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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more news

Charity Sues Yale University Press

May 11, 2007 by Amanda Adams*

KinderUSA, a Muslim-American charity has filed a lawsuit on April 26 against Yale University Press over a book, Hamas: Politics, Charity, and Terrorism in the Service of Jihad, which accuses it as being a front for terrorist groups like Hamas. The book was written by Matthew Levitt, who directs a program on intelligence, terror, and policy at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, and both are named as co-defendants in the lawsuit.

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House Bill Seeks Accountability for Anti-Terrorist Financing Programs

Legislation was recently introduced in the House that would require the Departments of State and Treasury to adopt recommendations of an October 2005 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report, which addressed the effectiveness of the U.S. government's efforts to assist other countries in the war on terrorism. Among other things, the bill would require the Treasury Department to submit in an annual report to Congress more complete information on how the agency tracks and blocks terrorist assets.

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District Court Reverses Earlier Decision on "Terror" Designations

Apr 27, 2007 by Amanda Adams*

U.S. District Judge Audrey Collins of the Central District of California issued an opinion reversing an earlier ruling from November 2006 that portions of the Executive Order used to designate organizations as supporters of terrorism are unconstitutionally vague. Judge Collins left open the possibility that groups or individuals with ties to the designated groups could challenge the designations separately.

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New DOD Official Recommends Cancellation of Program That Spied on Peace Groups

Apr 27, 2007 by Kay Guinane

On April 25 the Washington Post and Associated Press reported that the Pentagon's new undersecretary of defense for intelligence, James R. Clapper, has made an intelligent recommedation: shut down the TALON program. It was meant to collect information on possible threats to U.S. military installations, but has been used to spy on peace groups and anti-military protesters. The Post article said:

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Treasury Posts Risk Matrix for Charities

In March, without public announcement or comment, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) published a Risk Matrix for the Charitable Sector on its website. The Introduction of the publication says the matrix is meant to help charities comply with U.S. sanctions programs that prohibit transactions with designated terrorists or certain countries. In 2006, Treasury said it was working on a draft of the matrix, and in June 2006, a group of nonprofits wrote Treasury asking for a public comment period. Treasury did not respond.

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Alternative Policy Proposals

Best Practice Guidelines for Non-Profits U.S. Treasury Guidelines Working Group of Charitable Sector Organizations and Advisors, Principles of International Charity," March 2005

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Government Policy Decisions and Proposals

Best Practice Guidelines for Non-Profits U.S. Department of the Treasury: "U.S. Department of the Treasury Anti-Terrorist Financing Guidelines: Voluntary Best Practices for US-Based Charities," updated 29 September 2006 European Commission: "Draft Recommendations to Member States Regarding a Code of Conduct for Non-Profit Organisations to Promote Transparency and Accountability Best Practices," 29 November 2005 Financial Action Task Force: "Combating the Abuse of Non-Profit Organisations: International Best Practices," 11 October 2002

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Treasury Posts Risk Matrix for Charities, Meant to Help Avoid Financing Terrorism

Apr 10, 2007 by Kay Guinane

In May 2006 a Treasury Department official told the American Bar Association's Exempt Organizations Committee that it was developing a "risk matrix" for charities to help determine the threat of diversion of charitable funds to terrorist organizations. In response, a group of nonprofits, including OMB Watch, called on Treasury to seek public comment on the risk matrix.

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General International Info

Council on Foundations and European Foundation Centre Principles of Accountability for International Philanthropy April 2007 Abstract: Humanitarianism and the Muslim World

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NGO Analysis of Counterterrorism Policy Developments

Fact Sheets The Global Nonprofit Information Network (GNIN) released seven fact sheets that concisely document how the war on terror hampers charitable activities. Top Ten Concerns: The Impact of Counterterrorism Measures on the NGO Sector in the United States Overview of Counterterrorism Policies and Effects "Collateral Damage: How the War on Terror Hurts Charities, Foundations, and the People They Serve," OMB Watch and Grantmakers Without Borders, July 2008 "Safeguarding Charity in the War on Terror," OMB Watch, October 2005 (US)

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