Take urgent action NOW. Tell your U.S. senator to oppose H.R.6408 and S.4136, Orwellian bills that would authorize a single official in the Treasury Department to strip any nonprofit organizations of their tax-exempt status without any accountability, justification, or due process. This bill was meant to target pro-Palestinian charities and nonprofit organizations and could be easily weaponized to target any nonprofit organization the President finds objectionable. No American organization should be stripped of its legal status because of politics or anti-Palestinian bigotry masked as national security.
CLICK HERE: Urge The Senate to Stop Targeting Nonprofits and Advocacy Groups
Last month, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 6408, which grants broad new powers to the Department of Treasury to terminate the tax-exempt status of nonprofits based on subjective claims of advocacy groups supporting terrorism. Now, the Senate this week may consider this dangerous act alongside the reauthorization of the annual Federal Aviation Administration spending bill.
This law is ripe for abuse: the Secretary of the Treasury would be granted new unchecked authorities to use “classified information” in making terrorism designations on nonprofits without filing charges or providing avenues for review or challenge in federal courts. This lack of transparency and due process mirrors troubling patterns seen in unconstitutional federal watchlists, raising serious concerns about the erosion of civil liberties and the rule of law in the name of national security.
Yesterday, CAIR joined 134 other civil liberties, human rights, community, faith, and privacy organizations in a letter sent to the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance, and the Senate as a whole, requesting that they not advance consideration of this bill.
Why This Matters:
- Unchecked Power: H.R. 6408, and its Senate companion S. 4136, pose a severe threat by granting excessive authority to the Secretary of Treasury to revoke tax-exempt status based on subjective claims of supporting terrorism, putting free speech and civil liberties at risk.
- Lack of Accountability: These bills lack transparency and accountability measures, leaving room for potential abuse from current or future presidential administrations targeting nonprofit organizations for political reasons.
- Protecting Democracy: Upholding due process is crucial to safeguarding democracy against the suppression of dissent under false pretexts of national security. We have already seen this go wrong with the unconstitutional Patriot Act, federal terrorism watchlists, FBI spying on Muslim communities, and NSA surveillance of domestic communications. We do not need any more overreaching national security laws that are politically motivated.
What You Can Do:
- Take Action: Contact your Senators immediately and urge them to reject H.R. 6408 and S. 4136. Demand accountability, transparency, and due process in any legislation affecting nonprofits.
- Spread Awareness: Share this critical action alert with your networks. Every voice matters in defending our democratic values.