Congress Must Oppose Legislation Threatening to Punish Nonprofits That Disagree With President-Elect Trump

The U.S. House of Representatives voted to pass H.R. 9495, dangerous legislation that would give President-elect Donald Trump and his secretary of the Treasury unmitigated power to weaponize the IRS and shut down any tax-exempt organization the administration falsely accuses of wrongdoing.

Under this bill, the Treasury secretary would be able to strip tax-exempt status from any organization they designate as “terrorist supporting,” without having to explain their reasoning or give targeted groups a real due process right to refute wrongful allegations.

Terminating tax-exempt status effectively shuts down nonprofit organizations.

This power could be used to silence dissent and suppress the views of those Trump — or any future president — believes to be political enemies.

Campaign Legal Center (CLC) strongly opposes H.R. 9495. This bill threatens to undermine the work of nonpartisan nonprofits like CLC and could disempower — or even shut down — news outlets, universities and other civil society groups that help inform Americans.

Nonprofits are already prohibited from supporting foreign terrorist organizations, with severe criminal and civil penalties for violations. This bill merely opens the door to government persecution of any organization that criticizes the president’s policies or powerful special interests supported by the administration.

H.R. 9495 is ripe for abuse and could have an enormous chilling effect on democratic participation.

This bill provides no real protection against an executive branch led by Donald Trump, who has repeatedly threatened to retaliate against organizations he believes are his political foes.

We urge the Senate to kill this bill that could silence dissenting voices and punish groups that do important work to make America a more perfect union.