Charitable sector reforms and incentives are likely to move piecemeal and, like a package of tax incentives to aid disaster reconstruction in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, may be attached to the tax reconciliation package to be taken up in the Senate, Finance Committee Chairman Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) said Oct. 24.

Grassley has until recently expressed a preference to move the second package of Katrina tax incentives, expected to include bonus depreciation, bond incentives, and tax breaks for oil and gas refineries, as a stand-alone measure. He told reporters that plan may change due to time constraints.

"It could end up as part of the reconciliation now, I'm sorry to say, because we really wanted to be on two separate tracks," Grassley said.

Posted by Jennifer Lowe, 02:28:56 PM



Rep. McCollum's Press Release in Opposition to Nonprofit Gag
Rep. McCollum on the Nonprofit Gag Provision -

REP. MCCOLLUM ANNOUNCES STRONG OPPOSITION TO REPUBLICAN EFFORT TO GAG AFFORDABLE HOUSING NONPROFITS

Rep. McCollum (MN-04) is calling on her colleagues to defeat a dangerous gag provision on nonprofit organizations that provide affordable housing assistance. Next week, Republicans in the U.S. House plan to introduce an amendment to alter the Affordable Housing Fund (AHF) in the Federal Housing Finance Reform Act (H.R. 1461). The change would disqualify non-profits from receiving funding if the organization used its own private funds to engage in advocacy activities such as nonpartisan voter registration, voter identification and get-out-the-vote activities in the 12 months prior to applying for AHF funds.

"I strongly urge all of my colleagues to defeat this egregious effort to restrict the ability of American citizens to engage in our democratic process. Low income under-represented communities and their advocates deserve to be heard," said McCollum who is working with the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits.

More than 60 national non-profits have written to House Speaker Dennis Hastert to urge him to remove the gag provision.

Posted by Jennifer Lowe, 02:26:52 PM



Reuters Article on GSE Bill
Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) has said that he will vote against the GSE bill if the ant-advocacy provisions are not stripped out.

For the scoop...

Posted by Jennifer Lowe, 02:15:02 PM



Take Action to Stop Nonprofit Gag Provision!

Help stop a stealth attack on advocacy! There will be an attempt to insert an anti-advocacy provision into H.R. 1461, the Housing Finance Reform Act on the House floor Oct 26. Act now to help kill the provision!

The provision would disqualify nonprofits from receiving money from a new affordable housing fund if they have engaged in voter registration and other nonpartisan voter participation activities or lobbying -- or affiliate with any group that does so -- even with their own private funds. The organizations -- and their affiliates -- would be barred from these activities from 12 months before applying for the funds to throughout the grant period.

If enacted, this anti-advocacy amendment would set a dangerous precedent. Nonprofit organizations have a right to use private funding to lobby and engage in non-partisan election activities and should be allowed to exercise this right whether they receive funds from the federal government or not.

To find out more about this provision, visit our Resource Center. The Resource Center is continuously updated with new information, such as Rep. Betty McCollum's (D-MN) Dear Colleague letter opposing the manager's amendment and the Brennan Center for Justice's memo on the unconstitutionality of the provision.

Today, OMB Watch released two new papers on the subject: a description of conflicts with other federal and state laws created by the Nonprofit Gag Provision, and a Q&A to answer your questions.

Under the leadership of the National Low Income Housing Coalition and the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, nonprofit organizations and concerned individuals across the country are taking a stand against this outrageous provision.

Since time is limited, call your Representative and tell him or her to oppose the Nonprofit Gag Provision. For more details on the legislative procedures, see an alert from the National Low Income Housing Coalition, available at our Resource Center.

For more information, visit OMB Watch's Resource Center on the GSE bill

Posted by Jennifer Lowe, 02:03:01 PM

Friday, October 21, 2005