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Taxonomy: Term ID

FEC Regulations to Stay in Effect Past the Election, Unpaid Broadcast Ban Appealed

Although a federal court judge refused to grant the Federal Election Commission (FEC) a stay of a September decision overturning 15 regulations implementing the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002, the rules will remain in effect until after the election on Nov. 2. The FEC has appealed the case to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, challenging the standing of Reps. Chris Shays (R-CT) and Marty Meehan (D-MA) to bring the suit and defending five of the 15 regulations.

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Independent Sector Names Members of Expert Advisory Panel

Independent Sector announced the formation of an eight-member Expert Advisory Group that will advise the "Panel on the Nonprofit Sector" formed in response to a request by the Finance Committee to make recommendations to Congress to improve the oversight and governance of charitable organizations. The Expert Advisory Group will provide knowledge and support to the Panel on such issues as government regulation, financial accountability, and tax policy. They will also provide perspective on recommendations from the working groups that will also support the panel.

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New Rules, Empty Pockets: Funding Faith-Based Services in a Time of Fiscal Uncertainty

Three executive orders have created centers for the Faith-Based and Community Initiatives in many federal agencies. Booklets have been published which provide guidance to faith-based groups on how to get federal funding, and the government has held a series of educational conferences and a catalog of grant opportunities. Recently, both USAID and HUD published final rules implementing a policy ensuring that faith-based organizations are able to compete on equal footing with other organizations for funding.

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Treasury Department Shuts Down Muslim Charity

On Oct. 13, the Treasury Department designated the Islamic American Relief Agency (IARA), along with five senior officials, as supporters of terrorism. This action froze all accounts, funds and assets of IARA in the United States and criminalizes the provision or donation of money to any of its offices. IARA has no right to appeal or learn of the evidence against it. This effectively allows the government to treat organizations as guilty without the opportunity to demonstrate innocence.

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Report Finds Growing Pattern of Attacks on Nonprofit Speech

Government agencies and officials and conservative allies are increasingly targeting nonprofit organizations for their free speech activities, as OMB Watch documents in a report published Oct. 26, Continuing Attacks on Nonprofit Speech: Death by a Thousand Cuts II. (See press release and statements from the audio news conference.) The analysis found:Retaliatory action against government grantees that engage in controversial policy discussions or active advocacy that includes points of view different from the administration, regardless of how well those views are supported by science

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Help America Vote

Nov 1, 2004 by Guest Blogger

A little off-topic, but worth it: there is plenty you can do to help America on Election Day. Find out more at our partner site NPAction, where you can also learn about the Help America Vote Act and election reform efforts.

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IRS 'Examination' of NAACP Exempt Status Based on Criticism of Bush Policies

On Oct. 28 the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) announced that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is investigating their tax-exempt status because Chairman Julian Bond criticized the Bush administration's policies in his speech to the group's July convention. The NAACP is a 501(c)(3) organization, and as such is barred from intervening in elections. The nation's oldest and largest civil rights organization questioned the timing of the IRS action, calling it a politically motivated attempt to silence the organization and discourage blacks from voting.

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Indiana Open Records Audit Finds Improvement but Still Trouble

A recent open records audit by eight Indiana newspapers found the state still needs to make significant improvements in order to comply with its own open records laws. Journalists found mixed results to inquiries in all of Indiana's 92 counties.

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Bush Campaign Restricts Access to Election Website

Last week the Bush-Cheney reelection campaign barred people outside the United States from accessing its website. The restriction was apparently in response to an electronic attack that shut down the both campaign and Republican National Committee (RNC) websites the week before. The new restrictions prevent anyone trying to access the website except for users in the United States and Canada. All other users only see a message "Access denied: You don't have permission to access www.georgewbush.com on this server."

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EPA Plans for TRI Burden Reduction

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently held a public meeting to announce two plans for reducing the burden of reporting for the Toxic Release Inventory (TRI). The first, scheduled for sometime in December, would propose simple changes to the TRI reporting forms in an effort to streamline the process. The second rulemaking, scheduled for June 2005, would contain a more substantial programmatic change, although EPA has not yet determined the exact nature of the change.

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Nov 1, 2004 by Guest Blogger

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