WASHINGTON, DC – The ACLU, in a recent article, described how it “strongly urge(ed) the House of Representatives to vote “NO” on H.R. 9495, the Stop Terror-Financing and Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act.”
The ACLU described how the act “would grant Donald Trump and his handpicked Secretary of the Treasury power to investigate and effectively shut down any tax-exempt organization — including news outlets, universities, and civil society groups — by stripping them of tax-exempt status based on a unilateral accusation of wrongdoing.”
According to Kia Hamadanchy, senior policy counsel at the ACLU, “Passing this bill would hand the incoming Trump administration a dangerous new tool it could use to stifle free speech, target political opponents, and punish disfavored groups,” citing the need to protect “[t]he freedom to dissent without fear of government retribution,” making the blocking of H.R. 9495 necessary.
In its letter to the House the ACLU said, “Without any evidence as to the need for this legislation” it creates “abused new powers for the executive branch” that allow “administrations to weaponize these powers against groups on both ends of the ideological spectrum.”
The ACLU continued, “While there is a 90-day ‘cure’ period in which a designated nonprofit can mount a defense, it is a mere illusion of due process. The government may deny organizations its reasons and evidence against them, leaving the nonprofit unable to rebut allegations.
“This means that a nonprofit could be left entirely in the dark about what conduct the government believes qualifies as ‘support,’ making it virtually impossible to clear its name.”
The ACLU added, “Last month, the ACLU and a diverse array of over 130 other tax-exempt organizations — including human rights, reproductive health, and immigrants’ rights groups — wrote to Congress urging them to vote no.”
The ACLU said, “The letter also explains that the groups do not oppose the provisions in H.R. 9495 that relate to preventing the IRS from imposing fines and penalties on hostages while they are held abroad.”
