Terror Prevention and Nonprofits: CFC Policy Raises Concerns about Chilling Impact

The Director of the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) announced July 31 that participating organizations have an affirmative obligation to check government terror watch lists in order to comply with a certification they are required to sign that they do not support terrorism. The statement prompted the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) to withdraw from the fund. In a letter to the CFC, ACLU Executive Director Anthony Romero said, "that requirement is not clear from your certification and I am sure that most if not all of the 2,000 participating charities have a different practice and understanding of the CFC requirements." OMB Watch released a statement on August 6 calling on CFC to withdraw the certification requirement. The certification states that the group "does not knowingly employ individuals or contribute funds to organizations found on the following terrorist related lists promulgated by the U.S. Government, the United Nations, or the European Union." It names three specific lists (see below) and requires the group to notify CFC of any change within 15 days. The ACLU letter noted that the government's terror watch lists are "notoriously riddled with error and do not provide individuals with a means to correct false information." In April they sued to block use of "no-fly" lists on constitutional grounds, citing the experience of one of their staff attorneys, who is of Middle Eastern descent, and whose name mistakenly appeared on the list. In February the Washington Times reported that a master terror watch list had been created by the government in December to be used by the Transportation Safety Agency as a "no-fly" list. Michael McMahon, a federal employee whose name matched one on the list, was detained for 45 minutes at Dulles International Airport and questioned about alleged ties to the Irish Republican Army. A Washington Times search found more than 20 people with the same name in Virginia and Maryland. Mara Patermaster, the CFC Director told the New York Times that, "We expect that the charities will take affirmative action to make sure they are not supporting terrorist activities," assuming appearance of an employee's name on one of the lists means charitable resources are being diverted to terrorism, a highly questionnable assumption. The negative impact of the new policy is likely to extend beyond the 2,000 charities participating the CFC. Other funders, such as United Way, often require nonprofits to meet CFC requirements. For example, the application for the District of Columbia United Way requires nonprofits to sign the same certification. Summary of Combined Federal Campaign Regulations 5 CFR Part 950- Solicitation of Federal Civilian and Uniformed Service Personnel for Contributions to Private Voluntary Organizations The regulations define the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) program and establish a structure to carry it out. Definitions, a conflict of interest policy and prohibition on discrimination are found in Subpart A. It notes that the CFC is "the only authorized solicitation of employees in the Federal workplace on behalf of charitable organizations." It runs a six-week campaign between September 1 and December 15 each year, with eligible organizations seeking to have donations designated for them. CFC is part of the Office of Personnel Management.. The regulations authorize the CFC director to take all necessary steps to achieve campaign objectives and to hear all disputes. The director's decisions are final for administrative purposes. The director establishes Local Federal Coordinating Committees comprised of federal officials that is responsible for overseeing the local campaign, which is carried out by a Principal Combined Fund Organization, made up of charities, federations or a combination of the two. Federal employees designate charities from national or local lists to receive their contributions. Eligibility requirements for appearing on the list include a requirement that the group be a 501(c)(3) charity, conduct lobbying activities as defined under the expenditure test in Section 501(h) of the tax code and meet public accountability standards. Theses standards do not include any certification regarding checking terrorist watch lists. They do include certifications on fiscal accountability, such as an audit requirement, and limits on the proportion of administrative costs in a group's budget and a commitment that contributions will be used for the purposes described in the promotional information. The director may impose sanctions, up to permanent expulsion, on organizations for "violating any provisions, other applicable provisions of law, or any directive instruction from the director." In such a case the organization has ten days to submit a written statement on why the sanction should not be imposed. There is no further administrative appeal.
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