House passes statement that would allow Treasury to target nonprofits it deems to back terrorism

WASHINGTON — The U.S. House passed legislation Thursday that would provide the Treasury Department unilateral authority to strip the responsibility-exempt position of nonprofits it claims back terrorism, alarming civil liberties groups about how a second Trump presidency could invoke it to punish political opponents.

The statement passed 219-184, with the majority of the back coming from Republicans who accused Democrats of reversing course in their back for the “ordinary sense” proposal only after Donald Trump was elected to a second term earlier this month.

Speaking on the House floor ahead of the vote, Rep. Jason Smith, GOP chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, said his colleagues across the aisle would still be supporting the statement had Vice President Kamala Harris won the presidential election. “And we, as members of Congress, have the responsibility to make sure that taxpayers are not subsidizing terrorism,” the Missouri lawmaker said. “It’s very, very straightforward.”

But the proposal has drawn concern from a range of nonprofits who declare it could be used to target organizations, including information outlets, universities, and civil population groups, that a upcoming presidential administration disagrees with. They declare it does not propose groups enough due procedure.

“This statement is an authoritarian play by Republicans to expand the sweeping powers of the executive branch, to leave after political enemies and stifle political dissent,” Rep. Pramila Jayapal, the chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said on the House floor ahead of the vote.

Critics also view it as redundant as it is already against U.S. law to back designated terrorist groups. The proposal, which now goes to the Democratic-controlled Senate where its fate is doubtful, would also postpone responsibility filing deadlines for Americans held hostage or unlawfully detained abroad.

The statement would make a recent category of “terrorist supporting organizations,” according to an analysis by the Congressional Research Service of a previous version of the legislation. This category is defined as any organization the Treasury Secretary designates as having provided material back to a terrorist organization in the history three years.

“We ponder this legislation is an overreach,” said Jenn Holcomb, vice president of government affairs at the Council on Foundations. “It would allow the Secretary of the Treasury to designate a 501c nonprofit as a terrorist organization at their discretion. And our concern is it doesn’t have enough in there to really ensure that a nonprofit understands the reasoning that a secretary designated as such.”

The statement would provide a nonprofit designated as a “terror-supporting” 90 days to appeal that designation. Nonprofits like the American Civil Liberties Union have said that the statement does not require that the Secretary of Treasury disclose all the evidence that was used to make the designation.

The statement text outlines how the Treasury must send “a description of such material back or resources to the extent consistent with national safety and law enforcement interests.”

In a joint statement with the Independent Sector, National Council of Nonprofits, and United Philanthropy Forum, the Council on Foundations also said the statement would shift the burden of proof to the nonprofit, and even if an organization was eventually cleared, the nonprofit would “uncertainty irreparable damage to their operations and reputation.”

If it were to become law, the statement could apply to a range of nonprofits, including membership organizations, unions and private foundations.

A version of the statement was first introduced after the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel and the House passed a previous version of the statement in April, including with the back of some Democrats.

The statement was also brought up for a vote last week but failed to garner a two-thirds majority required under the suspension of the rules.

Democrat Rep. Rashida Tlaib, the only Palestinian-American representative in Congress, said Thursday before the vote it would be her third period voting against the statement.

“I don’t worry who the president of the United States is,” she said. “This is a risky and unconstitutional statement that would allow unchecked power to target nonprofit organizations as political enemies and shut them down without due procedure.”

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Thalia Beaty reported from recent York. ___

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