A bill that would have allowed the government to strip tax-exempt status from any non-profit it deemed to be supporting “terrorism” was narrowly blocked in the House of Representatives on Tuesday evening.
The bill was widely feared as a tool that Donald Trump could use to punish dissent, and critics argued the measure could have disproportionately targeted groups that criticize Israel and support Palestinian causes – and that it was designed to do just that.
The vote failed with 145 votes against it, falling short of the two-thirds required to circumvent regular House rules. Fifty-two Democrats voted in support of the bill.
The bill, called Stop Terror-Financing and Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act, or HR 9495, joined two measures together – one allowing the treasury department to withhold tax-exempt status from any non-profit it decides is a “terrorist-supporting organization” and another, less controversial measure, which would offer tax relief to Americans imprisoned unjustly abroad or held by terrorist groups.
Providing material support to US-designated terrorist groups is already illegal.
Critics of the bill argued that Republicans cynically pushed to fast-track the bill by merging the measure targeting non-profits with the provision offering tax relief to Americans imprisoned abroad, and described it as a gift to Trump, who made retaliation against “enemies” within the US a centerpiece of his campaign.
“This bill authorizes Donald Trump to recklessly impose a death penalty on any non-profit in America that happens to be on his enemies list,” said the Texas Democratic congressman Lloyd Doggett before the bill was taken to a vote. “With this bill, he can destroy the very life of civil society in this country, one group after another, even though the group involved that he targets as a terrorist supporting group has not violated a single law.”
Activists who have publicly criticized Israel amid its assault on Gaza have faced steep recriminations already, including doxxing, harassment and – in the case of one Cornell University student – the threat of deportation. Pro-Israel politicians have regularly claimed that pro-Palestinian groups are aligned with the militant group Hamas, a US-designated terrorist group.
Some critics of HR 9495 worried the bill would disproportionately target such activists.
“It could target major liberal funders who support Palestinian solidarity and peace groups who engage in protest. But it could also theoretically be used to target pro-choice groups, and I could see it being used against environmental groups,” Ryan Costello, policy director at the National Iranian American Council Action, told the Intercept.
But it was Trump’s impending second presidential term, and concerns about how he could use, or abuse, the law, that appear to have stopped the bill in the house.
“With Trump’s election, the conditions have changed,” said Doggett, who said he had supported an earlier version of the measure. “The dangers of granting additional power to him are far outweighed by any benefits from this bill.”
