Catholic Group Responds to IRS Complaint By Forming New Group

A Catholic anti-abortion group, Catholic Answers, recently announced it will form a new organization, Catholic Answers Action, after a 2004 complaint filed with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) claimed its Voter's Guide for Serious Catholics was a partisan intervention in that year's election. The new group is a social welfare organization exempt under 501(c)(4) of the tax code, and is not subject to the ban on partisan activity that applies to charities and religious organizations under section 501(c)(3). It intends to publish a similar 2006 version of its voter guide.

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Congress Running Out of Time for Approps Work

Lawmakers returned to Washington on Monday after a week-long 4th of July break. Both chambers of Congress are far behind in their work for the year and appear to lack momentum toward completing contentious legislation, including immigration and pension reform, additional tax cuts, and budget process changes. This already nearly guarantees that a continuing resolution (CR) will be necessary for funding the federal government after the start of the fiscal year on Oct.

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Attack on FOIA

Jul 7, 2006 by Guest Blogger

How would you like to celebrate the 40th birthday of the Freedom of Information Act? By weakening it?

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Coalition Files Lawsuit To Stop Blackwell Voter-Registration Rules

Jul 7, 2006 by Guest Blogger

We recently reported in our blog that a Republican-controlled panel in Ohio had voted to keep Sec. of State Ken Blackwell's (who is running for governor) controversial new voter-registration regulations. In response, a coalition of groups is filing a lawsuit for an injunction on the new rule. According to the Cleveland Plain Dealer, The suit will request an injunction, claiming a reform law passed by the General Assembly last year, followed by rules Blackwell's office drafted, have all but ended the groups' voter-registration activities in Ohio.

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OMB Watch Staff: Amanda Adams

Nonprofit Speech Rights Policy Analyst

Amanda Adams graduated from Muhlenberg College in Allentown, PA with a BA in Political Science and a Minor in Women's Studies. She joined OMB Watch as the Staff Assistant, and in October 2006 began working in the Nonprofit Speech Rights Program.

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Racial Income Gap Widening

Jul 6, 2006 by Craig Jennings

While the Bush administration likes to say that their fiscal policies are good for the economy and therefore good for all Americans, the facts reveal otherwise. This week’s EPI Snapshot focuses our attention on the racial income gap. While African-American median income had been growing as proportion of white income since 1995, the latest data indicate that there has been a reversal of that trend. Compared to the full-employment job market of the latter 1990s, the weaker post-2000 labor market has reversed significant progress in racial income gaps.

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Numbers of Charities on the Rise

Jul 6, 2006 by Guest Blogger

According to the Chronicle of Philanthropy (subscription required): More than a million charities and private foundations were registered with the Internal Revenue Service as of September 30, 2005, according to figures released by the tax agency, up from roughly 800,000 in 2000.

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CFC Proposed Rule Doesn't Impact Advocacy Rights

Jul 6, 2006 by Guest Blogger

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has proposed changes to the eligibility requirements, the public accountability standards, and to other parts of the current Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) regulations found at Part 950 of title 5 of the Code of Federal Regulations. The proposed changes are intended to streamline the eligibility requirements, the public accountability standards, and other administrative requirements to reduce the burden on charitable organizations seeking to qualify for the CFC.

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Report Finds IRS Program Could Hamper Free Speech for Organizations

WASHINGTON, July 6--A report released today finds fault with the IRS program to enforce the ban on partisan activities by charities. The report's most serious findings suggest that the IRS's Political Activities Compliance Initiative (PACI) threatens the constitutional rights of nonprofit organizations and churches to speak out on issues of the day. It also suggests that the IRS exaggerated the extent of noncompliance in an agency report on its enforcement efforts in 2004.

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IRS Political Activities Enforcement Program for Nonprofit Groups: Questions & Concerns

IRS The Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) new approach to enforcing the ban on partisan activities by charities and religious organizations has raised serious questions about the agency's interpretation of the law, about evenhanded enforcement, and about the appropriateness of an approach aimed at deterring speech. This report summarizes the Political Activities Compliance Initiative (PACI) and new compliance guidance from the IRS, and raises questions that must be addressed to ensure charities and religious organizations can continue to play their essential role in public policy debates.


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