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Sunday, December 18, 2005

What Kind of Impact Will the New McCain Lobbying Bill Have on Charities?
We had heard that Sens. McCain and Feingold, with Reps. Meehan and Shays, intended to introduce new legislation to increase regulations on lobbying.

On Friday, McCain and Shays, sans Meehan and Feingold, announced thier intention to introduce lobbying reform legislation, the Lobbying Transparency and Accountability Act of 2005. Reportedly, Meehan and Feingold were not present because they don't think the GOP bill goes far enough to regulate lawmakers.

However, Roll Call is reporting that McCain's bill (which has not been introduced yet) expands the definition of lobbyist to include public relations professionals and grass-roots activists and submit them all to a raft of new disclosure requirements.

What this exactly means for nonprofits no one is quite sure yet - but we will keep you posted!

Read the article.(subscription required)

Posted by Jennifer Lowe, 09:20:05 PM

Saturday, December 10, 2005

House Reconcilliation Bill Passes Without Charitable Incentives
On Dec. 8, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 4297, the Tax Cut Extension Reconciliation Act of 2005, by a vote of 234-197. Unlike its companion bill in the Senate, S. 2020, H.R. 4297 does not include charitable reform provisions. There are also a number of other major differences between the two bills that the House and Senate are expected to iron out in conference. A House-Senate conference could begin as early as next week, though it is unclear whether conferees will have enough time to come to agreement before Congress adjourns for the year. It is speculated that the Senate will adjourn on the 15th.

Posted by Jennifer Lowe, 10:15:44 AM

Friday, December 09, 2005

Nonprofits Get High Marks For Response To Hurricane Katrina
Faith-based organizations and nonprofits got higher marks than government for their hurricane recovery efforts, according to a poll of Louisiana residents. "Louisiana residents were not particularly charitable when it came to evaluating government response to recent hurricanes, but were considerably more favorable of the efforts of faith-based organizations and nonprofits, including local community foundations and Red Cross," according to the survey by Louisiana State University.

The complete survey can be found at http://www.survey.lsu.edu/.

Posted by Jennifer Lowe, 05:12:30 PM

Saturday, December 03, 2005

Faith Based Groups Join Campaign To End LSC's Private Money Restriction
Recently, 31 leading faith-based groups joined the campaign to end the Legal Services Corporation's private money restriction, a federal rule that each year deprives thousands of low-income individuals and families of legal help in critical civil cases. In a letter to Congressmen Wolf and Mollohan, the religious groups wrote, “We are deeply concerned that this [provision] hurts the families we serve, imposes unnecessary costs, and sets a dangerous precedent for public-private partnerships. The law closes the doors of justice for many low-income individuals and families who simply cannot afford to hire a private lawyer to help them in civil matters.”

Signatories to the letter include the National Council of Churches, Evangelicals for Social Action, the National Baptist Convention, the Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy, Pax Christi USA, and 26 other local, regional, and national groups of various denominations. These groups represent well over 55 million Americans of faith.

This new alliance is an important step in the effort to help the most vulnerable people in America access desperately needed legal assistance. To view the press release or the letter, please visit www.ncccusa.org or www.brennancenter.org.

Posted by Jennifer Lowe, 10:52:58 AM

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