Amnesty International USA criticized the passage of H.R. 9495 in the House of Representatives, which threatens the freedom of speech and work of U.S. civil society organizations that document human rights abuses around the world. Amnesty International urged the Senate not to advance the bill, which was previously voted down in the House last week.
If enacted, this legislation would grant broad discretionary powers to the Secretary of the Treasury to terminate the tax-exempt status of nonprofit organizations based solely on a subjective declaration that they are ‘terrorist supporting organizations.”
“This legislation is ripped from a dictator’s playbook and must be voted down, said Paul O’Brien, Executive Director at Amnesty International USA. “While it offers a façade of due process, this bill is broad, dangerously vague, and offers no protection against abuse.”
The broad and vague authority to terminate non-profit status in the name of “counterterrorism” is a practice that many governments have used to target civil society organizations, according to Amnesty International. There are no meaningful safeguards to prevent H.R. 9495’s broad authority from being misused to harass or intimidate organizations for exercising their rights. The loss of tax-exempt status similarly has no due process guarantees and would inflict economic harm and legally burden nonprofit organizations.
Amnesty International USA joins more than 100 civil society groups, including ACLU, Brennan Center, Public Citizen, AFT, NEA, LCV, CAP, Indivisible, NAACP, National Women’s Law Center, and Oxfam America in opposing this legislation.
“Members of Congress must recognize the danger posed by this bill to civic space and its potential for silencing civil society organizations, and they must not let it get further,” concluded O’Brien.
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