Protecting Nonprofit 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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Organization's Election-Related Activities Raise Questions

The American Issues Project (AIP) has aired an ad in several swing states questioning Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama's ties to a controversial professor. The group claims a single $2.9 million donation for the ad does not violate federal campaign finance laws, but many legal experts have questioned this logic and AIP's claimed status as an issue advocacy organization.

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Veterans Administration Again Reverses Itself to Allow Some Voter Registration Drives

Over the past several months, support has been growing to allow voter registration efforts at Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) facilities. In a reverse of policy, the VA will no longer ban voter registration drives for veterans living at federally operated nursing homes, shelters for the homeless, and rehabilitation centers across the country. A week after this change, the House passed the Veterans Voter Support Act to legislatively protect such activity and to ensure that the VA allow voter registration drives by nonpartisan groups. However, the VA told a Senate committee that it opposes the legislation in its current form.

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OMB Watch Signs On to Coalition Letter Opposing FBI Guidelines

Sep 18, 2008 by Amanda Adams*

The Justice Department argues that new rules for national security investigations will help protect Americans from a terror attack. The Los Angeles Times reports that these "changes would expand rules the department enacted after the Sept.

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FEC Holds Hearing on Bundling Rule

Sep 18, 2008 by Amanda Adams*

The Federal Election Commission (FEC) held a hearing on how to implement a new requirement that all federal candidates, parties and political committees report any registered lobbyists or lobbying entities who engage in bundling of campaign contributions. The Honest Leadership and Open Government Act required the FEC to create a rule for the disclosure of bundled lobbyist contributions worth $15,000 or more.

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House Passes VA Voter Registration Bill

Sep 18, 2008 by Lateefah Williams*

A bill passed the House yesterday that will ensure that non-partisan groups and election officials have the right to register voters at VA facilities. H.R. 6625, the Veterans Voting Support Act, passed by oral vote. According to an AlterNet article, "[i]t requires the Department of Veterans Affairs to accommodate non-partisan groups seeking to register veterans living at VA facilities, and also allows top state election officials to designate the VA as a voter registration agency like state motor vehicle departments."

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New Fact Sheets: Impact of the War on Terror on Charitable Activities

Sep 17, 2008 by Amanda Adams*

On September 15, the Global Nonprofit Information Network (GNIN) issued a series of fact sheets that concisely document how the war on terror hampers charitable activities.
  • Counterterrorism & Charities At a Glance
  • U.S. Counterterrorism Laws Are Impacting Charities
  • U.S. Charities Are Not a Significant Source of Terrorist Funding
  • Charities Are Being Shut Down Through a Process That Is Secretive, Arbitrary, and Unfair
  • Treasury Department Enforcement Actions are Unclear and Unfair, and Penalties are Disproportionately Harsh

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DOJ Does Not Investigate Contributors to Independent Political Groups

Sep 17, 2008 by Amanda Adams*

Remember when the Department of Justice (DOJ) sent a letter to Democracy 21 President Wertheimer stating that DOJ would "vigorously pursue instances where individuals knowingly and intentionally violate clear commands" of the Federal Election Campaign Act.

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Oral Argument in NAM Lobbying Disclosure Case

Sep 16, 2008 by Amanda Adams*

On September 12, 2008, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral argument in National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) v. Taylor. NAM is challenging a provision (Section 207) in the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act (HLOGA) that requires a lobbying coalition to disclose members that fund and actively participate in the coalition's lobbying efforts. NAM's argues that the HLOGA provision violates the First Amendment and is unconstitutionally vague.

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Florida Law May Cause Thousands of Votes to Be Tossed Out

Sep 16, 2008 by Lateefah Williams*

Under Florida's "No-Match, No-Vote" law, individuals who have registered to vote and displayed valid ID at the polls may still have their votes invalidated. On September 8, Florida's Secretary of State decided to enforce the controversial law.

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Congress Advancing Legislation Despite VA Directive To Allow Voter Registrations

Sep 16, 2008 by Amanda Adams*

The Senate Rules and Administration Committee held a hearing on S.3308, the Veterans Voter Support Act. And the Committee on House Administration voted out of committee the companion bill, HR 6625.These events occurred a week after the Veterans Affairs Department (VA) reversed a ban on third party voter registration drives at its facilities. The legislation would allow nonpartisan voting registration on VA property.

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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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