Dangerous provision removed over the weekend from House GOP’s advanced tax package – but it could be reinserted at any moment
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, is calling on all Americans to take immediate action and urge their U.S. House Representatives to ensure the dangerous and unconstitutional “Nonprofit Killer Bill” provision is not added back into the GOP’s sweeping tax reconciliation package, following its removal from the version advanced over the weekend.
CLICK HERE: DEMAND CONGRESS REJECT THE NONPROFIT KILLER BILL
The Nonprofit Killer Bill, initially included as Section 112209 of the House Ways and Means Committee’s approved portion of the reconciliation package, was excluded from the 1,100-page legislative text narrowly advanced by House Republicans late Sunday night under the budget reconciliation process. CAIR warns that this is not a permanent victory, only a temporary reprieve.
The provision could still be reinserted as an amendment during the House Rules Committee proceedings or on the House floor. While it is being widely reported that House Republicans plan to hold a vote this week on the proposed tax plan, internal Republican divisions remain, casting doubt on whether the bill will pass.
The Nonprofit Killer Bill provision, based on prior legislative attempts like H.R. 6408 and H.R. 9495, would grant the Trump administration’s Secretary of the Treasury unchecked authority to revoke the tax-exempt status of religious, charitable, and advocacy organizations, without evidence, formal charges, or due process.
“The removal of the Nonprofit Killer Bill from the House Republicans’ advanced tax package is a promising sign, not a victory,” said CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert S. McCaw. “This provision could come back at any time, and if Americans want to preserve the right of nonprofits to speak truth to power, now is the time to flood Congress with messages demanding they keep this language out of the bill. We are defending nothing less than the future of nonprofit advocacy and our core constitutional freedoms.”
Opposing this provision should not be a partisan issue: it is a First Amendment issue. Section 112209 would empower the federal government to suppress dissent and target nonprofit organizations, particularly Muslim, Palestinian, and human rights groups, simply for criticizing U.S. foreign policy or condemning Israel’s genocide in Gaza and attacks on civilians in the West Bank, Syria, Lebanon, and Yemen.
CAIR notes that the Nonprofit Killer Bill is part of a broader wave of legislative attacks on constitutional rights. Alongside bills like the misleadingly titled Antisemitism Awareness Act – which aims to criminalize peaceful student protests against Israel’s actions – and the Anti-Boycott IGO Act– which threatens Americans’ ability to engage in peaceful boycotts of Israel’s human rights abuses – the Nonprofit Killer Bill reflects an alarming trend of silencing political dissent under the guise of combating extremism or hate.
This proposed “Nonprofit Killer Bill” must be rejected because:
- It grants the Treasury Secretary broad discretionary power to revoke tax-exempt status based on subjective and politically motivated criteria.
- It suppresses protected speech, targeting organizations advocating for Palestinian rights and other social justice causes.
- It violates due process by allowing the use of classified evidence without giving nonprofits the chance to challenge it.
- It is unnecessary, existing U.S. laws already prohibit terrorism financing without infringing on civil liberties.
Last year, CAIR joined 100 organizations in a letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson, stating that the Nonprofit Killer Bill “poses a direct threat to the constitutional rights of any American nonprofit, house of worship, or advocacy organization.”
CAIR also joined 135 civil liberties and human rights groups in a letter to the Senate Finance Committee opposing another version of the act.
CAIR will continue to urge all concerned Americans to take action and urge their members of Congress to oppose the advancement of this act, and its dangerous goals. CAIR remains committed to challenging this legislation in all its iterations and forms and will continue to advocate for the protection of nonprofit organizations’ rights to free speech, due process, and equal treatment under the law.
CAIR’s mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
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CONTACT: CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, e-Mitchell@cair.com; CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, rmccaw@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Manager Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, iallison@cair.com