Nonprofit Speech Rights

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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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FEC Republican Commissioners Defend Themselves

Jun 23, 2009 by Amanda Adams*

The Federal Election Commission (FEC) has released more information on cases that have been dismissed against 527 organizations. The groups were accused of violating federal campaign laws by acting as political committees. FEC Republican commissioners have issued a very interesting Statement of Reasons in a case involving the Economic Freedom Fund (EFF) from the 2006 election. The statement addresses two mailers that the FEC Office of General Counsel (OGC) identified as containing express advocacy.

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Lobbying Guidance Now Clarified

Jun 17, 2009 by Amanda Adams*

After new guidance was issued regarding when the Lobbying Disclosure Act (LDA) allows individuals to terminate their registrations, many recognized that a new loophole may have been created to avoid lobbying restrictions imposed by the Obama administration. Questions led to a review of last week's new guidance and now, the guidance has been clarified.

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FEC Dismisses Case Against Ad with Pelosi

Jun 16, 2009 by Amanda Adams*

The Federal Election Commission (FEC) dismissed a complaint against Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) that was filed because of her appearance in an ad prior to the June 2008 primary election. Pelosi appeared with former Speaker Newt Gingrich during the 2008 campaign to highlight the issue of climate change.

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Questions about LDA Guidance Remain

New congressional guidance on lobbyist reporting and registration termination under the Lobbying Disclosure Act (LDA) has sparked concerns over accuracy and potential conflicts with current law. The guidance addresses filing requirements for lobbyists, as well as criteria for deregistering as a lobbyist, particularly important given President Barack Obama's hiring rules that place restrictions on those who have lobbied in the past two years. The deregistration rules may create enormous loopholes that could result in non-reporting of lobbyist activities.

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Grassley Seeks Disclosure of Ethics Waivers

Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA) is determined to make public every ethics waiver issued to former lobbyists who now work in the Obama administration. A Jan. 21 executive order put in place restrictions on lobbyists who work for the federal government. The order included a waiver process, allowing exemptions if the "application of the restriction is inconsistent with the purposes of the restriction" or if it is in the "public interest." Grassley is prodding the administration to disclose all waivers granted under the policy. Grassley has also requested information on every letter of recusal that waived employees have on file.

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ABA Also Recommends Guidance on Political Activity for Tax-Exempt Groups

Jun 15, 2009 by Amanda Adams*

The American Bar Association (ABA) Section of Taxation submitted recommendations for inclusion in the 2009-2010 Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) guidance priority list. Their recommendations included multiple items for nonprofit organizations.

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Senate Rules Committee Approves FEC Nominee

Jun 15, 2009 by Amanda Adams*

On June 11 the Senate Rules and Administration Committee approved President Obama's nomination of John Sullivan for a Democratic seat of the Federal Election Commission (FEC). Sullivan's nomination now goes to the Senate floor for a confirmation vote. Sullivan has been a lawyer at the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) since 1997.

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AU Asks IRS to Investigate Virginia Church

Jun 9, 2009 by Lateefah Williams*

Americans United for Separation of Church and State (AU) asked the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to investigate Fifth Street Baptist Church in Richmond, Virginia for engaging in prohibited electioneering. The tax code prohibits certain organizations, including charities and churches, from intervening in any political campaign on behalf of, or in opposition to, any candidate for public office.

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Groups Call on Senators to Support S.482

Jun 9, 2009 by Amanda Adams*

OMB Watch signed on to a letter sent to every Senator asking them to support S. 482, the Senate Campaign Disclosure Parity Act and oppose any amendment to the bill. S482 would require Senate candidates and committees to file their campaign finance reports electronically, as House candidates, presidential candidates and other political committees already do.

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Strategic Giving

Jun 8, 2009 by Amanda Adams*

USA Today reports that regardless of the gift ban under the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act (HLOGA), signed into law in 2007, lobbyists continue to spend a vast amount of money to honor members of Congress or donate to nonprofits connected to them. The law requires lobbyists and entities that employ lobbyists to report payments to events or groups associated with legislators or top federal officials.

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Resources & Research

Living in the Shadow of Danger: Poverty, Race, and Unequal Chemical Facility Hazards

People of color and people living in poverty, especially poor children of color, are significantly more likely...

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A Tale of Two Retirements: One for CEOs and One for the Rest of Us

The 100 largest CEO retirement funds are worth a combined $4.9 billion, equal to the entire retirement account savings of 41 percent of American fam...

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Blowing Smoke: Chemical Companies Say “Trust Us,” But Environmental and Workplace Safety Violations Belie Their Rhetoric

Large chemical companies a...

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Gasping for Support: Implementation of Tougher Air Quality Standards Will Require New Funds for State Agencies

New scientific research shows that the current levels of...

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