Last week the Federal Election Commission announced that it has received 30,000 comments on its proposed rule to redefine what is a regulated political committee. With more than a week to go before the comment period ends, the controversy on the expansive proposed rule will set a FEC record for most public input on an issue. The proposed rule could expand FEC regulation in ways that would limit genuine issue advocacy by nonprofits.

Lack of offsets to pay for the costs of new charitable tax deductions and disputes over the rules for a conference committee have appeared to doom an effort by Sens. Rick Santorum (R-PA) and Joseph Lieberman (D-CT) to attach the CARE Act to S. 1637, the Jumpstart Our Business Strength Act (JOBS), which deals with extraterritorial income. On March 23, Santorum sought unanimous consent to move the JOBS bill, citing the support of Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-SD). But Daschle withdrew his support because House Republicans have excluded Democrats from conference negotiations with the House.

The Treasury Department’s “Voluntary Best Practices for U.S. Based Charities,” are poorly designed for their stated purpose of helping prevent diversion of funds to terrorists. Several speakers made that assessment at a recent Philanthropy and Security forum, hosted by Georgetown University’s Center for Democracy and the Third Sector , which focused on the merits of the Treasury Department guidelines.

Both Congress and the President have asked the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) to undertake formal rulemaking to address significant program and policy issues. President Bush has instructed CNCS to improve accountability and efficiency in administrating its programs. In an Executive Order, the president asks that the Corporation adhere to four “fundamental principles” when making these changes. The four include expanding opportunities for faith-based and community organizations and raising more money from the private sector and state and local governments.