PRESS RELEASE --For Immediate Release-- Contact: Anna Oman, 202/234-8494, aoman@ombwatch.org OMB Watch: 'Voluntary' Anti-Terrorist Guidelines Remain Flawed Washington--Feb. 6, 2006--OMB Watch, in comments submitted last week, called on the Treasury Department to withdraw its revised Anti-Terrorist Financing Guidelines that are intended to assist public charities in preventing the misuse of their funds by terrorists. "We fully support the Treasury Department's goal of keeping funds intended for charitable purposes out of the hands of terrorists," explains Kay Guinane, counsel and director of the nonprofit advocacy project at OMB Watch. "We believe, however, that the guidelines remain vague and misguided and will therefore hinder, rather than help, the fight against terrorism." OMB Watch, a nonprofit public interest organization, joined with other members of the Treasury Guidelines Working Group, comprised of more than 40 U.S. charities, foundations, religious organizations, corporations, and umbrella associations concerned with the guidelines, to oppose the revisions that, according to the comments, do little to correct problems with the earlier guidelines, first published in November 2002. While crediting the revision with clarifying certain issues, the OMB Watch comments found the guidelines still fail to provide a safe haven or prescribed recourse for well meaning organizations whose assets can be frozen and seized based on secret evidence. In addition, the Working Group noted that the guidelines continue to recommend that charities and foundations carry out onerous and ineffective list-checking and information gathering that do little to prevent diversion of funds to terrorists. "While Treasury claims they are voluntary, the guidelines are not experienced that way by charities and foundations because of the broad power given to Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control to seize and freeze funds," Guinane continues. "As a result of this ambiguity, donors are more and more hesitant to fund important projects overseas that help address the political and economic circumstances that fuel terrorism." Critics have cited delays in funding reaching the ground in relief efforts following last year's devastating tsunami and Pakistani earthquake as reason for streamlining the guidelines and eliminating vague and onerous "suggestions" that create a climate of fear for donors and organizations. The revised guidelines have been in effect since their release on Dec. 5, 2005, and how the Treasury Department will use the comments it solicited remains unclear. ### For more information visit www.ombwatch.org/article/articleview/2662.