Letter to the Editor and Response Regarding Aug. 9 Article on New CFC Rules

To the Editor: During my last few years on active duty service, I watched the number of charities registered with CFC [the Combined Federal Campaign] grow dramatically. And many of them sounded dubious. Yet we were encouraged to donate, even at our meager wages. This applied to federal civil service employees as well. However, I fully support the new CFC rule that charities have to certify that they don't support terrorism or organizations that do. It's already been proven in the national media that many benign-sounding charities were actually funding groups that continue terrorism worldwide. This has been forced on Corporate CEOs and was the same policy forced on South Africa. The policy is not misguided, but long overdue. But the most specious and false comment made was trying to continue the myth of Sen. McCarthy's search for communists and traitors in federal government agencies as some kind of witch-hunt. Even in the late 20th Century, the truth had come out that McCarthy was absolutely right; even President Truman agreed with him, and started the fight from the Executive Office, as Rep. Nixon had done from the House. The declassification of the Venona Papers, and reviews of documents in the former Soviet Union archives proved there were Communist spies giving away top-secret data. I have alerted former active duty friends, as well as many military organizations about this new rule and your wrong-headed reaction to it. Additionally, I have passed it on to active duty personnel who can complain directly to elected officials and get some immediate results. Your position is egregious and anti-American. Kevin Dwyer Orlando Florida Retired Air Force NCO OMB Watch Response to CFC Letter Dear Mr. Dwyer, Thank you for sending your feedback on OMB Watch's position on the CFC's new requirement that participating organizations check employees' names against government terrorist watch lists. Your letter raises a few issues that need clarification and further explanation. There has been confusion in the press about what exactly CFC is asking nonprofits to do. The new rule is not a certification that a charity is opposed to terrorism and does not support it. If that were so we would not have the fight we are having. Charities strongly oppose terrorism and the good works of many international nonprofits help reduce the tensions and despair that make people susceptible to the appeals of terrorists. This rule has both practical and philosophical problems. Charities would have to check, using their own limited staff time and revenue, multiple lists that are often full of errors, inconsistent, and out of date. The lists also do not have enough information to verify whether an employee whose name matches one on a list is in fact the same person. For example, Sen. Edward Kennedy has repeatedly been stopped from boarding airplanes because the name Edward Kennedy appears on the list, referring to someone else. Even if the practical problems were resolved, there is still a philosophical problem with requiring charities to do the work of government investigators. It is not an appropriate role for us, and could lead to serious harm to innocent people, as has already happened to thousands. We are aware of no evidence showing that list checking by charities makes our country any safer. However, we respect your right to disagree with us. Discussion over disagreements, aimed at reasonable resolution of issues, and exercising our freedom of expression, are fundamental to democracy and patriotism. It is not "anti-American" as your letter states. Yours truly, Kay Guinane See Aug. 9 Article.
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