Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
Editorials & Other Articles
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
Info requested - Possible pending labeling of some 501c3s as "terrorist organizations" (Rumor?)
From Alt Rural Development on FB
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61573078658672
Heads up, we are hearing the administration is going to start going after a large number of 501c3s and labeling them as terrorist organizations. Keep an eye on the news, we are hearing the hammer will drop on Tuesday, April 22, Earth Day of all days.
With all of these organizations under attack, I believe it's critical new coalitions start to form. Nonprofits, universities, ag producers, law firms harmed by the Administration need to consider coming together with unrelated partners to stand against this tyranny. These are unprecedented times and it will take all of us.
With all of these organizations under attack, I believe it's critical new coalitions start to form. Nonprofits, universities, ag producers, law firms harmed by the Administration need to consider coming together with unrelated partners to stand against this tyranny. These are unprecedented times and it will take all of us.
Note, I consider this a *rumor* at this point. BUT: if it is despicable and doable, then this mal-administration might very well do it.
What are the implications if, for example, Krasnov announces that The Sierra Club is now designated a "terrorist organization"?
(Sierra Club is a random pick, of well know organizations that thousands, if not millions, of people donate to regularly)
What are the implications for people who have automatic recurring donations set up to these organizations? Or attend their events? Or have any other kind of involvement in the organization? What about recent or not-so-recent involvement?
What is the historical precedent? Have other administrations done a designation like this by executive order? Does it hold?
Feel free to talk me down ... I am not liking what I'm thinking here.
14 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read
House bill passed in November with 15 Democrats supporting it. 
It may be coming up in the Senate now.
It's a draconian bill, hugely worrisome.
Background (from November).
US House of Representatives has passed a bill—called H.R. 9495—that would give the Treasury secretary, who is appointed by the president, unchecked power to declare nonprofit groups “terrorist supporting organizations.” Under the “Stop Terror Financing and Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act,” the Treasury secretary could take away the tax-exempt status of designated nonprofits, greatly curtailing or ending their ability to operate.
Introduced last year as a way to curb activism in response to the war in Gaza, the bill passed the House in April but didn’t get through the Senate and was brought back to the House for a vote this month. The bill failed for procedural reasons in an initial vote last week but passed today in a 219-184 vote. Should the bill pass the Senate, it would give the Executive Branch power to indiscriminately silence dissent at any nonprofit on a variety of issues. (The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists is an independent, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization.)
Introduced last year as a way to curb activism in response to the war in Gaza, the bill passed the House in April but didn’t get through the Senate and was brought back to the House for a vote this month. The bill failed for procedural reasons in an initial vote last week but passed today in a 219-184 vote. Should the bill pass the Senate, it would give the Executive Branch power to indiscriminately silence dissent at any nonprofit on a variety of issues. (The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists is an independent, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization.)
More at link.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/thebulletin.org/2024/11/why-a-newly-passed-house-terrorism-financing-bill-could-threaten-nonprofits-and-free-speech/amp/
https://nonprofitlawblog.com/h-r-9495-whats-next/
published on Feb 12, 2025
(I tried to find a similar title in the current legislative session on Congress.gov, but oddly (
) search is not working there today. So then turned to my friend the google.)
Excerpt :
In a post published on November 19, 2024, we described H.R. 9495, the Stop Terror-Financing and Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act that passed the U.S. House of Representatives mostly along party lines on November 21. HR 9495, labeled by some as the ‘Nonprofit Killer Bill’ because it would have provided the Treasury Secretary with the unilateral right to designate a nonprofit as a terrorist supporting organization and revoke its tax-exempt status, stalled in the Senate of the 118th Congress. But that’s not likely to be the end of HR 9495.
An identical bill could be reintroduced and refiled for consideration by the House and the Senate of the 119th Congress, each now represented by a Republican majority. This seems likely based on the deluge of executive orders and administrative memos and actions, particularly those opposing diversity, inclusion, and equity, that have inflicted serious harm to the nonprofit and charitable sectors and communities dependent on the work of nonprofits and nongovernmental organizations.
...
What existing powers does the executive branch possess to revoke tax-exempt status of organizations that support terrorist organizations?
The executive branch has existing powers to designate an organization as one that provides material support or resources (1) for the commission of certain designated offenses that might be committed by terrorists or (2) to certain designated terrorist organizations. See Terrorist Material Support: An Overview of 18 U.S.C. § 2339A and § 2339B (Congressional Research Service, Updated August 15, 2023). A defendant, charged with providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization may not challenge the designation. The courts have consistently held that a defendant’s inability to challenge the designation does not offend due process; nor does it constitute an unconstitutional delegation of legislative authority. In contrast, HR 9495 has been negotiated to include greater due process and an appeals process.
Internal Revenue Code Section 501(p), which HR 9495 seeks to build upon, already allows the IRS to suspend the tax-exempt status of organizations that support terrorist organizations, but the determination of “terrorist organizations” (including by virtue of supporting a terrorist organization) is made pursuant to other laws and not at the sole discretion of the Treasury Secretary. Notably, such determination may be made by Executive Order. For more information on 501(p) and HR 9495, see Comparison of Procedures in Current Section 501(p) and H.R. 6408 (Ellen P. Aprill, SSRN). Note that HR 6408 (further discussed below) is essentially the same bill as HR 9495.
...
Reading this did not make me feel better.
published on Feb 12, 2025
(I tried to find a similar title in the current legislative session on Congress.gov, but oddly (
) search is not working there today. So then turned to my friend the google.)
Excerpt :
In a post published on November 19, 2024, we described H.R. 9495, the Stop Terror-Financing and Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act that passed the U.S. House of Representatives mostly along party lines on November 21. HR 9495, labeled by some as the ‘Nonprofit Killer Bill’ because it would have provided the Treasury Secretary with the unilateral right to designate a nonprofit as a terrorist supporting organization and revoke its tax-exempt status, stalled in the Senate of the 118th Congress. But that’s not likely to be the end of HR 9495.
An identical bill could be reintroduced and refiled for consideration by the House and the Senate of the 119th Congress, each now represented by a Republican majority. This seems likely based on the deluge of executive orders and administrative memos and actions, particularly those opposing diversity, inclusion, and equity, that have inflicted serious harm to the nonprofit and charitable sectors and communities dependent on the work of nonprofits and nongovernmental organizations.
...
What existing powers does the executive branch possess to revoke tax-exempt status of organizations that support terrorist organizations?
The executive branch has existing powers to designate an organization as one that provides material support or resources (1) for the commission of certain designated offenses that might be committed by terrorists or (2) to certain designated terrorist organizations. See Terrorist Material Support: An Overview of 18 U.S.C. § 2339A and § 2339B (Congressional Research Service, Updated August 15, 2023). A defendant, charged with providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization may not challenge the designation. The courts have consistently held that a defendant’s inability to challenge the designation does not offend due process; nor does it constitute an unconstitutional delegation of legislative authority. In contrast, HR 9495 has been negotiated to include greater due process and an appeals process.
Internal Revenue Code Section 501(p), which HR 9495 seeks to build upon, already allows the IRS to suspend the tax-exempt status of organizations that support terrorist organizations, but the determination of “terrorist organizations” (including by virtue of supporting a terrorist organization) is made pursuant to other laws and not at the sole discretion of the Treasury Secretary. Notably, such determination may be made by Executive Order. For more information on 501(p) and HR 9495, see Comparison of Procedures in Current Section 501(p) and H.R. 6408 (Ellen P. Aprill, SSRN). Note that HR 6408 (further discussed below) is essentially the same bill as HR 9495.
...
Reading this did not make me feel better.
