Nonprofits Monitoring Other Legislation for Advocacy Restrictions After a stinging five vote loss in the House, nonprofit groups continue their efforts to oppose the inclusion of any restrictions on the use by nonprofits of private funds for nonpartisan voter registration and advocacy in the Senate's version of an affordable housing provision. At the same time, Head Start advocates are examining pending reauthorization legislation to determine if new language in it would restrict the use of private funds for Head Start grantees.

Litigation challenging the constitutionality of limitations on the advocacy rights of government-funded nonprofit legal services groups advanced recently with oral arguments before a federal appeals court. On Nov. 2, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit heard oral argument in Velazquez v. Legal Services Corporation (LSC), a lawsuit brought on behalf of a coalition of lawyers, indigent clients and New York City officeholders, arguing the government has no business regulating the privately funded, constitutionally protected activities of legal service programs.

A bill dealing with oversight of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that establishes a new affordable housing fund passed the House, but at the expense of nonprofits' rights to engage in, or affiliate with organizations that engage in, nonpartisan voter registration or lobbying activities.

Charitable reform and giving legislation is moving piecemeal in both the House and Senate, focusing on specific abuses of the sector and charitable giving incentives in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.