Friend,

In the wee hours on Thursday, the House of Representatives passed its massive budget reconciliation bill, trading the largest Medicaid cut in history for the largest tax cut for the rich in history.

The process was messy, with provisions going in and coming out so rapidly that it’s not clear how many of the members who voted to pass the bill actually knew what was in it.

For a time, the so-called ‘nonprofit killer’ provision that would give the president the authority to unilaterally strip the nonprofit status of any group without due process or a clear evidentiary standard, was included in this bill. When the dust settled, this provision had been removed. That’s good.

But the big bill now goes to the Senate, where it will be rewritten and restructured, and where the nonprofit killer could very easily be reinserted. And in the rush to pass something as they near their self-imposed July 4th deadline, Congress could very well hand the president a powerful tool to silence opposing viewpoints.

The Sanders Institute is a nonprofit think tank. We’re very careful to keep our activities within the scope of our IRS-approved mission:

A vital democracy requires an informed electorate, civil discourse and bold ideas. The mission of the Sanders Institute is to revitalize democracy by actively engaging individuals, organizations and the media in the pursuit of progressive solutions to economic, environmental, racial and social justice issues.

But the truth is, the Sanders Institute is a likely target. We were founded after Senator Bernie Sanders’s historic presidential campaigns, and though we are nonpartisan and nonelectoral, we certainly have a point of view that often comes into conflict with the policies of the current administration. And Senator Sanders is certainly not one to shy away from standing up for what he believes in, even when it means telling the public when the president and his party are transforming America from a democracy to an oligarchy.

Because of our connections to Senator Sanders, if the current administration has the authority to pick and choose which nonprofits stay in business, we could be shut down, no matter how scrupulously we follow the law.

The Sanders Institute doesn’t have a lobbyist. We can’t promise that we’ll fight this measure in the halls of Congress. But we will keep doing what we do best - bringing voices together to stand up for what they believe in, and working cooperatively to build a more just society.

If Congress hands the president new powers, we will stand up for our rights in the same way. It’s not an easy path, but no one ever said building a better future would be.

The only way to build a vital democracy is to stand together. Can you make a donation to the Sanders Institute today so that we can keep fighting for you?

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In solidarity,

Dave Driscoll
Executive Director
The Sanders Institute