Nonprofit Organizations and Counterterrorism Measures

Feb 8, 2016

Top 400 Taxpayers See Tax Rates Rise, But There’s More to the Story

As Americans were gathering party supplies to greet the New Year, the Internal Revenue Service released their annual report of cumulative tax data reported on the 400 tax r...

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Feb 4, 2016

Chlorine Bleach Plants Needlessly Endanger 63 Million Americans

Chlorine bleach plants across the U.S. put millions of Americans in danger of a chlorine gas release, a substance so toxic it has been used as a chemical weapon. Greenpeace’s new repo...

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Jan 25, 2016

U.S. Industrial Facilities Reported Fewer Toxic Releases in 2014

The Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) data for 2014 is now available. The good news: total toxic releases by reporting facilities decreased by nearly six percent from 2013 levels. Howe...

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Jan 22, 2016

Methane Causes Climate Change. Here's How the President Plans to Cut Emissions by 40-45 Percent.

UPDATE (Jan. 22, 2016): Today, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released its proposed rule to reduce methane emissions...

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Legislation Introduced Conditioning U.N. funding on Dissociating itself from NGOs Tied to Terrorism

Aug 9, 2007 by Amanda Adams*

Shortly before Congress left for their August recess, Rep. Zack Wamp (R-TN) introduced HR 3348, the United Nations Economic and Social Council Accountability Act of 2007. The bill calls on the Secretary of State to withhold funds from the UN unless it removes consultative status for all charitable organizations with any terrorist connections. While it directs the UN to investigate such organizations, it seems to conclude that the designation of an organization by the US or the UN is irrefutable.

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House Hearing on Nonprofits Sees the Positive

The House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Oversight, led by Chairman John Lewis (D-GA), held a hearing July 24 on tax-exempt charitable organizations. Lewis praised charities and foundations, acknowledging they "make up the very fabric of our communities. They know the deepest human needs of our friends and neighbors and they know the solutions that work." Other members spoke positively about the work of nonprofits, referencing successful groups in their districts. The opening remarks of Rep.

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FBI Raids Two U.S. Muslim Charities on Eve of Holy Land Trial

On July 24, the Goodwill Charitable Organization (GCO) of Dearborn, MI, was added to the Department of Treasury's Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list for alleged ties to Hezbollah. As a result, the group's assets have been frozen and U.S. citizens are barred from conducting any transactions with the organization. The office of Al-Mabarrat Charitable Organization was also searched and files removed, but the organization was not designated as a supporter of terrorism and continues to operate.

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Exemptions from Anti-Terror Laws

Aug 2, 2007 by Amanda Adams*

We have followed the Chiquita Brands International case and its intentional funding of Colombian terrorist organizations because of the apparent double standard that is applied to for profit companies compared to charities. More news has now surfaced which unfortunately details that the U.S. Justice Department knew of the company's payments. In April 2003 a board member of Chiquita disclosed to Michael Chertoff, then assistant attorney general and now secretary of homeland security, about the company's payments and clear violation of anti-terrorism laws.

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Representative Pascrell: Charities Seem to Be "Painted With Wide Brush"

Jul 27, 2007 by Amanda Adams*

Reflecting once again on the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Oversight hearing on tax-exempt organizations, a note of thanks should go out to the Council on Foundations and Representative Bill Pascrell (D-NJ) for addressing an area of great concern. During opening statements, Pascrell commented on Treasury's assertion that charities are a "significant source of terrorist funding," observing that Treasury seems to be "painting the sector with a wide brush." Steve Gunderson, the President and CEO of the Council on Foundations testified at the hearing.

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New Executive Order on Iraq Expands Problems for Charities

President Bush issued an executive order on July 16 that expands the government's authority to block the U.S.-based financial assets of individuals or groups in Iraq beyond those it designates as supporters of terrorism, to include those who act, or assist those who act, against peace and stability in Iraq. The order, titled Blocking Property of Certain Persons Who Threaten Stabilization Efforts in Iraq, directs the U.S.

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Trial Testing Humanitarian Aid Standards Begins

The jury has been sworn in for the criminal trial of the Holy Land Foundation (HLF) and five of its leaders, who are charged with indirectly aiding Hamas by providing charitable aid to grassroots organizations in the West Bank and Gaza. The case is focusing public attention on two issues important to the charitable sector. First, some of the secret evidence used to shut down HLF and freeze its assets in 2001 will come to light, and its reliability and veracity will be challenged.

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More Hypocrisy in Chiquita Terror Funding Case

Jul 20, 2007 by Kay Guinane

Four months ago Chiquita admitted it paid terrorist groups $1.7 million in protection money over six years to protect its banana-growing operation in dangerous areas of Columbia. And now, EarthRights International, a human rights group, has filed a lawsuit on behalf of at least six alleged victims seeking unspecified monetary damages for the families. An EarthRights spokesman said that if the case is granted class-action status, several thousand relatives could be represented.

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Trial Begins in Holy Land Foundation Case

Jul 18, 2007 by Amanda Adams*

The New York Times warns readers of the possible implications of the trial that has begun involving the largest Muslim charity in the country. The Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development (HLF) case has been going on for many years and is extremely complex. In 2001 President Bush announced that HLF was being closed, accusing the charity of funding Hamas. The charity's designation has been challenged, along with the secret evidence used in the case, and many years worth of wiretaps.

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Grantmakers Without Borders Challenges Treasury's Senate Testimony

On June 20, Grantmakers Without Borders (Gw/oB), a philanthropic network of 130 organizations, sent a letter to the leaders of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee objecting to the Department of the Treasury's portrayal of the agency's relationship with the charitable sector as an alliance on counter terrorism issues. The letter states, "Ironically, Treasury's anti-terrorism policies often chill the valuable work of international grantmakers, including Gw/oB's member organizations.

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