Government Matters Articles

Update on Elections and Nonprofit Advocacy

Complaints filed against Jerry Falwell Ministries at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Federal Election Commission (FEC) allege that the organization illegally endorsed President Bush and solicited donations for a conservative political action committee. A bill to repeal the electioneering communications blackout of broadcasts referring to federal candidates within 60 days of an election or 30 days of a primary or convention is introduced in the Senate, as the Wisconsin Right to Life Committee sues to overturn application of the rule to their grassroots lobbying ads

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Uniform Financial Guidelines for Government Grants Proposed

A coalition of nonprofits has published draft Uniform Data Elements and Definitions for Grant Budgeting and Financial Reporting" for use by government grantees as part of the federal grant streamlining process. The coalition is seeking comments from nonprofits and their accountants by September 30. After the guidelines are modified to incorporate input a new version will be released for field-testing, and all grantees will be urged to try them.

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Senate Finance Committee Asked to Consider Financial Burden of Reform Proposals

Comments by lawyers and accountants to the Senate Finance Committee at a July 22 Roundtable pointed out the financial and administrative burdens some staff reform proposals could impose on nonprofits. Some comments targeted a proposed IRS five-year review of each organization's tax-exempt status.

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Muslim Charity Says FBI Fabricated Evidence, 8 Indicted

On July 26, the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, the nation's largest Muslim charity, sent a letter to the Department of Justice Inspector General to investigate FBI's handling of case, alleging "materially misleading" evidence. Later the same day the Justice Department unsealed an indictment of the charity and seven top officials, charging material support of Hamas, a designated terrorist organization, and money laundering.

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Terror Prevention and Nonprofits: CFC Policy Raises Concerns about Chilling Impact

The Director of the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) announced July 31 that participating organizations have an affirmative obligation to check government terror watch lists in order to comply with a certification they are required to sign that they do not support terrorism. The statement prompted the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) to withdraw from the fund.

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Sign up for OpenTheGovernment.org Updates on Secrecy

With new proposals to expand government secrecy emerging weekly, it's hard to keep up with it all. To wit: The transportation spending bill working through Congress could allow officials to hide hazardous waste hauling through communities across the U.S. One piece of legislation would expand the Patriot Act, another would make permanent sections of the Patriot Act set to expire in 2005, yet a third would restore civil liberties protections for libraries and bookstores asked to divulge their patrons' reading habits.

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Data Quality Challenge Helps Bump Species from Consideration for Endangered List

On March 31, 2003 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) of the Department of the Interior received a data quality petition from Terry Bashore of the U.S. Air Force challenging information concerning FWS' proposed rule to list slickspot peppergrass as an endangered species. The challenge clearly contributed to the FWS' decision to withdraw its proposal to recognize and protect the plant as an endangered species.

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FBI Punishes Whistleblowers

Another former employee of the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) has come forward to blow the whistle on perceived failings and misconduct within the agency. Mike German, a 16 year veteran of the FBI, recently went public with accusations that the agency mismanagement a terrorism investigation. The case is being investigated but it is unclear how far the investigation will go given last month's dismissal of another FBI whistleblower case. New FBI Whistleblower

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Justice Dept. Asks for Destruction of Documents, Later Rescinds

The Department of Justice (DOJ) called for the destruction of all copies of five documents in library circulation, according to a July 20 message from the Superintendent of Documents. After public outcry from libraries and public interest groups, DOJ rescinded its request in a July 30 message. Although these training materials and other documents were already in the public domain, DOJ asserted that they were not appropriate for external use. One of the listed documents is a public law and law offices commonly use the others in assisting clients to reclaim assets from the government.

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Ask Your Representatives to Investigate the Data Quality Act

OMB recently published a report to Congress that analyzes and summarizes the first year under the Information Quality Act (IQA). The IQA, commonly known as the Data Quality Act, requires agencies to produce guidelines to ensure that information they use is of high quality. OMB Watch responded with an analysis, which found OMB's report presented Congress with misleading and incorrect facts. Congress never had a hearing on the law, and in light of the OMB report, it is now time for congressional oversight.

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