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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November 16, 2009 Charity and Security Network Newsletter

Vol 1, Issue 21
Featured articles and blog commentaries (click on headline to read full article):
1. House Committee Reins In Patriot Act Provisions; Calls Made for Hearing on Amending Material Support Statute
2. Summary of House Judiciary Committee Discussion of Humanitarian Exemption to Material Support Prohibition
3. Al Haramain v. Treasury: Successful Constitutional Challenge to Unlimited Treasury Power to Shutdown Charities
4. Asset Forfeiture Case Filed Against Alavi Foundation, Grantees Not Accused
5. Massachusetts State Bill Calls For Oversight on Fusion Center
6. President Nominates Shah to Head USAID
7. Update: ACLU Drops Suit After TSA Changes Policies to Limit Unreasonable Searches
8. UK Charity Commission’s Compliance Toolkit: Protecting Charities from Harm
9. Aid Workers Killed or Abducted Around the World in 2009
10. How Many Children Could be Helped if Frozen Charitable Funds Were Released?

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November 2, 2009 Charity and Security Network Newsletter

Vol. 1, Issue 20
Featured articles and blog commentaries (click on headline to read full article):
1. Court Orders Treasury Not to List KindHearts as Supporter of Terrorism Pending Outcome of Litigation
2. Letter to House Members Calls for Real Patriot Act Reforms
3. Judicial Review for Charities Working in UK
4. Aid Expert Recommends Re-thinking Aid Strategies to Reduce Terrorism
5. Laws Suppress NGO Activities and Debate on Policy Matters

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Study Reveals the Focus on Lobbyists Could be Flawed

According to a study conducted by OMB Watch and the Center for Responsive Politics (CRP), 1,418 federally registered lobbyists "deregistered" with Congress in the second quarter of 2009 (between April and June). This is a considerably higher rate than that seen in the average reporting period, when a few hundred lobbyists terminate their active status. The groups cautioned that this finding does not necessarily mean that the Obama administration's policies on lobbyists are leading to fewer outside influences on government policy, or that those policies are creating more transparency.

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Nonprofits Play Role in Legislative Push to Remove Barriers to Voting

Nonprofits are playing a key role in a recent legislative push to remove barriers from the voting process. Various organizations have kept voting issues at the forefront by continuously informing the public about policies and tactics that disenfranchise voters. These organizations' efforts focus on military voting concerns, online voter registration, and election reform as a means to ensure that all citizens are able to vote as easily as possible.

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Senate Passes Appropriations Bill, Including Removing LSC Restrictions

Nov 6, 2009 by Amanda Adams*

The Senate finally passed the Commerce, Justice, and Science (CJS) Appropriations bill for FY2010, which includes funding for the Legal Services Corporation (LSC). Importantly, it removes some flawed speech restrictions on grant recipients' non federal funds.

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Federal Lobbyists have Increasingly Terminated Their Registrations

Nov 3, 2009 by Amanda Adams*

OMB Watch and the Center for Responsive Politics (CRP) have found that lobbyists have began terminating their formal registrations at significantly higher rates than usual. The OMB Watch-CRP press release states that there have been "1,418 'deregistrations' of federally registered lobbyists during the second quarter of 2009, a marked increase for any reporting period during all of 2008 and 2009.

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Common Cause Reports on Possible Ramifications of Citizens United Case

Nov 3, 2009 by Amanda Adams*

The Supreme Court may soon decide the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (FEC) case, which could drastically change elections with an increased amount of corporate political spending. In preparation for the outcome, Common Cause has released a report titled, "Corporate Democracy: Potential fallout from a Supreme Court decision on Citizens United."

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Hearing to Investigate Forged Letters

Oct 30, 2009 by Amanda Adams*

The House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming held a hearing on the fraudulent letters sent to Congress on clean energy and climate legislation. Chairman Edward Markey (D-MA) wanted to know why congressional offices were not notified until after the vote occurred, even though the existence of the fake letters was discovered beforehand. The letters were sent out by Bonner & Associates, a subcontractor hired by Hawthorn.

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Recent Push for Bipartisan Voter Reform Measures

Oct 30, 2009 by Lateefah Williams*

Recent efforts to reform and modernize the voter system have received bipartisan support. The Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment Act, which would allow overseas troops and American citizens to access voter information online, passed Congress last week with bipartisan support from legislators who "decried an antiquated voting system that left as many as one out of four overseas ballots uncounted," according to Roll Call.

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Role of Outside Groups Could Significantly Grow in Next Election

Oct 28, 2009 by Amanda Adams*

Eliza Newlin Carney's newest column in the National Journal ($$) discusses possible ramifications if the current trend of favoring deregulating campaign finance law continues. Carney notes that, "thanks to a sharp right turn in the judiciary, from the Supreme Court on down, those who favor a world without rules may be about to get their wish."

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