US House passes bill to punish non-profits deemed to support ‘terrorism’ | Republicans

The Republican-controlled US House passed a bill on Thursday that would give the government broad powers to punish non-profit organizations it deems to be supporting “terrorism”.

This was the second time members voted on the Stop Terror-Financing and Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act, or HR 9495. Last week, after suspending House rules to speed up the bill, the lower chamber failed to achieve the two-thirds majority required for to pass. This time, after passing the House Rules Committee, the bill — which only requires a simple majority to pass — survived by a vote of 219-184. Fifteen Democrats joined Republicans in supporting the measure.

The bill, which gives the Treasury the power to strip nonprofits it says supports “terrorism” of their tax-exempt status, does not require the Treasury to meet any evidentiary standard in publishing its findings. Although targeted groups could appeal to the IRS or the courts for review, simply being identified as a supporter of terrorism could have a chilling effect on advocacy groups, critics warn.

In the days since the first vote last week, non-profit organizations that have historically worked closely with Democrats have pushed against the bill’s passage, arguing that it would give Donald Trump sweeping powers to crack down arbitrarily on his political opponents in civil society. . 37 fewer Democrats supported it in Thursday’s vote than last week.

The bill merges the non-profit measure with another, non-controversial measure that would provide tax relief to Americans wrongfully imprisoned overseas.

“A sixth grader would know this is unconstitutional,” Maryland Congressman Jamie Raskin, a Democrat, said during debate on the bill Monday. “They want us to vote to give the president Orwellian powers and the non-profit sector Kafkaesque nightmares.”

Raskin called the bill “sloppy” and said it constituted a violation of due process and “contains everything condemned by the Supreme Court”.

Palestinian rights groups – many of whom politicians have falsely accused of forming an alliance with the US-designated terrorist group Hamas – have long opposed the non-profit law. After Trump, who has vowed to root out “enemies from within” the state, was elected, the bill sparked broader opposition.

During Thursday’s debate, Republican Pennsylvania congressman Lloyd Smucker claimed that “nefarious groups” had provided material and financial support to Hamas, and said that Democrats who changed their minds on the bill had only done so because Trump was elected. “Talk about election denial, when are you going to accept that Trump won this election?” Smucker said.

Members who opposed the bill warned that Trump would abuse it if signed into law.

“Americans want checks and balances, not a blank check for any president to label someone a terrorist without evidence,” said Washington Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, a Democrat. “With this bill, the only safeguard against authoritarian abuse of any voice that disagrees with his agenda will be Trump’s imagination.”