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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How Nonprofits Helped America Vote: 2008

How Nonprofits Helped America Vote: 2008 showcases specific examples to illustrate how nonprofit organizations stepped to the plate to help voters and communities. The report describes nonprofit efforts to make the election process seamless from state to state and to promote fair environments for constituents to vote in the 2008 election.

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Nonprofits and Obama's Lobbying Rules

On Jan. 21, President Barack Obama issued an executive order to stop the influence special interests have had in government and to close the revolving door between government service and financial rewards in the private sector. One aspect of the Obama order puts limits on lobbyists serving in government. These limits appear to be having unintended consequences for employees of nonprofit organizations, specifically those registered as lobbyists and working in the public interest.

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Court Decision Will Have Impacts on Voting Districts

On March 9, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision in Bartlett v. Strickland that will impact voting districts nationwide. In Bartlett, the Court held in a 5-4 plurality decision that Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 does not require state officials to draw election lines to create a crossover district when racial minorities comprise less than 50 percent of the district's voting-age population.

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Surprise, the FEC and IRS Will not Investigate Complaint

Mar 19, 2009 by Amanda Adams*

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Federal Election Commission (FEC) decided against going forward with an investigation into Americans for Job Security (AJS), a 501(c)(6) organization. According to BNA Money and Politics ($$), "AJS has spent about $40 million since its founding a decade ago, nearly all of it for political advertising that favors Republican congressional candidates and attacks Democrats.

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Editorials on the Senate Campaign Disclosure Parity Act

Mar 17, 2009 by Amanda Adams*

Editorials have appeared in newspapers around the country calling on the Senate to pass the Senate Campaign Disclosure Parity Act.

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Appeals Court Says Charity's Challenge to Warrantless Wiretapping Can Proceed

The only remaining case challenging warrantless wiretapping during the Bush administration, Al-Haramain v. Bush, has survived another attempt by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to have it dismissed because it claims key evidence cannot be used without threatening national security. On Feb. 27, 2009 the U.S. Court of the Appeals for the Ninth Circuit rejected DOJ's request to stay a Jan.

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Cohen Nominated as Assistant Treasury Secretary of Terrorist Financing

Mar 16, 2009 by Suraj Sazawal

Nominated for Assistant Treasury Secretary of terrorist financing, David S. Cohen is experienced in complex civil litigation, white collar criminal defense, internal investigations and anti-money laundering counseling. Cohen served concurrently as Acting Deputy General Counsel and Associate Deputy General Counsel of the US Department of the Treasury during the Bill Clinton administration. If confirmed by the Senate, Cohen will be at the center of steering policy of terrorist financing related issues. It remains unclear how his nomination will impact the decisions of Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, Stuart Levey, who appears unlikely to be removed from his position in the near future.

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UK Charity Commission: Interpal Not Supporting Terror Groups

A Feb. 27, 2009 report by the United Kingdom's Charity Commission into the activities of Palestinians Relief and Development Fund (Interpal) concluded the charity is not funding or supporting groups sponsoring terrorism. The Commission ordered improvements in procedures for choosing and overseeing local charity partners in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Jordan and Lebanon. It also recognized the importance of charities that conduct aid related activities in "high-risk" areas of the world and acknowledged the dangers they face.

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Texas Law Enforcement Memo: Beware Nonprofits Promoting Tolerance

On Feb. 19, 2009 a Texas based hub for national security data collection, the North Central Texas Fusion System, released a Prevention Awareness Bulletin that cites an increase in tolerance as a security concern, cites non-violent activities relating to Muslims and says "it is imperative for law enforcement officers to report these types of activities to identify potential underlying trends emerging in the North Central Texas region." It attracted national attention and criticism from civil liberties organizations.

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Pass S. 482!

Mar 13, 2009 by Amanda Adams*

During the 110th Congress OMB Watch was a part of a campaign, pass S. 223. The Campaign Disclosure Parity Act would simply require senators to file their campaign finance reports electronically. And now ten groups have joined in the same effort which has become pass S. 482, where everyone can help us to get the bill passed. There is a list of all senators and information regarding whether they support the measure.

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