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A newly elected president and a new Republican majority in the US Senate are two months away from taking office. But arts advocates in Pittsburgh and elsewhere are already sounding the alarm about legislation recently passed by the U.S. House of Representatives.
The End Terrorist Financing and American Hostage Tax Penalties Act, which passed the House last week, would empower the Secretary of the Treasury to unilaterally designate nonprofit groups as “terrorist supporting organizations” and remove them. them from their tax-exempt status. Most U.S. arts groups are, of course, nonprofit organizations.
The bill had been working its way through Congress – and raising concerns – since before the election. On September 20, a group of about 150 civil and human rights groups, from the ACLU and NAACP to the American Library Association and Oxfam America, signed a letter to House Majority Leader Mike Johnson (R-LA) and to Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. (D–NY) condemning the bill as a violation of due process.
Existing laws already make it a federal crime for non-profit organizations to provide “material support” to terrorist organizations. The groups said the proposed law would have “immense” potential for abuse.
“The executive branch could use this authority to target its political opponents and use the fear of crippling legal fees, the stigma of designation, and donors shying away from controversy to stifle dissent and chill speech and advocacy,” the letter said .
The most recent version of the bill, H.R. 9495, passed the House by a vote of 219 to 184. (A Nov. 12 vote failed to muster the two-thirds majority needed for passage, but under House Speaker Johnson , follow-up required a simple majority.) The vote followed party lines, with 15 Democrats voting “yes.” (The two Democratic members of the southwestern Pennsylvania congressional delegation opposed the bill, while the three Republicans supported it.)
To become law, HR 9495 requires Senate approval, which many observers believe is likely after January 20, when a new Republican majority takes office alongside President-elect Donald Trump.
Some members of Pittsburgh’s arts community have expressed concern.
“House passage of HR 9495 marks a dangerous milestone for nonprofits in the United States,” wrote Patrick Fisher, executive director of the advocacy group Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council, on LinkedIn. “This unfair legislation threatens the very foundations of the nonprofit sector – putting countless organizations, their missions and the communities they serve at risk.”
“Artists and arts organizations are the backbone of our region’s rich and vaunted culture,” wrote Jake Goodman, executive director of the Opportunity Fund, in an email. us, your committed financiers.”
In an emailed statement, The Heinz Endowments said it is “closely monitoring” the progress of the bill and added: “Amid the current uncertainty surrounding the bill, we remain steadfast in our commitment to our beneficiaries.”
While the first version of the bill, introduced in November 2023, was intended to address concerns that U.S. nonprofits would fund groups like Hamas, the potential uses of the act by a Trump administration are unknown. (The “Tax Penalties on American Hostages” portion of the bill would protect hostages held abroad from federal taxes and penalties.)
Under the law, of course, not only artistic groups but also any non-profit organizations can be targeted.
“Foundation leaders have warned that the bill is an attempt to curb the work of progressive philanthropy in areas seemingly far removed from global terrorism,” including, perhaps especially, social justice groups, wrote Alex Daniels in “The Chronicle of Philanthropy.” .
And if the standard of providing “material support” to terrorist groups may not seem readily applicable to national social justice initiatives, let alone art exhibitions or theatrical productions, critics of H.R. 9495 are little comforted.
“I am confident that the law will be broadly defined and generously applied to reach countless organizations dedicated to defending human rights, equity and freedom of expression, both globally and nationally, and, yes, that certainly includes the arts,” wrote Joseph Hall. , co-executive director of the Kelly Strayhorn Theatre, via email.
Kelly Strayhorn’s mission is to empower BIPOC artists and artists of color and their audiences. Hall wrote that he sees the bill in the context of developments such as the 2023 U.S. Supreme Court ruling ending affirmative action in higher education and this year’s ruling by Atlanta-based venture capital fund The Fearless Fund. to end a grant program for black women entrepreneurs after a long legal battle over racial discrimination.
The “Stop Terror-Financing” bill would also “have profound impacts specifically on BIPOC communities and the organizations essential to keeping our communities strong,” Hall wrote. “The tipping point is yet to come.”
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