H.R. 9495: The National Council of Nonprofits’ Position

Guest Post Author: National Council of Nonprofits (NCN)

The National Council of Nonprofits shares the concerns of many in the charitable nonprofit and philanthropic communities over the House passage of the Stop Terror-Financing and Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act, H.R. 9495, but recognizes that further movement of the legislation this year and next is extremely unlikely.

Many provisions in the bill are positive. It specifically targets relief for hostages of terrorism, while ostensibly strengthening tools to curb terrorism financing. Strong opposition, however, arises because H.R. 9495 as currently written would trample due-process rights of organizations accused of violating the law while also failing to define what acts could actually be deemed “supporting terrorism.” A significant complaint is that humanitarian assistance to individuals could be deemed support of terrorism by overzealous politicians.

In short, the legislation goes far beyond the stated intent of its proponents and raises well-placed fears that it would be abused to target organizations pursuing legitimate missions and engaging in truly humanitarian assistance – both domestically and internationally.

It must be appreciated that the action alerts and advocacy from the charitable and philanthropic communities have turned an under-the-radar bill into an extremely controversial and high-profile measure that cannot advance without generating even greater outrage. Thanks to that advocacy to date, the proponents of the legislation have very few – if any – realistic options for securing enactment of the bill either this year or next; significant procedural burdens and the very slim margins in the House and Senate make passage virtually impossible. For this reason, the National Council of Nonprofits will remain vigilant, but focused on positive policy solutions and other threats arising in the coming weeks and months that have greater likelihood of movement in Congress.

More on NCN’s Position on the Legislation

• We Oppose H.R. 9495, Joint statement from Council on Foundations, Independent Sector, National Council of Nonprofits, and United Philanthropy Forum, Nov. 15, 2024.
• Due Process Challenged, Nonprofit Champion, Dec. 2, 2024.
• Video: Bill could strip tax exemptions from nonprofits accused of supporting terrorism(1:37), Jackie DeFusco, Hearst News Service, Dec. 1, 2024.