House Fast Tracks Bill That Would Give Trump Power to Target Nonprofits

[riversedge]

House Fast Tracks Bill That Would Give Trump Power to Target Nonprofits
Story by Peter Wade • 13h • Nov 11, 2024

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/house-fast-tracks-bill-that-would-give-trump-power-to-target-nonprofits/ar-AA1tPS5b?rc=1&ocid=winp1taskbar&cvid=8ed2fa7f52104762dffa5b70dcf15d1b&ei=30

Donald Trump hasn't even taken office, and Congress is already moving to advance legislation to expand his ability to target his enemies. The former president has repeatedly threatened on the campaign trail that he will attack "the enemy from within" using the military. But new legislation could give him unprecedented authority to go after nonprofit organizations he disagrees with.


The House is set to vote this week on a bill that would grant the Treasury Department authority to revoke tax-exempt status from any nonprofit it declares to be a "terrorist supporting organization," giving the agency broad latitude to determine what that means.

The legislation, the Stop Terror-Financing and Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act (H.R. 9495), was originally drafted to prevent the IRS from issuing fines and tax penalties to Americans held hostage by international terrorist groups as well as citizens unjustly incarcerated abroad. By putting these two measures together under one bill, Republicans are trying to make it more difficult to oppose.

"They attached it to a super popular bill that everyone likes because they want to make it hard for people to vote ‘no,'" Kia Hamadanchy, senior policy counsel at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), told The Intercept. "The reality is that if they really wanted the hostage thing to become law, they'd pass that by itself."


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"The danger is much broader than just groups that work on foreign policy," Ryan Costello, policy director at the National Iranian American Council Action, told The Intercept. "It could target major liberal funders who support Palestinian solidarity and peace groups who engage in protest. But it could also theoretically be used to target pro-choice groups, and I could see it being used against environmental groups."............

[Keepthesoulalive]

1. He's a dictator

The republicans are his foot soldiers. Buckle up it’s going to be a bumpy ride.

[in2herbs]

2. I have a well-funded non-profit and I do NOT use it for political ideology. However, it has

been my opinion that the rules governing non profit corporations need to be revamped to get them out of politics. Here's my thought on this topic: since Ds have never and will never pursue such a bill because of their need not to upset Rs, so depending on the fine print, I might be in favor of such a bill, accept the draconian actions Trump will use in support of denying "free speech" but only because when Ds are again in control, this bill can be used to weed out the actual offending non profits and we won't have to fight the Ds to get them to pass reasonable legislation.