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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more news

For Wed: Dreier Bill Restricting Former Member Access to Floor, Gym

Jan 31, 2006 by Guest Blogger

The House on Wednesday will vote on a measure that would revoke the floor and gymnasium privileges of former members who are registered lobbyists. The resolution (H Res 648), approved in the Rules Committee by voice vote Tuesday, would also bar from the gym the lobbyist-spouses of current and former members. House Rules Chairman David Dreier, R-Calif., called the measure “a first step toward our package of reforms” aimed at overhauling the way lobbyists and members do business. Dreier is expected to introduce a sweepingÂ lobbying overhaul bill as

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Treasury Guidelines Comment Period Over Feb. 1

Jan 31, 2006 by Guest Blogger

On February 1, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s public comment period on the revised set of voluntary anti-terrorism financing guidelines ends.Â title="http://www.treasury.gov/offices/enforcement/key-issues/protecting/charities-intro.shtml" href="http://www.treasury.gov/offices/enforcement/key-issues/protecting/charities-intro.shtml">Click here to submit comments directly to the Treasury Department On December 5, 2005, the Treasury Department issued a revised set of voluntary anti-terrorism financing guidelines to assist charitable

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Shelby Says Expect a Vote on GSE Bill Later In the Session

Jan 31, 2006 by Guest Blogger

From CQ: On legislation overhauling regulation of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the mortgage finance giants, Shelby voiced optimism that the bill (S 190) that his panel approved on a party-line vote last July would receive a Senate floor vote this year. “Later in the session we will be in a position to pass the bill,” Shelby said.

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Great Article on the "Money Habit" of Congress

Jan 29, 2006 by Guest Blogger

On Wednesday, the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs held a hearing on current lobby reform proposals. Dana Milbanks from the Washington Post provided some interesting commentary. The senators yesterday sounded like addicts, powerless to overcome their reliance on lobbyist cash. "It's out of control," lamented Sen. George V. Voinovich (R-Ohio), a recipient of $573,000 from lobbyists and lawyers over five years, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. "We all hate it. And it's about time we collectively think about how we can get off the treadmill."

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Dreier Moves To Ban Former Members From Floor, Gym

Jan 29, 2006 by Guest Blogger

The House this week will kick off the second session of the 109th Congress by kicking lobbyists out of an inner sanctum: the members’ gym. Rep. David Dreier (R-CA)the chairman of the House Rules Committee, said he will introduce a resolution on Tuesday that would bar former members who were registered lobbyists from the House floor and House gymnasium. The full House would vote on the measure a day later. Past members already are banned from the chamber if a bill they are lobbying is pending before the full House or any committee. Former members who are registered lobbyists would be allowed to enter the chamber only on ceremonial occasions, such as Former Member Day.

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Lobby Reform Resource

Jan 29, 2006 by Guest Blogger

At his website, More Soft Money, Hard Law, Bob Bauer has created a one stop shop for all things lobby reform. Check it out!

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Scrappy Idealists Take on Congress

Jan 29, 2006 by Guest Blogger

Although this is mostly an article about earmarks and "pork", it is an interesting article into the world of the watchdogs.

From the Washington Post: These are dark days for earmarks.

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Hill Briefing

Alliance for Justice, Center for Lobbying in the Public Interest, National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy, National Council of Nonprofit Associations and OMB Watch, Present Nonprofit Advocacy Rights: What Are They? How Are They Under Attack? Wednesday, January 25, 2006 The following nonprofit leaders discussed the lobbying and election activity rules for nonprofits and past attempts to restrict these advocacy rights through federal legislation.

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Amid Reform Frenzy, Senate Democrats Introduce Lobby Reform Bill

Since the guilty plea by lobbyist Jack Abramoff, Congress has been hurriedly preparing lobby and ethics reform legislation. Republicans announced their ideas at a Jan. 17 press conference that seemed mostly designed to pre-empt the unveiling of Democrats plan on Jan. 18. The Senate Democrats followed their press event with the introduction of a comprehensive bill authored by Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV). In our view, the Reid bill is a solid beginning, but falls short of adequately addressing the culture of corruption that surrounds Washington politics today. To follow is an analysis of the Reid bill and its impact on lobbying generally and nonprofit lobbying specifically.

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High Court Opens Door to Campaign Finance Rule Challenge

Less than a week after oral arguments were held the Supreme Court ruled on Jan. 23 that the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002's (BCRA) ban on "electioneering communications" can be challenged on a case-by-case basis. The ruling opens the door for the Wisconsin Right to Life Committee (WRTL) to pursue its claim that BCRA is unconstitutional as applied to its grassroots lobbying communications. The unanimous opinion in Wisconsin Right to Life Committee v.

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