A coalition of labor unions and advocacy groups launched a new coalition Tuesday aimed at defending nonprofits from an “unprecedented government attack on free speech.” The move comes amid a Republican-led effort to give the incoming Trump administration the power to shut down opposition groups.
Americans Against Government Censorship, whose founding members include the AFL-CIO, Oxfam America, Service Employees International Union, and Indivisible, is pushing for legislation such as HR9495 that would allow the U.S. Treasury Department to unilaterally censor censorship. It was established to combat the threat posed by. Removes a nonprofit organization’s tax-exempt status if it is deemed to be a supporter of terrorism.
The ACLU said the bill provides little more than the “illusion of due process” for accused groups, but could potentially persist for human rights groups, news organizations, government watchdogs and other nonprofits. These groups can be key to exposing and combating human rights abuses. The next government.
“This broad power can be used as a weapon against any tax-exempt organization across the ideological spectrum, depending on which party is in power at the time,” Caitlin Legacchi, a spokeswoman for the new coalition, said in a statement. It could be used.” “Providing a strong united front against political and ideological censorship is the only way to protect Americans’ right under the First Amendment to stand up for what they believe.”
“Labor unions, churches, charities, nonprofit media outlets, and social service organizations could be targeted if they go against the support of the current administration.”
The coalition was formed weeks after the U.S. House of Representatives passed HR 9495, joining nearly all Republicans and 15 Democrats to push the bill through the House.
The bill is unlikely to be voted on in the Senate before the new Congress is sworn in next month, but Republicans could revive it if they control both chambers and the White House.
Americans Against Government Censorship says on its website that “increasingly aggressive activists intend to use the full power of the federal government to target their opponents and disrupt their opponents’ ability to slow or halt their policy agenda. We are very clear,” he warned. New efforts to target and weaponize tax status through the IRS. ”
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) is one of the Republicans who endorsed the tax-exempt status of many nonprofit organizations that support Palestinian rights, including Jewish Voice for Peace and American Muslims for Palestine. We are asking the National Tax Agency to cancel the .
Americans Against Government Censorship emphasized that the powers contained in bills such as HR 9495 “cross all ideological lines and could be weaponized by any administration against any tax-exempt organization.”
“Labor unions, churches, charities, non-profit media outlets, and social service organizations could be targeted if they go against the support of the current administration,” the coalition said. “This agenda will always allow a sitting president, whether Democrat or Republican, to use power to punish ideological opponents without basic due process.”
