In recent days, the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits (MCN) and the state’s nonprofit sector have engaged in an expansive outreach campaign to elected representatives in an effort to urge them to vote against H.R.9495, a bill that contains some concerning provisions that have the potential to seriously harm nonprofits.
As a result of the collective action taken by Minnesota nonprofits and community members over the past two days, Rep. Angie Craig, a member of MN’s House Delegation, has determined that she will no longer support H.R.9495 when it comes to the House floor for a new vote this week.
Regarding her decision, Rep. Craig stated, in part (read full statement):
“Over the past several days as the president-elect has rolled out his cabinet nominees, I’ve become increasingly concerned that H.R.9495 would be used inappropriately by the incoming Administration. I’ve heard from constituents in my district and nonprofit leaders from across Minnesota who share those concerns. For those reasons, I will vote against H.R. 9495 this week and will continue to do what’s in the best interest of Minnesotans.”
The Stop Terror-Financing and Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act (H.R.9495) was crafted to provide tax relief to Americans wrongfully detained abroad. Tacked to the bottom of the bill, however, was language that would allow the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury (a single person) to designate a nonprofit as a terrorist-supporting organization and pull its exempt status, possibly forcing such organizations to shut down entirely.
“The problem here is with the Treasury secretary being able to make this decision completely by themselves,” said Marie Ellis, public policy director for the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits, in a piece in the Minnesota Reformer. “They don’t need to disclose any evidence behind it … it just seems like there’s this massive potential for overreach, for subjective application and for abuse of this new authority.”
While the bill was defeated in the US House of Representatives last week by just nine votes short of passing at the needed two-thirds majority, it was brought back and was passed by the House Rules Committee earlier this week. The next vote on H.R.9495 will take place on Wednesday, November 20 or Thursday, November 21.
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MCN is proud of our strong and mighty nonprofit community here in Minnesota – we are in this together!
See original Action Alert posted on November 18, 2024: