****Begin File*************Begin File**************Begin File**** ***************************************************************** ISSN 1069-7799 ALAWON ALA Washington Office Newsline An electronic publication of the American Library Association Washington Office Volume 4, Number 98 November 16, 1995 In this issue: (170 lines) STOP THE ISTOOK-MCINTOSH AMENDMENTS LIMITING NONPROFIT ADVOCACY URGENT ACTION NEEDED: CONTACT REPRESENTATIVES AND ASK FOR A VOTE AGAINST ANY ISTOOK OR MCINTOSH AMENDMENTS ***************************************************************** STOP THE ISTOOK-MCINTOSH AMENDMENTS LIMITING NONPROFIT ADVOCACY Representatives Ernest Istook (R-OK) and David McIntosh (R-IN) plan to offer amendments today, November 16, to H.R. 2564, the lobby reform bill, that would greatly restrict the advocacy voice of nonprofit organizations and charities. These amendments would create a complex web of new requirements and poorly defined provisions that not-for-profit organizations would be forced to meet--burdensome and unnecessary red tape. IMMEDIATE ACTION is needed to on these proposals. McIntosh's amendments may, among other things, affect affiliated organizations like state chapters of the American Library Association. ALA opposes the Istook amendment in all its various mutations because it would restrict the advocacy voice of nonprofit organizations and impede the free flow of information to Congress and other law and policy makers. The following analysis describing the McIntosh plans to amend H.R. 2564, was prepared by OMB Watch. It should be read in conjunction with ALAWON Vol.4, No. 96, November 15, which provided information about the legislative language Istook intends to add to the bill. Istook is likely to offer his amendment first, followed by the three McIntosh amendments described below by OMB Watch: "Combined, these amendments far exceed the scope of any previous Istook/McIntosh/Erhlich amendment -- and the combined impact would be devastating for charities throughout the country. The McIntosh amendments add enormous red tape at a time when the public is calling for less bureaucracy. They are targeted only to nonprofit organizations, despite the fact that nonprofit entities only account for 6% of all federal grant recipients. The other 94% include state and local governments, taxable organizations, and individuals. Amendment #1: "Disclosure of Receipt of Federal Funds" 1. This only applies to nonprofit recipients of federal funds -- grants, loans, cooperative agreements, and other forms of federal assistance (probably inclusive of contracts) -- not to for-profit entities. Nonprofit recipients of federal funds must disclose on all communications intended to promote public support or opposition to "any policy of a Federal, State, or local government" the following statement: "This was prepared and paid for by an organization that accepts taxpayer dollars." In addition, the nonprofit recipient must submit a new annual report disclosing to the government information about: a) federal funds; b) expenditures dealing with political advocacy, attempts to influence legislation or administrative actions or decisions, payments to lobbyists, endorsements or coalitions that have lobbying as a purpose; c) campaign contributions, including in-kind contributions, through the entity or any affiliate, which also include efforts to support or oppose referenda, nominations, or reapportionment; d) the name and address of all registered lobbyists; and e) the most recent financial statement. This information will be publicly available. 2. Failure to comply will result in a civil penalty of $10,000 for first time offenders. Further failures will result in prohibition of federal funds for two years. 3. The definition of political advocacy is very, very broad. It covers such things as: executive and legislative branch communications at the local, state, and federal level; participating in, raising funds for, or providing monetary or in-kind contributions for any litigation except when the entity has standing to sue or intervene; contributions, dues, or "any other thing of value" to an entity that spends 5% or more of its money on advocacy; training or encouragement of advocacy; and joining, organizing, or assisting any entity (e.g., coalitions, organizations, cooperatives) which has "as one of its purposes" to engage in advocacy. This includes any action taken by any affiliate. Amendment #2: "Anti-Money Laundering Provision" This provision amends the original Sen. Alan Simpson (R-WY) amendment to the lobby reform bill that prohibits all 501(c)(4) social welfare organizations that lobby from receiving federal funds. The McIntosh amendment would extend the prohibition to all "affiliated organizations." The definition of affiliate is the same wording as the Istook amendment that the Senate opposed. An affiliated organization is one where any one of the following condition are met: a) the governing instrument of one entity controls another; b) there are overlapping boards and these individuals have enough votes to cause or prevent action on advocacy by each organization; or c) the entities use the same name or trademark (or represent themselves as being affiliated), and they coordinate advocacy or lobbying activities. Amendment #3: "Private Citizen Enforcement Provision" Creates a provision to allow bounty hunters to enforce any provision in the lobby reform law which addresses the receipt of federal grants. This is the same provision that was in the original Istook amendment, but now would apply more broadly to the other two McIntosh amendments and the proposed Istook amendment. Under the False Claims Act, any individual can sue a recipient of federal grants for up to ten years to allege non-compliance with the provisions in the lobby reform bill that deal with federal grants. Combined with the planned Istook amendment and the other two McIntosh amendments, this provision would have an enormously chilling impact on charities across the country." Analysis prepared by Gary D. Bass, OMB Watch, 1742 Connecticut Ave., N.W.,Washington, D.C. 20009-1171 (E-mail:bassg@rtknet.org or Voice: (202) 234-8494 or FAX: (202) 234-8584) ACTION NEEDED: Immediately call, fax or e-mail your Representative to ask her or him to vote against the Istook and McIntosh amendments, or any similar language, offered to H.R. 2564, the lobby disclosure reform bill. Debate on this bill proceeds at this writing so immediate response is necessary. Contact Anne A. Heanue at the ALA Washington Office for additional information. (E-mail aah@alawash.org or voice 202-628-8410 or fax: 202-628-8419) ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** ALAWON (ISSN 1069-7799) is an irregular publication of the American Library Association Washington Office, 1301 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20004. Internet: alawash@alawash.org; Phone: 202-628-8410; Fax: 202-628-8419. Contributing to this issue: Anne A. Heanue and Claudette W. Tennant; Editor: Lynne E. Bradley (leb@alawash.org). ALAWON is available free of charge and is available only in electronic form. To subscribe, send the message "subscribe ala- wo [your name]" to listserv@uicvm (Bitnet) or listserv@uicvm.uic.edu (Internet). Back issues and other documents are available from the listserv the list server. To find out what's available, send the message "send ala-wo filelist" to the listserv. The ALA-WO filelist contains the list of files with the exact filename and filetype. To get a particular file, issue the command "send filename filetype" to the listserv. Do not include the quotes in your commands. All materials in the newsletter subject to copyright by the American Library Association may be reprinted or redistributed for noncommercial purposes with appropriate credits. For other reprinting or redistribution, address requests to the ALA Washington Office (alawash@alawash.org). ****End File****************End File****************End File**** *****************************************************************