Top Ten Concerns and Status Update
Since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, U.S.-based charities have become targets in the government's war on terror financing. Despite the sweeping implications for all domestic nonprofit organizations, the lion's share of the burden of increased scrutiny, suspicion, and pre-emptive action has fallen on Muslim groups. This imbalanced campaign raises significant legal and ethical questions.
The Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) new approach to enforcing the ban on partisan activities by charities and religious organizations has raised serious questions about the agency's interpretation of the law, about evenhanded enforcement, and about the appropriateness of an approach aimed at deterring speech. This report summarizes the Political Activities Compliance Initiative (PACI) and new compliance guidance from the IRS, and raises questions that must be addressed to ensure charities and religious organizations can continue to play their essential role in public policy debates.
The Bush administration has failed the public time and time again on mad cow disease, putting corporate special interests above the public interest.
Under the Bush administration, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is slowly dismantling its flagship environmental information tool--the Toxic Release Inventory (TRI). The program has been protected and improved for over the last 15 years, serving as a constant example of the vital role information plays in a democracy. Unfortunately, the program's success has made it a target for those that seek to reduce corporate oversight and accountability.
The second annual report from OpenTheGovernment.org, found secrecy in 2004 extended to more classified activity, more federal advisory meetings, more new patents deemed "secret," more domestic surveillance, and more new state laws restricting public access to information.
Since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, federal measures intended to cut off terrorism funding have imposed undue burdens on the nonprofit sector. This report addresses unbalanced anti-terrorist financing regulations and guidelines and suggests a clear, sensible system, under which nonprofit organizations and foundations can pursue legitimate charitable activities.
The Bush administration's first term was marked by a historic effort to eliminate the public's protections.