Nonprofit Speech Rights

New Posts

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...

read in full
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...

read in full
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...

read in full
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...

read in full
more news

IRS Requests for Comments on Exempt Organizations Filing Requirements

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is seeking comments on an existing final regulation, Public Inspection of Exempt Organization Returns. The Internal Revenue Code section 6104(b) authorizes the IRS to make available to the public the returns required to be filed by exempt organizations. As part of the Department of Treasury’s continuing effort to reduce the paperwork and respondent burden it is inviting the general public to take this opportunity to comment. The comments submitted will be included in the request for the Office of Management and Budget’s approval.

read in full

Tougher Restriction on Funds Limits Equal Access to Civil Justice

Efforts to provide legal assistance to members of low-income communities are hampered by federal restrictions on funds according to reports by The Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP).

read in full

New Studies Examine Faith-Based Initiative

Since his inauguration, President Bush has touted and encouraged his Faith-Based and Community Initiative as one of the best ways to help our country’s most vulnerable citizens. However, new studies released October on the initiative find that states and local governments are not rapidly incorporating these new provisions, and services provided by faith-based organizations may not be any more effective than that of secular social service providers.

read in full

Senate Judiciary Committee Holds Hearing on PATRIOT Act

On Nov. 18 the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing, "America after 9/11: Freedom Preserved or Freedom Lost?” that focused on the PATRIOT Act and other post 9/11 policy impacts on civil liberties.

read in full

CARE Act Update

Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA), a co-sponsor of the CARE Act, told BNA last week about an effort to resolve one major difference between the House and Senate versions of the bill- offsets to make up for lost revenue from expanded tax deductions for charities.

read in full

FEC Begins Implementing Ban on Electioneering Communications

Nonprofits that are not exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the tax code will have to comply with new restrictions on using names of federal candidates in paid advertising. The Federal Election Commission (FEC) recently published a schedule of state-by-state dates for implementation for presidential and congressional primary and general elections.

read in full

House Committee Seeks Info on Election Activities of Nonprofits

The House Administration Committee scheduled a Nov. 11 hearing to investigate the ways in which political action committees (PACs) are using soft money after passage of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (BCRA). Chair Bob Ney (R-OH) issued a news release saying, “In recent months, many of us in the Congress have watched with increasing concern as organizations have been formed in the wake of BCRA with the apparent intent of using soft money to influence federal elections -- something which the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act purported to ban.”

read in full

Contrary to Bush's Belief: Faith-based Organizations are Not Better Social Service Providers

The first academic study comparing the effectiveness of faith-based and secular providers of social services was released this month. It showed in one area – job training – secular groups were more effective than faith-based groups. But the research notes that broad conclusions can not be reached yet.

read in full

HHS Proposes Survey of Head Start Salaries

On Nov. 13, the Dept. of Health and Human Services (HHS) published a request for comments in the Federal Register stating their intention to survey all 2,700 Head Start grantees in the country about salaries and benefits of their employees. The survey is in response to a request from members of the House Education and Workforce Committee, which asked for a “review of the financial management of Head Start grantees nationwide.”

read in full

House Members Object to Conservation Measure in CARE Act

Another contentious issue has been added to the list of items that must be worked out before the CARE Act can go to conference committee. Last week 27 Republican House members signed a letter opposing a conservation tax incentive included in the Senate version of the bill.

read in full

Pages

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...

read in full

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...

read in full

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

Large chemical companies a...

read in full

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...

read in full
more resources
  • ©2025 Project On Government Oversight
  • All Rights Reserved.
  • This an archive site of the materials produced by the Center for Effective Government (formerly OMB Watch) and is maintained by the Project On Government Oversight.