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Home :  Nonprofit Issues :  Advocacy Blog : 
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Advocacy Blog


Tuesday, January 23, 2007

No Pensions for Convicted Lawmakers

The House has passed a bill today that would strip pensions from any member of Congress "who is convicted of any of certain offenses committed by that individual while serving as a member of Congress, and for other purposes." No one voted against HR 476, especially after the scandals of the previous Congress. A similar measure is included in the Senate ethics and lobbying reform bill that passed late last week. According to CQ($$), such crimes include the conviction of certain felonies, including bribery, defrauding the government and perjury involving "falsely denying commission of an act." Pensions would also be denied to members found to have coerced others to lie on their behalf. "The bill, however, will not be retroactive, meaning that some former members — including Bob Ney, R-Ohio, who was recently sentenced to 30 months on bribery related charges — will still be eligible for their pensions."



Posted by Amanda Adams, 06:15:07 PM



2006 Form 990 Instructions

According to BNA Money and Politics ($$), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will post on its website instructions for the 2006 Form 990 used by exempt organizations to report their revenues. Many are expecting changes to the reporting requirements in the 2005 form, "which asked not only for the names of highly paid individuals and their relationship to the charity and other organizations but the amounts paid to each individual by the related organization." The IRS is also actively investigating charities that make contributions to political organizations, and has sent examination letters to 79 churches and 179 non-church charities. The IRS has reasons to believe these groups made direct contributions to political organizations. IRS's Tax Exempt and Government Entities Division is expected to have a report on the program this spring.

In addition, IRS is stepping into new territory by looking at how many clicks away from a charitable organization a political Web site is. "Is it one link or five links?" he [Marvin Friedlander, chief of exempt organizations rulings and agreements] asked. "We have a couple of cases that present that issue to us, as to whether a 501(c)(3) is engaged in political intervention depending on what other sites it is linking to."



Posted by Amanda Adams, 11:12:51 AM



Monday, January 22, 2007

Stay Exempt

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced that it has launched a new website offering tax-exempt organizations free online training workshops covering tax compliance issues geared towards small and mid-sized exempt organizations. The website, "Stay Exempt - Tax Basics for 501(c)(3)s," has five interactive tutorials. These topics include keeping your tax-exempt status, employment issues, unrelated business income, form 990, and required disclosures.



Posted by Amanda Adams, 05:20:36 PM



Tuesday, January 16, 2007

CREW Cannot Sue FEC Over Enforcement Complaint

BNA Money and Politics (subscription required) reported that on January 12 a federal appeals court ruled that the group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) did not have the needed legal standing to sue the Federal Election Commission (FEC). The FEC found that Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) improperly provided a contact list to the President Bush's re-election campaign. CREW then filed an enforcement complaint against the FEC, arguing that the list was worth more than the FEC considered. "CREW attorney Anne Weisman told a three-judge panel during the appellate argument in October that her organization has a right to know more about an in-kind contribution made by ATR to Bush's 2004 campaign in the form of a list of key contacts." What is in consideration is the case of an outside entity indirectly involved challenging the FEC, and the ruling that this independent nonprofit does not have standing to sue.



Posted by Amanda Adams, 12:09:02 PM



Thursday, January 11, 2007

Supreme Court Hears Union Fees Case
Yesterday the Supreme Court heard in a single argument combining Davenport v. Washington Education Association, and Washington v. Washington Education Association. At issue in this case is whether a union can use mandatory dues for political purposes without first getting the teacher's permission. As reported in BNA; "A Washington campaign finance law requiring unions to obtain individual nonmembers' consent to use their agency fees for political purposes does not violate unions' First Amendment rights, Washington Attorney General Robert M. McKenna and Solicitor General Paul D. Clement argued to the U.S. Supreme Court Jan. 10." While the attorney for the Washington Education Association argued that the state law is burdensome and prohibits the union's ability and right to engage in political advocacy. Read the story in the New York Times here.

Posted by Amanda Adams, 06:04:17 PM



Campaign Finance Not Considered for Senate Ethics Reform

While still debating and crafting amendments to S.1, some lawmakers are trying to use the opportunity to attach campaign finance issues to the ethics and lobbying bill. However, Democratic leaders have decided in order to pass the strongest bill as quickly as possible, campaign finance matters must be delayed. One such attempt was Senator Feingold's introduction of S.223, for mandatory electronic campaign filing. Despite being a necessary and seemingly uncontroversial item, it remains to be ungermane. Hopefully, if not included as an amendement to the ethics bill, it will be dealt with again soon. This DailyKos blog is rallying support for the provision. Meanwhile, Senator Vitter introduced two campaign finance amendments, both voted down. From BNA Money and Politics (subscription required):

Later, the Senate voted to table, or kill, amendments offered by Vitter to restrict campaign contributions from Indian tribes and to prohibit a lawmaker's family members from being employed by the lawmaker's "leadership" political action committee. Little substantive debate occurred on the measures. Feinstein said she would opposed the measures simply to keep "extraneous matters" from burdening legislation aimed at dealing with lobbying and ethics rules.



Posted by Amanda Adams, 11:57:19 AM



Thursday, January 04, 2007

Nonprofits: Applying for Grants Online
For those interested in learning how to apply for grants online, and for those unfamiliar with grants.gov, there will be a valuable web training. To register visit www.ngma.org. Beginning the day of the training the webcast will be available anytime online.

Posted by Amanda Adams, 05:49:19 PM



Violence Against Aid Workers
Reuters reports that aid worker violence reached a high in 2006 with 90 major incidences. Over 40 percent took place in Sudan. The article addresses the need for non-governmental organizations to be recognized as neutral and impartial, regardless of skin color. "It's not just that aid workers are associated with political actors; they are political actors. In conflict situations, attacking them is seen as an effective way of controlling the local population."



Posted by Amanda Adams, 04:24:33 PM




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Most Recent Entries for Advocacy Blog

Hearing on FEC Nominees

FISA Negotiations Continue

Librarians on the Hill to Discuss FISA and Other Issues

Forum on Rules for Tax-Exempt Organizations during an Election Year

Federal Trade Commission Seeks Authority Over 501(c)(3) Groups

Reid Seeks Help from the White House for Separate Hans von Spakovsky Vote

IRS May Consider Project to Monitor Political Activity of 501(c)(4)s

Young Adults Voting at Record Levels this Primary Season

Missouri Lawmakers Want to Require Proof of Citizenship to Vote

Group Seeks Court Test of IRS Electioneering Ban

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