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...

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

How Will the FEC Respond to WRTL Ruling

Jun 27, 2007 by Amanda Adams*

Roll Call ($$) offers insights as to what the Federal Election Commission (FEC) may now do after the Supreme Court ruling in the WRTL case. An option for the FEC would be an emergency rulemaking process which circumvents the public comment period, but would inevitably bring criticism. The more probable scenario would be for the FEC to do nothing and continue to address possible issue ad violations on a case-by-case basis, as the agency does with complaints made on 527 groups.

read in full

WRTL Ruling Doesn't Only Affect Corporations and Unions

Jun 27, 2007 by Amanda Adams*

The Washington Post accurately describes how many people spent their day yesterday. "The political world scrambled yesterday to reckon with the Supreme Court's loosening of limits on 'soft money' expenditures and its implications for the 2008 campaign season: a potential surge in television advertisements paid for by unions and corporations that in recent years had fewer outlets for their cash."

read in full

Fate of Lobbying and Ethics Bill Uncertain

Jun 26, 2007 by Amanda Adams*

CQ ($$) reports that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, (R-KY) has blocked the appointment of Senate conferees on the lobbying and ethics bill. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) tried to name conferees Tuesday afternoon, but Republicans objected at McConnell's request, saying they would only allow action if promised a vote on a bill to require electronic filing of campaign finance reports (S. 223).

read in full

Means-Tested Exemption from Lobbying Ban?

Jun 26, 2007 by Dana Chasin

True or False: Whether the laws of the United States governing the cooling-off period (currently one year) restrictions for former Congressional staffers to lobby their erstwhile offices apply depends upon the salary of these staffers. Answer: True (per Public Law 101-194). Now -- and no cheating -- staffers are exempt from these revolving door restrictions if they:

A. Were at no point one of the top-two paid staffers in a Congressional office
B. Received a total of $200,000 or more during their tenure as Congressional staffers

read in full

Means-Tested Exemption from Lobbying Ban?

Jun 26, 2007 by Dana Chasin

True or False: Whether the laws of the United States governing the cooling-off period (currently one year) restrictions for former Congressional staffers to lobby their erstwhile offices apply depends upon the salary of these staffers. Answer: True (per Public Law 101-194). Now -- and no cheating -- staffers are exempt from these revolving door restrictions if they:

A. Were at no point one of the top-two paid staffers in a Congressional office
B. Received a total of $200,000 or more during their tenure as Congressional staffers

read in full

Supreme Court Upholds Right to Run Genuine Issue Ads during Elections

On June 25, the U.S. Supreme Court announced its decision in Federal Election Commission vs. Wisconsin Right to Life, Inc., ruling 5-4 that the federal electioneering communications ban is unconstitutional when applied to genuine issue ads. The case challenged a provision in the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (BCRA) that bars corporations, including nonprofits, from paying for broadcasts that mention federal candidates 60 days before a general election or 30 days before a primary (known as the blackout period). Though the Court ruled in favor of groups that run issue ads during elections, the debate will likely continue throughout the upcoming presidential election and beyond.

read in full

IRS Seeks Comments on Proposed Revisions to Annual Filing by Nonprofits

For the first time since 1979, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has proposed major revisions to Form 990, the annual information return filed by tax-exempt organizations. The draft form, supplementary schedules and instructions are available on the IRS website. The changes include a new Schedule C for all 501(c) organizations to report information on lobbying efforts and activities that support or oppose candidates for public office. Public comments can be filed electronically or mailed to the IRS by Sept. 14.

read in full

Supreme Court Blocks Case Against Faith-Based Initiatives

Jun 25, 2007 by Amanda Adams*

Also in a 5-4 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court today blocked a lawsuit by the group Hein v. Freedom From Religion Foundation Inc., because average citizens do not have the legal right to challenge President Bush's program on federal aid to faith-based organizations. Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. wrote the majority opinion in the case. The lawsuit was filed in 2004 claiming that the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives unfairly used taxpayer money to give an advantage to religious groups seeking federal funding, supporting religious groups over secular ones.

read in full

WRTL Victory for Grassroots Lobbying Broadcasts

Jun 25, 2007 by Amanda Adams*

The commentary on the WRTL decision will continue throughout the black out period (30 and 60 day pre-election period) as today's ruling is seen in action. Initial responses have begun, and here at OMB Watch, we are pleased with the safeguard in place for grassroots lobbying communications. However, others are concerned that today's opinion "will likely lead to a new proliferation of corporate and union funded campaign ads in the 2008 election season."

read in full

Grantmakers Without Borders Challenges Treasury's Senate Testimony

On June 20, Grantmakers Without Borders (Gw/oB), a philanthropic network of 130 organizations, sent a letter to the leaders of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee objecting to the Department of the Treasury's portrayal of the agency's relationship with the charitable sector as an alliance on counter terrorism issues. The letter states, "Ironically, Treasury's anti-terrorism policies often chill the valuable work of international grantmakers, including Gw/oB's member organizations.

read in full