Protecting Nonprofit Rights

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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Abramoff Plea Brings New Lobby Reform Bills

With the recent plea bargain made by high-powered lobbyist Jack Abramoff, federal lobbying reform bills have gained momentum in Congress, with Democrats and Republicans vying to lead the pack and shake the "Abramoff taint" in time for re-election.

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More Government Spying on Nonprofits Revealed

New documents released to the press in December 2005 show federal agencies have been infiltrating and conducting surveillance on a wide range of nonprofits, in what appears to be a policy of treating lawful dissent as an act of terrorism. An NBC story revealed that the Pentagon has used a program meant to protect U.S. military installations, in order to spy on peace and other groups. In addition, FBI files released as part of a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) in December 2005 show investigations of groups concerned with everything from poverty relief to the environment.

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IRS Clears Florida Church of Partisan Activity Accusation

An IRS investigation of a Florida church has found there was no partisan political activity when candidates attended and appeared at services during the 2004 election season. In late Dec. 2005 the IRS told Guy Lewis, the attorney for Friendship Missionary Baptist Church, that the case would be closed and resolved favorably for the church.

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FEC: No Exceptions for Charities to Electioneering Communications Rule

On December 21, the Federal Election Commission (FEC) voted to drop exemptions for 501(c)(3) nonprofits to Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA) rules that restrict electioneering communications. The new rule eliminates exemptions for television, radio and cable advertisements that mention a federal candidate 30 days before a primary or 60 days before a general election paid for by charities and religious organizations, as well as "public service announcements," (PSAs) which are aired for free.

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House Democrats Put Forth Reform Package

Jan 6, 2006 by Adam Hughes*

House Democrats David Obey (D-WI), Barney Frank (D-MA), David Price (D-NC), and Tom Allen (D-ME) have produced a 14-point package to reform House rules. The package is cosponsored by 120 House Democrats, including Minority Leader Pelosi (D-CA) and Minority Whip Hoyer (D-MD).

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Abramoff Pleads Guilty

Jan 5, 2006 by Guest Blogger

Lobbyist Jack Abramoff has plead guilty to a three-count information charging him with conspiracy, aiding and abetting honest services mail fraud, and tax evasion. Find DOJ's statement here.

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Bush Names Three to FEC

Jan 5, 2006 by Guest Blogger

From Roll Call: President Bush took advantage of the Congressional recess to appoint a trio of commissioners to the Federal Election Commission today, a move that was expected but has several prominent campaign finance reformers crying foul. The newly appointed Republican commissioner is Hans von Spakovsky, a political appointee in the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, who was previously a Republican election appointee in Georgia. He fills the vacant GOP seat on the six-member commission that was held until last summer by Brad Smith, who has retired.

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IRS Clears Church in Electioneering Probe

Jan 4, 2006 by Guest Blogger

From the Miami Herald: A church in Miami visited by Democratic presidential nominee Sen. John Kerry during his campaign has been cleared of political activity that could have jeopardized its tax-exempt status. According to the lawyer for the Friendship Missionary Baptist Church, the Internal Revenue Service will be closing the investigation after finding that the church was not campaigning on behalf of Senator Kerry. The inquiry began after a Washington political watchdog group lodged a complaint against the church, calling the visit a “rally.” Read a Watcher article on the inquiry.

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Red Cross To Answer Grassley Questions

Jan 4, 2006 by Guest Blogger

From the Chronicle of Philathropy: The American Red Cross and its Board of Governors are under investigation by the Senate Finance Committee following the recent resignation of the charity's chief executive and the organization's handling of recent disasters, including Hurricane Katrina.

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New Files Show FBI Watched Activists

Dec 20, 2005 by Guest Blogger

Counterterrorism agents at the Federal Bureau of Investigation have conducted numerous surveillance and intelligence-gathering operations that involved, at least indirectly, groups active in causes as diverse as the environment, animal cruelty and poverty relief, newly disclosed agency records show. F.B.I. officials said Monday that their investigators had no interest in monitoring political or social activities and that any investigations that touched on advocacy groups were driven by evidence of criminal or violent activity at public protests and in other settings.

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