonzalez, V. (TX-34)
Gottheimer (NJ-5)
Harder (CA-9)
Hayes (CT-5)
Hoyer (MD-5)
Kaptur (OH-9)
Landsman (OH-1)
Lee (NV-3)
Levin (CA-49)
Manning (NC-6)
McBath (GA-7)
Meng (NY-6)
Moore (WI-4)
Moskowitz (FL-23)
Mrvan (IN-1)
Norcross (NJ-1)
Pallone (NJ-6)
Panetta (CA-19)
Pappas (NH-1)
Perez (WA-3)
Ryan (NY-18)
Schiff (CA-30)
Schneider (IL-10)
Scholten (MI-3)
Schrier (WA-8)
Sherman (CA-32)
Slotkin (MI-7)
Sorensen (IL-17)
Stanton (AZ-4)
Stevens (MI-11)
Strickland (WA-10)
Suozzi (NY-3)
Sykes (OH-13)
Thanedar (MI-13)
Torres, Norma (CA-35)
Torres, Ritchie (NY-15)
Vargas (CA-52)
Vasquez (NM-2)
Wasserman Schultz (FL-25)
House Democrats who did not vote last week — ask them to vote NO on HR 9495 this week:
Bowman (NY-16)
Cartwright (PA-8)
Connolly (VA-11)
Davis (IL-7)
Evans (PA-3)
Gallego (AZ-3)
Gomez (CA-34)
Grijalva (AZ-7)
Houlahan (PA-6)
Kamlager-Dove (CA-37)
Keating (MA-9)
Kim (NJ-3)
Leger Fernandez (NM-3)
Mfume (MD-7)
Scott, David (GA-13)
Wexton (VA-10)
Wilson (FL-24)
Bill Explainer (with thanks to our friends at the Council on Foundations):
Some sections of this bill are non-controversial. Those provisions would postpone IRS deadlines for Americans who are being held hostage or wrongfully detained overseas.
However, this legislation ALSO contains a provision that would allow the Secretary of the Treasury to designate U.S. nonprofits as “terrorist supporting organizations” at the Secretary’s discretion, without requiring the Secretary to share their full evidence or reasoning with accused nonprofits.
The legislation runs counter to constitutional due process protections by placing the burden of proof on the accused organization and providing only 90 days for organizations to demonstrate their innocence before their tax-exempt status is revoked.
Even if a Secretary’s decision were successfully reversed, designees would risk irreparable damage to their operations and reputation. The implication that an organization could be associated with terrorism could cause it to lose not only access to banks and other financial institutions but also the trust of donors and the communities it serves. In the end, the beneficiaries of nonprofits’ work would suffer the most.
In addition, under this bill, law-abiding organizations could be stripped of their tax-exempt status for providing humanitarian assistance in conflict zones even when operating properly under U.S. sanctions law.
It is already illegal to provide material support to foreign terrorist organizations. Organizations suspected of violating the law are rightly subject to criminal investigation and prosecution.
If the investigation process needs refinement or expedition, policymakers should make changes to that process in ways that protect the due process rights of nonprofit organizations and guard against future abuse.