Building Nonprofit Advocacy Capacity

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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Listen Live Now!

Apr 5, 2005 by Guest Blogger

Listen live to Senate Finance Hearing NOW! SENATE FINANCE COMMITTEE Charitable Giving Reform Full committee hearing on "Charities and Charitable Giving: Proposals for Reform." Witnesses: IRS Commissioner Mark Everson; George Yin, chief of staff, Congressional Joint Committee on Taxation; Leon Panetta, director, Panetta Institute for Public Policy; Jane Gravelle, senior specialist in economic policy, Congressional Research Service; Richard Johnson, member, Waller Lansden Dortch and Davis, PLLC, Nashville, Tenn.; Mike Hatch, Minnesota attorney general,

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NCRP Offers Critique of IS' Recommendations

Apr 4, 2005 by Guest Blogger

The nation's only philanthropic watchdog, the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy (NCRP), today issued a critique of proposals on charitable accountability that are being considered by the Senate Finance Committee on April 5th. "Despite having raised more than $3 million to support their work, a panel of nonprofit leaders has generated paltry and picayune accountability recommendations that will accomplish little or nothing to cure the accountability problems facing the nonprofit sector", observed Rick Cohen, NCRP's Executive Director. Check out the critique.

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Doggett Introduces Lobby Disclosure Bills

On March 13, Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-TX) introduced two versions of his "Stealth Lobbyist Disclosure Act of 2005" (H.R. 1302), a proposed amendment of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (LDA), and H.R. 1304, which modifies the Internal Revenue Code to treat lobbying coalitions as political organizations under Section 527 of the tax code and require more disclosure of their lobbying activities. H.R. 1302

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Santorum Amendment Encourages Relief for Charitable Giving

On March 1, Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) introduced an amendment to the 2006 Senate Budget Resolution. The amendment, a "Sense of the Senate" about charitable giving, notes the bipartisan popularity of the 2003 Charity Aid, Relief and Empowerment Act (CARE Act). The amendment passed by unanimous consent.

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More Details on Sen. Finance Accountability Hearing

Mar 30, 2005 by Guest Blogger

Senate Finance Committee To Hold Hearing On Charities On Tuesday, April 5, 2005 On Tuesday, April 5, 2005 at 10:00 am EST, the Senate Finance Committee will hold a hearing titled, “Charities and Charitable Giving: Proposals for Reform.” The hearing will take place in Room 628 Dirksen Senate Office Building. The following witnesses are scheduled to testify: The Honorable Mark Everson, Commissioner, Internal Revenue Service George K. Yin, Chief of Staff, Joint Committee on Taxation Leon Panetta, Director, Panetta Institute for Public Policy

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As States Tighten Belts, Will Have Impact on Charities

Mar 28, 2005 by Guest Blogger

The Chronicle of Philanthropy has a great article about the tightening of budgets in states across the nation and the impact this is going to have on charities. As states draft their budgets for the 2006 fiscal year, the battles taking shape have a distinctly different tenor from those in the last several years, when deficits forced many state legislatures to make deep cuts in or eliminate programs that subsidize charities and the people they serve. Get the full scoop...(subcription required)

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Sense of Senate RE: CARE Act passed by UC

Mar 23, 2005 by Guest Blogger

This was passed last week by Unanimous Consent in the Senate. SA 163. Mr. SANTORUM submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by him to the concurrent resolution S. Con. Res. 18, setting forth the congressional budget for the United States Government for fiscal year 2006 and including the appropriate budgetary levels for fiscal years 2005 and 2007 through 2010; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows: At the end of title V, insert the following: SEC. __. SENSE OF THE SENATE REGARDING TAX RELIEF TO ENCOURAGE CHARITABLE GIVING. (a) Findings.--The Senate finds that--

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IS' Nonprofit Panel to Hold Field Mtg in San Diego

Mar 23, 2005 by Guest Blogger

On Sunday, April 10, 2005 at 4:00 pm PST, the Panel on the Nonprofit Sector will hold a Field Meeting at the Council's 56th Annual Conference in San Diego, California. One of a dozen such meetings being held across the country, the San Diego Field Meeting will allow members of the Panel to hear comments and suggestions from the nonprofit community. The meeting is open to conference attendees and the general public.

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Bush Budget Fails to Support Non-itemizer Deduction

The Bush Administration has indicated that it will no longer push for passage of the non-itemizer deduction, even as a new study shows the provision would increase charitable giving. However, the non-itemizer provision remains a centerpiece of legislation introduced by Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) and a priority for Republican leadership.

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