As part of a year-long campaign, the U.S. House continues to advocate for legislation that would weaken the so-called Johnson Amendment, which ensures that nonprofits must remain nonpartisan. The Providers’ Council and our national partner, the National Council of Nonprofits, have advocated for protecting the Johnson Amendment, including signing the community letter in support of nonpartisanship.
The latest comes via Politico, which reported on Thursday, July 19 that “lawmakers approved legislation barring the IRS from revoking the tax-exempt status of churches that back political candidates, unless it is specifically approved by the commissioner of the agency.” The full article is here.
The article includes a quote by National Council of Nonprofits head Tim Delaney: “It’s now impossible for Congress and the White House to deny their objective: to politicize the trusted charitable nonprofit community by authorizing unlimited, unfettered and untraceable political money to flow through the nonprofit sector to benefit partisan special interests. Charitable nonprofits are not in the business of partisan politics and are not here to be used to hide or launder political money.”
The Providers’ Council will continue to follow the issue. For more information, please contact Bill Yelenak.