Nonprofit Advocacy and Lobbying

INDEPENDENT SECTOR Letter to Members of the House of Representatives Regarding H.R. 235, the Houses of Worship Political Speech Protection Act

January 28, 2004

Dear Representative:

The House of Representatives this year may consider H.R. 235, the Houses of Worship Political Speech Protection Act. This bill would modify section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code to permit churches to engage in political campaign activities without jeopardizing their tax-exempt status. This would be a significant change to the current absolute prohibition on political campaign activities for all charitable nonprofits.

The Board of Directors of INDEPENDENT SECTOR, the leading national coalition of charitable nonprofits, private foundations, and corporate giving programs, strongly opposes this change from current law. We believe that it is critical for charitable nonprofits, including both religious and secular organizations, to continue to be able to speak out on issues that affect their causes and their constituents without becoming embroiled in partisan politics. Current law protects the integrity of charitable nonprofits by preventing individuals from using tax-deductible contributions to avoid tax and legal restrictions that apply to political donations. Current law also prevents individuals from using charitable nonprofit organizations, which are, by definition, organized for public purposes, to advance their personal partisan political views.

We urge you not to cosponsor H.R. 235. If you already are a cosponsor, we encourage you to withdraw your support. In addition, we urge you to oppose the bill when it comes before the House of Representatives. Please feel free to contact us if we can be of assistance in your deliberations.


Sincerely,

Diana Aviv
President and CEO
INDEPENDENT SECTOR