I am writing to demand the immediate removal of Section 112209 from the House Ways and Means Committee’s FY2025 budget reconciliation package. This provision, formerly introduced as H.R. 6408 and H.R. 9495, is an unprecedented and unconstitutional assault on nonprofit organizations and the First Amendment.
Section 112209 would grant the Secretary of the Treasury unchecked authority to revoke the tax-exempt status of nonprofits without evidence, due process, or judicial oversight. This is an authoritarian overreach, giving the executive branch license to silence dissent and punish advocacy groups on political grounds. It would establish a dangerous precedent that could be used to dismantle any organization critical of U.S. policy—including those advocating for Palestinian rights, religious freedom, racial justice, civil liberties for LGBTQ+ and veterans, and other urgent causes.
This measure is not about national security—it is about suppressing political speech and criminalizing activism. It targets the very organizations that have historically played crucial roles in expanding civil rights and holding the government accountable. It is also unnecessary: existing laws already provide tools to investigate and prosecute entities engaged in unlawful activity without violating civil liberties.
Allowing Section 112209 to remain in the reconciliation package is a betrayal of the Constitution and a direct threat to every American’s right to speak, organize, and advocate freely. It must be removed.
I urge you to vote against any budget package that includes this provision and to support any amendment that strikes this language in full. History will remember whether you stood with the Constitution or enabled its erosion.
First sent on May 13 by BlueCollarJew
