The ANSWER Coalition is circulating the following important appeal from the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund and The Center for Protest Law and Litigation. HR 9495 is a grave assault on the right to speak out for Palestine and against the genocide in Gaza. Especially as the Trump administration begins to take shape, stopping this bill is a crucial part of the broader fight to defend the right to protest against war and racism. Click here to get the contact information for the Congressional representative in your area.

The Partnership for Civil Justice Fund is calling on all those who care about free speech and the right to dissent to take immediate action to contact Congress and demand they oppose H.R. 9495, a proposed new law that would grant President-Elect Donald Trump the ability to strip the tax-exempt status of non-profit organizations engaged in free speech.

H.R. 9495, dubbed the “nonprofit killer” law, would enable the Secretary of the Treasury to revoke the tax-exempt status of nonprofit organizations by designating them as “terrorist supporting.” The designation can be issued without evidence, without due process, and with no meaningful opportunity to challenge the designation.

“We know that, straight-away, this will be used to revoke the tax-exempt status of lawful non-profit organizations who speak out on issues related to Palestine, who oppose the genocidal slaughter of tens of thousands of civilians in Gaza, their forced ethnic displacement, and the use of starvation as a weapon of war. They will first target groups who protest against the US support of the genocidal war against Palestinians. They will not stop there,” warned Mara Verheyden-Hilliard, Executive Director of the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund and its project The Center for Protest Law & Litigation.

“This law will be used to widely target those who dissent, those who protest and organize mass opposition and stand up for fundamental principles of justice. This law will be used as a tool for retribution and suppression as a matter of policy against those who democratically dissent. "

On Tuesday night, H.R. 9495 narrowly fell short of a two-thirds majority required for expedited approval. This following week, it is expected to be re-introduced to the House using a procedure that requires only a simple majority.

Last month the Center for Protest Law & Litigation and the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund joined 100 civil rights and civil liberties organizations in a letter to Congress opposing these McCarthyist tactics that, as the letter said, “would empower the government to target civil rights, humanitarian, journalistic, and advocacy organizations based on their political positions, without providing meaningful opportunities to contest these opaque and potentially politically motivated determinations.”

Demand that your Congressional representative vote no on HR 9495