(RNS) — On our WhatsApp group, the board members of a disability nonprofit I belong to were discussing HR 9495, a bill known as the “nonprofit killer” that passed in the House of Representatives last week by a simple majority vote of 219-184.
Our executive editor posted a question: “Any action to be taken?”
Across the nonprofit world, not least in Muslim, Arab and Palestinian nonprofits, organizations that support causes not favored by the incoming Trump administration are deeply concerned about the “Stop Terror Financing and Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act,” which would give the secretary of the Treasury unilateral power to revoke the tax-exempt status of “terrorist-supporting” nonprofits. The “terrorist-supporting” designation could be imposed without proof, with the accused given a 90-day window to show it doesn’t support terror — to prove a negative.
“What’s behind this latest bill is a desire to shut down pro-Palestinian voices,” said Oussama Mezoui, a nonprofit consultant and board director at the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding and Oxfam America. But those at risk include any social justice organizations that disagree with the current or incoming administration.
And with Americans in every state serving more than 1.5 million tax-exempt nonprofits in the United States, according to the Nonprofit Risk Management Center, House Bill 9495 should concern all of us.
The bill, introduced by U.S. Sen. John Cornyn of Texas last spring, easily passed the House at the time but failed in the Senate. With a few changes, it passed the House on Nov. 21.
In her third time voting against the bill, U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan said on the House floor, “This is a dangerous and an unconstitutional bill that would allow unchecked power to target nonprofit organizations as political enemies and shut them down without due process.”
How should nonprofits be preparing should this bill pass?
Storm clouds gather above the U.S. Capitol. (Photo by Harun Tan/Pexels/Creative Commons)
Mezoui said that if nonprofits haven’t made sure they are complying with local, state and federal laws, now is the time to do so. “Organizations should have a thorough audit of their policies, their procedures, their due diligence documentation … basically crossing their t’s and dotting their i’s.”
They should not give anyone “any excuse to investigate or to shut them down,” he said.
Zahra Billoo, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, San Francisco Bay Area, is no stranger to her nonprofit facing scrutiny. Since 9/11, many Muslim groups have been under a microscope and a few have been accused of supporting terror.
“We’ve all learned that it is imperative that our finances, our procedures and everything we do is not just in compliance with the law but far exceeds those standards,” she said. “The more effective you are, the more rigor you bring to the work, the higher quality the work is, the better you can defend yourself, and the more people who can come to your defense.”
But Billoo said the most nefarious part of the new “nonprofit killer” bill is how it strips nonprofits of due process. “The bad news is there is little you can do to prepare.”
Many nonprofits are concerned that their work may suffer if time is diverted to prepping for or dealing with potential terrorist accusations. They also worry that the bill may affect donors and their giving behaviors.
Zahra Billoo. (Photo courtesy of CAIR, San Francisco Bay Area)
“We are now managing people’s fears about this and other government targeting internally and externally to our workloads,” Billoo said. “That is in addition to everything we must do to serve our community and clients.”
The smaller the nonprofit, the more difficult the path will be. “While Islamic Relief or CAIR or larger organizations like Oxfam may have historically been on top of their compliance and have had access to lawyers, smaller and medium-sized nonprofits do not have (these resources),” said Mezoui. “Organizations that are underresourced and overworked are now having to find or redirect funds and energy and money to these things.”
Laws preventing the financing and support of terrorism by nonprofits are already in place, Mezoui added. This bill will only create more fear for nonprofits trying to help in areas of the Middle East where the need is great. “There will definitely be a knock-down effect on the ground in places like Yemen or Syria or Palestine, when organizations run the risk of being accused of materially supporting terrorism without there being any legal evidence of that or proof.”
The bill will also impact student organizations such as Students for Justice in Palestine, the American Civil Liberties Union and organizations that champion reproductive rights and women’s rights — anything not in favor with the incoming administration faces potential problems, said Mezoui.
A coalition of more than 300 nonprofit organizations championing a variety of causes recently sent a letter to Congress expressing their deep fears regarding potential civil rights and civil liberty consequences.
“If people say this is scaremongering and we have to see how legislation lands, well, we’re not receiving it in a void. The fear is real that board members and executives could end up in real legal trouble based simply on a unilateral and arbitrary designation,” Mezoui said.
And when it comes to donors, it remains to be seen how charitable giving may be affected should the bill pass. Like many households, mine donates on a regular basis to numerous causes and groups, and while we do our own research to make sure everything is legit, like many we rely on nonprofits themselves to be in good standing.
Billoo, though, remains hopeful and steadfast in her faith convictions. “I’ve heard these [donor] concerns all my years at CAIR. Those fears already exist, and we will need to continue to … assure donors that their donor data is secure.” There is ample litigation dating back decades that protects donor lists, she said.
“We remind [donors] that Islamophobia did not begin with Trump’s presidency. Belief in Islam as an advocate for social justice has come at a very high price to individual safety, security and wellness,” Billoo said. “But this is where we are pushed to do something with our privilege. We anticipate chaos, and yet we know it will be different than how Donald Trump’s first term looked. So to those ends, the preparation is to build the team that will be ready and to have the resources to fight another day.”
(Dilshad D. Ali is a freelance journalist. The views expressed in this commentary do not necessarily reflect those of Religion News Service.)