WASHINGTON — The U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation Thursday that would give the Treasury Department unilateral authority to remove the tax-exempt status of nonprofits that claim to support terrorism, alarming liberties groups civil arguments about how a second Trump presidency could invoke it to punish political opponents.

The bill passed by a vote of 219 to 184, with a majority of support coming from Republicans who accused Democrats of changing course in their support for the “common sense” proposal only after Donald Trump’s election. Trump for a second term earlier this month.

Speaking on the House floor before the vote, Rep. Jason Smith, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, said his colleagues across the aisle would still support the bill if Vice President Kamala Harris won the presidential election in the United States. And we, as members of Congress, have a duty to ensure that taxpayers are not subsidizing terrorism,” the Missouri lawmaker said. “It’s very, very simple.”

But the proposal has sparked concern from a number of nonprofits who say it could be used to target organizations, including media outlets, universities and civil society groups, with which a future presidential administration disagrees. They say it doesn’t provide groups with enough due process.

“This bill is a Republican authoritarian play to expand the executive branch’s sweeping powers, attack political enemies, and stifle political dissent,” said Rep. Pramila Jayapal, chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. in the House before the presidential election. the vote.

Critics also view it as redundant since supporting designated terrorist groups is already against U.S. law. The proposal, which now moves to the Democratic-controlled Senate where its fate is uncertain, would also delay tax filing deadlines for Americans held hostage or illegally detained abroad.

The bill would create a new category of “organizations supporting terrorism,” according to a Congressional Research Service analysis from an earlier version of the legislation. This category is defined as any organization designated by the Secretary of the Treasury as having provided material support to a terrorist organization within the past three years.

“We think this legislation goes too far,” said Jenn Holcomb, vice president of government affairs at the Council on Foundations. “This would allow the Secretary of the Treasury to designate a 501c nonprofit organization as a terrorist organization, at his discretion. And our concern is that there’s not enough to really ensure that a nonprofit understands the reasoning designated by a secretary as such.

The bill would give a nonprofit organization designated as “supporting terrorism” 90 days to appeal that designation. Nonprofit organizations like the American Civil Liberties Union I said that the bill does not require the Secretary of the Treasury to disclose all evidence used to make the designation.

The bill’s text describes how Treasury must send “a description of such material support or resources to the extent consistent with national security and law enforcement interests.”

In a joint statement Along with the independent sector, the National Council of Nonprofits and the United Philanthropy Forum, the Council on Foundations also said the bill would shift the burden of proof to the nonprofit, and even if If an organization were ultimately exonerated, the nonprofit would “risk irreparable damage to their operations and reputation.”

If it becomes law, the bill could apply to a wide range of nonprofit organizations, including membership organizations, labor unions and private foundations.

A version of the bill was first introduced after the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, and the House passed an earlier version of the bill in April, including with support from some Democrats.

The bill also came up for a vote last week, but failed to gain the two-thirds majority required under the suspension of the rules.

Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib, the only Palestinian-American representative in Congress, said Thursday before the vote that it would be the third time she would vote against the bill.

“It doesn’t matter who the president of the United States is,” she said. “This is a dangerous and unconstitutional bill that would allow unchecked power to target nonprofits as political enemies and shut them down without due process.”

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Thalia Beaty reported from New York. ___

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