The U.S. Capitol. (Photo by Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom)
Michigan House Democrats railed against a bill Thursday several of them supported in the past that would allow for the revocation of tax exempt statuses for nonprofits President-elect Donald Trump’s administration deems to be terrorism groups.
The “Stop Terror-Financing and Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act”, H.R. 9495, passed 219-184, almost entirely along party lines Thursday, with only 15 Democrats in the U.S. House supporting the bill. All of Michigan’s Democrats in the U.S. House voted against the bill while all the state’s Republicans voted in favor.
The bill has been dubbed by opponents as the “Nonprofit Killer” as it would allow Trump’s Secretary of Defense to label nonprofits as engaging in terrorist actions without having to provide evidence to such labeled groups before stripping them of their tax exempt statuses.
Democrats argued on the floor Thursday that the bill will give Trump the freedom to attack his personal political enemies without checks and balances while Republicans argued that all but 10 Democrats supported an almost identical bill in April and are only changing their minds now that Trump is heading back to the White House.
U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Detroit) who has been vocal in her support of the Palestinian people amid the war in Gaza, spoke against the bill on the floor calling it “dangerous and unconstitutional” that would allow “unchecked power to target nonprofit organizations as political enemies and shut them down without due process.”
“This legislation is part of a broader assault on our civil liberties, including our right to dissent in our country. It aims to criminalize the very social justice movements fighting for justice and peace here at home, as well as abroad,” said Tlaib, the only Palestinian-American member of Congress. “Make no mistake…this is not just about Palestinian human rights advocacy organizations. This is about the NAACP, the ACLU, Planned Parenthood, folks that have been trying to make it safe for our kids to go to school away from the gun crisis and violence.”
Other Democrats from Michigan voiced their intention to vote no on the bill on social media, with U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Ann Arbor) addressing Republican criticism that Democrats like her voted yes on the same bill last week.
Along with the nonprofit status measure, the other half of the bill would allow leniency in tax deadlines for citizens and their families that have been detained or held hostage abroad. This hits home for Dingell, as Paul Whelan, who was released from a Russian prison in a prisoner swap earlier this year after being imprisoned for more than 5 years, is one of her constituents.
“Last week, I voted ‘yes’ on this bill in defense of American citizens who have been wrongfully detained, like my constituent Paul Whelan. We will work to pass that provision separately,” Dingell said. “At the same time, I understand the real fears about allowing the Treasury to target and terminate the tax-exempt status of nonprofit organizations based on a subjective declaration, and the dangerous possibility the Trump Administration could weaponize this power to destroy organizations that it disagrees with.”
But Republicans aren’t impressed with the change in heart some Democrats have had on the bill, U.S. Rep. Lloyd Smucker (R-PA) said on the floor. He further added that Democrats voting against the bill are demonstrating “election denialism” as they were ready to pass the bill for a presidency under Vice President Kamala Harris, but not Trump.
“So you’re saying, folks, this would have been okay if [Vice] President [Kamala] Harris had been elected, but not with Donald Trump,” Smucker said. “[Trump] won the popular vote… The American people believe that Donald Trump will save this country… They don’t believe that he’s a fascist. They don’t believe that he’s the kind of dictator that you think he will be. Talk about election denialism, when are you going to accept that President Trump won this election and that President Trump will do what is right for the American people.”
A coalition of Michigan nonprofits issued a statement in opposition to the bill Wednesday saying that Trump uniquely and routinely lashes out at groups and individuals that he deems disloyal and lambasts journalists who accurately report his actions.
The coalition of nonprofits include progressive policy seeking organizations like Planned Parenthood Advocates of Michigan, Clean Water Action, Equality Michigan and Progress Michigan.
“Effectively, this bill would give the president carte blanche to directly attack any nonprofits he perceives as enemies. With someone as reckless and vindictive as Trump in office, that could include any number of social justice and advocacy organizations, including those who work on reproductive health, LGBTQ+ advocacy, or racial justice,” the statement said.” Every social justice and human service group and all the services and protections they provide to Michiganders would be in jeopardy.”