The bill gives the Treasury secretary the opportunity to designate a group as a “terrorist supporting organization“ without requiring an explanation behind the designation or providing evidence.
President-elect Trump has made promises to use his power to target whomever he deemed to be his political enemies and could utilize the Treasury secretary to persecute organizations that he feels are “enemies from within.”
The legislation would take away the tax exempt status from nonprofit organizations by designating them as “terrorist supporting organizations“.
Republican leadership of the House of Representatives have accused many organizations of support for terrorism. Including Alliance for Global Justice, the Westchester Peace Action Committee Foundation, Jewish Voice for Peace, Islamic Relief USA, United Hands Relief, the People’s Forum, Tides, and Americans for Justice in Palestine educational foundation. American Muslims for Palestine and other organizations have been subjected to legal battles over the last months.
Over 50 members of the House of Representatives from the Democratic Party voted in favor of this horrible resolution.
The Democratic members voting in favor of this resolution last week and who should be contacted immediately and asked to vote against this bill are:
Over this weekend, contact members of the US Congress to vote NO on HR 9495!!
The Congressional Switchboard number is 202 224-3121.
Ann Wright is a 29-year U.S. Army/Army Reserves veteran, a retired U.S. Army colonel and retired U.S. State Department official, known for her outspoken opposition to the Iraq War. She is a member of the Veterans For Peace Advisory Board. She received the State Department Award for Heroism in 1997, after helping to evacuate several thousand people during the civil war in Sierra Leone. She is most noted for having been one of three State Department officials to publicly resign in direct protest of the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Wright was also a passenger on the Challenger 1, which along with the Mavi Marmara, was part of the 2010 Gaza flotilla. She served in Nicaragua, Grenada, Somalia, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Sierra Leone, Micronesia and Mongolia. In December 2001 she was on the small team that reopened the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan. She is the co-author of the book Dissent: Voices of Conscience. She has written frequently on rape in the military.