On February 16, Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) introduced S. 2319, the Hurricane Recovery Act of 2006. The bill includes, among other things, language that would establish an Affordable Housing Fund with a percentage of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s profits.

Currently, the bill does not include an anti-advocacy provision like the AHF in H.R. 1461 that passed the House floor on October 26. OMB Watch and thier coalition partners will be watching this legislation closely to ensure it does not include a similar provision.

H.R. 1461, the Federal Housing Finance Reform Act of 2005, including the new Affordable Housing Fund, went to the floor Wednesday, Oct. 26.

The final vote was 331 to 90, passing the bill. Thank you to all the advocates that worked so hard to defeat this heinous provision, and the Members of Congress that voted with us.

The Nonprofit Gag Provision is currently not in S. 190, the Senate version of the bill, and we will work to ensure that this provision will not be included.

The first discussion was H. Res. 509: providing for consideration of the bill ( H.R. 1461) to reform the regulation of certain housing-related Government-sponsored enterprises, and for other purposes. This is discussion on the Rule that did not allow for consideration of Rep. Barney Frank's (D-MA) amendment to strike the heinous Manager's Amendment offered by Rep. Michael Oxley (R-OH).

The Republicans argued that this provision does not prohibit political speech. According to the Republican speakers, they were acting to ensure that the government funds would not be used for political speech.

The Democrats ferociously argued back. Barney Frank argued that this was "Democracy denied squared". The Democrats also argued that this provision would hit faith-based groups the hardest. They could not even participate in the fund because of language restricting the funds to groups that have building houses as their "primary purpose". They also raised that many groups have contacted them in opposition of this provision.

Dems urged Members to vote against the Manager's Amendment with the promise that his motion to recommitt with instructions forthwith will be introduced with every thing in the Manager's Amendment except the voter registration and GOTV provisions.

In an extremely close vote, the House voted 210-205 in favor of Rep. Oxley's Manager's Amendment, which contained the nonprofit gag provision.

After a number of other amendments were addressed, Mr. Frank moved to recommit with instructions forthwith to Financial Services. A motion to recommit with instructions forthwith will allow the objectionable language to be removed on the spot and a better bill to be voted on immediately.

The instructions sought to add the following amendments: In the matter proposed to be inserted by section 128(a) of the bill, in section 1337(e)(2)(A) of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1992, strike "as its primary purpose" and insert "among its primary purposes". In the matter proposed to be inserted by section 128(a) of the bill, in section 1337(e)(2)(C)(i) of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1992, strike "except that" and all that follows through "period" and insert the following: "except that such term shall not include any voter registration or get-out-the-vote activity conducted on a non-partisan basis;".

The motion to recommit with instructions failed 200-220.

The House then adopted the manager's amendment in the nature of a substitute as agreed to by the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union.

Final vote: 331 to 90.

With language promoted by the Republican Study Committee, the GSE bill was altered to include a provision that would disqualify nonprofits from receiving money from a new affordable housing fund if they have engaged in voter registration and other nonpartisan voter participation activities or lobbying for certain groups within 12 months of applying for the money. They would also be barred from these activities during the grant period, even if non-federal funds were used to pay for it. More specifically, the bill would sweepingly restrict any group that affiliates with an organization that engages in such activities from applying for funds under the affordable housing fund.

Promoted by conservatives, this provision has anti-advocacy antecedents that reach back more than 20 years to other attacks on nonprofit advocacy, such as the Istook amendment and proposed changes to OMB Circular A-122. All nonprofits should be concerned about the precedent that would be set by this housing provision.