Let America Speak! Information

The main page for Let America Speak! information. [ NEWS | REPORTS & RESOURCES| BILL ANALYSIS | ARCHIVES] Let America Speak is a coalition of community and national organizations working to defend the HREF="/las/advl.html">advocacy rights of America's nonprofit community. This web site contains information and background about nonprofit advocacy and provides updates about legislative attacks and other threats to the advocacy rights of the nation's nonprofits. The Let America Speak Coalition is co-chaired by the Alliance for Justice, Independent Sector, and OMB Watch.

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OMB Watch letter to the IRS on Charities' Internet Use: Part 2

Part Two of a letter to the IRS from OMB Watch in regards to internet use and exempt organizations. Suggested Action Clarification of the tax law relating to nonprofit advocacy on the Internet can help clear up confusion and encourage continued development in the ways nonprofits can use Internet technology. However, such clarification should not restrict ongoing development by being overly specific or creating a layer of oversight that does not exist for other forms of communications. These objectives can best be met by the following actions:

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    An Open Letter to the Nonprofit Community

    A letter to the nonprofit community from OMB Watch and the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities expressing concerns about the proposed non-itemizer deduction in the Faith-Based charities bill.

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    Proposed Non-itemizer Deduction Raises Concerns

    The Lieberman/Santorum faith-based bill, the Charity Aid, Recovery, and Empowerment (CARE) Act (S. 1924), represents a positive compromise from the Bush charitable choice proposals. Yet one provision, dealing with charitable giving, raises some concern. The bill proposes to let taxpayers who do not itemize get a tax break for charitable contributions. While this sounds very good, in today's economy it may prove yet another straw that is breaking the back of spending on domestic programs.

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    House Passes Shays-Meehan Campaign Finance Bill 240-189

    A substitute bill sponsored by Reps. Shays and Meehan passed the House of Representatives at 2:40 a.m. this morning by a vote of 240- 189. 198 Democrats and 41 Republicans voted for the bill. During the debate the sponsors entered colloquy language into the record that clarifies the FEC's role in defining exceptions to issue advocacy restictions for broadcasts that are "wholly unrelated to an election." The FEC will need to act within 90 days of the effective date of the law. (The colloquy language is not yet on the GPO website, but the text is included at the end of this alert).

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    OMB Watch Letter to the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention

    A Letter from OMB Watch to the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention on Community Capacity Centers December 7, 2001 Terence S. Donahue, Acting Administrator Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention n United States Department of Justice 810 7th Street NW Washington, DC 20531 Re: Proposed Program Plan Comments Dear Mr. Donahue

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    Administration Pushes Regulatory Implementation Of Charitable Choice

    "It is not Congress, but these overly restrictive Agency rules that are repressive, restrictive... [They] unnecessarily and improperly limit the participation of faith-based organizations." This statement, taken from the August White House report on barriers faith-based and community organizations face in applying for federal grants, appeared to lay the groundwork for regulatory, rather than legislative, changes to achieve the "charitable choice" component of the President's faith-based agenda.

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    OMB Watch Letter to the Federal Election Commission on Internet Rules

    OMB Watch comments on proposed FEC rules that apply to about the activities of volunteers, how hyperlinks are treated and how organizational endorsements can be posted. December 3, 2001 Rosemary Smith, Assistant General Counsel Federal Election Commission 999 E Street NW Washington, DC 20463 Re: Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, Notice 2001-14 The Internet and Federal Elections: Candidate-Related Materials on Web Sites of Individual, Corporations and Labor Organizations Dear Ms. Smith,

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    Bush Urges Senate To Take Up Faith-Based Initiative

    President Bush sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-SD) and Minority Leader Trent Lott (R-MS) urging them to pass an "Armies of Compassion" bill before the end-of-the-year recess. The letter proposes a scaled-down version of H.R. 7, the controversial version of the faith-based initiative passed by the House earlier this year. (See OMB Watch position on H.R. 7). Bush is urging the Senate to consider three major components:

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      Congress Looks At Nonprofit Response To September 11

      The House Ways and Means Committee's Subcommittee on Oversight held a hearing November 8 to address issues relating to charitable fundraising and services for victims of the September 11 attacks in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania.

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