Update: Bill Passes House With Nonprofit Gag Provision Intact

Thanks to all of you who worked to persuade members of Minnesota's Congressional Delegation to oppose restrictions on voter registration attached to the Federal Housing Reform Act, H.R. 1461, that passed the House on Wednesday, October 26. MCN will join the many groups at the state and national level tracking this issue carefully, and we will provide immediate updates. This issue is likely to come up again if the Senate takes up the companion Housing Bill or if a similar provision is included in other legislation.

Participation is the core of democracy; thanks for helping in this battle to protect nonprofit rights.

While debate on the Federal Housing Finance Reform Act was dominated by discussion of the Nonprofit Gag Provision, the bill passed easily by a 331-to-90 vote on the afternoon of Oct. 26 (http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2005/roll547.xml). Two key votes focused on the Gag Provision, while far closer, went down in defeat.

It was clear that members of the House heard from the nonprofit community. Many offices reported receiving lots of calls, emails, and faxes expressing opposition to the Gag Provision. The sector should be pleased that we drew major attention to the provision, despite having only heard about it less than two weeks ago.

What's Next

Despite the Nonprofit Gag Provision now being part of the Federal Housing Finance Reform Act passed by the House, it does not follow necessarily that it will become law. It must pass the Senate, survive a conference, and be signed by the President. Coincidentally, the White House issued a statement that it has problems with the House bill, although the statement did not address the Gag Provision.

At a broader level, that the House could pass such incredibly restrictive anti-advocacy language should serve as a warning to our sector to keep a vigilant eye out for similar efforts. Over the last 20 or so years, conservatives have tried to silence the advocacy voice of nonprofits. We have successfully defended these rights--and we will need to continue doing so in the future.

We hope you will thank those representatives that voted to delete the Nonprofit Gag Provision. Those who voted for the restriction should still hear from you.

Thanks to OMBWatch for providing much of the content in this update.

BACKGROUND ON NONPROFIT GAG PROVISION

Nonprofit Voter Mobilization Efforts Threatened
Congress proposes Affordable Housing Fund compromise that widely restricts voter registration

The Affordable Housing Fund (AHF) is a new source of money that will be made available to Minnesota for affordable housing production, preservation, and rehabilitation. In reaching a compromise for this bill, a provision has been included that will prohibit nonprofit and public organizations that do voter registration, with their own funds, from applying for and receiving grants from the Affordable Housing Fund. For profit organizations are specifically exempted from these restrictions.

The language in the bill prohibits applications from any nonprofit or public organizations that:

The Minnesota Council of Nonprofits strongly opposes these restrictions on nonprofit eligibility for the following reasons:

This specific provision is located within the Government Sponsored Enterprises (GSE) regulatory reform legislation (H.R. 1461) which is slated for a floor vote in the House of Representatives during the week of October 24. So pressure on Congress is needed NOW! MCN urges you to work with The National Housing Trust Fund Campaign to oppose this provision or simply call or write your representative in Congress.

The National Housing Trust Fund Campaign strenuously opposes these restrictions. They have created an easy action option. Call 1-866-864-NHTF (toll-free) and ask to speak to your Representative’s Legislative Director or Housing Staff to deliver this message:

I have learned that language that will restrict an organization’s right to engage in voter registration may be included in H.R. 1461 when it goes to the floor for a vote.

• I oppose any language that restricts voter registration and freedom of affiliation by nonprofit and public organizations when using their own funds
• I urge Representative ________ to tell House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL) and Financial Services Chairman Mike Oxley (R-OH) to reject these restrictions and bring the bill to the floor for a vote without this language

Or simply send a message to your representative:

Representative Gil Gutknecht (R - 01)
DC Phone: 202-225-2472
DC Fax: 202-225-3246
http://www.gil.house.gov/contact/formemail.htm

Representative Mark Kennedy (R - 06)
DC Phone: 202-225-2331
DC Fax: 202-225-6475
http://markkennedy.house.gov/kennedycontents/contact/

Representative John Kline (R - 02)
DC Phone: 202-225-2271
DC Fax: 202-225-2595
http://www.house.gov/kline/zipauth.htm

Representative Betty McCollum (D - 04)
DC Phone: 202-225-6631
DC Fax: 202-225-1968
http://mccollum.house.gov/custom/mccollum-contactme.asp

Representative James L. Oberstar (D - 08)
DC Phone: 202-225-6211
DC Fax: 202-225-0699
http://wwwc.house.gov/oberstar/zipauth.htm

Representative Collin C. Peterson (D - 07)
DC Phone: 202-225-2165
DC Fax: 202-225-1593
http://collinpeterson.house.gov/email.html

Representative Jim Ramstad (R - 03)
DC Phone: 202-225-2871
DC Fax: 202-225-6351
mn03@mail.house.gov

Representative Martin Olav Sabo (D - 05)
DC Phone: 202-225-4755
DC Fax: 202-225-4886
http://www.house.gov/formsabo/IMA/issue.htm

Questions? Comments? Contact Joshua Schenck Winters at josh@mncn.org