Steube, Lankford Reintroduce the Safeguarding Charity Act
Legislation Protects the Independence of Our Nation’s Nonprofit Organizations
WASHINGTON — U.S. Representative Greg Steube (R-Fla.) today introduced the Safeguarding Charity Act to clarify that tax-exempt organizations should not be treated as recipients of federal financial assistance. The legislation protects tax-exempt organizations from a perilous line of litigation in federal courts that could subject every church, nonprofit, and private school in America to burdensome federal regulations.
“Radical judges do not have the authority to twist federal law and force religious institutions to choose between their convictions and compliance,” said Rep. Steube. “The Safeguarding Charity Actreaffirms that tax-exempt status does not mean an organization is receiving federal financial assistance. This bill is about protecting churches, religious schools, and charities from federal overreach. I’m grateful to Senator Lankford for his leadership on this important effort in the Senate.”
U.S. Senator James Lankford (R-Okla.) introduced companion legislation in the U.S. Senate.
“Tax-exempt organizations should not live in fear of federal control every day because courts want to redefine the meaning of tax-exempt status. Tax-exempt status is not the same as receiving federal funding, and it should not be used as political leverage against the nonprofits that feed, clothe, house, and counsel those in need in Oklahoma and across the nation,” said Senator Lankford. “We should be focused on enabling the work of these organizations—not burdening them with unnecessary and costly federal requirements.”
Supporting organizations include: Alliance Defending Freedom, Philanthropy Roundtable, Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, Agudath Israel of America, Seventh-day Adventist Church, American Association of Christian Schools,Association for Biblical Higher Education, Association of Christian Schools International, Family Research Council, Citygate Network, Christian Employers Alliance, and National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference.
Alliance Defending Freedom
“Charities and other nonprofits provide invaluable services to their communities. In part to recognize their critical work, nonprofits are tax-exempt so that they can devote scarce resources to serving those in need. Until recently, no one really thought that their tax-exempt status was the sort of “federal financial assistance” that triggered the application of several burdensome federal statutes and regulations. But some courts have embraced this unfounded view, and Congress needs to set things straight. Let’s be clear: a nonprofit’s tax-exempt status should not be considered government funding and thus should not trigger multiple burdensome federal laws under which charities and other nonprofits could lose their tax-exempt status. ADF commends Sen. Lankford and Rep. Steube for introducing the Safeguarding Charity Act to protect nonprofits from these financially crushing burdens so that nonprofits can continue to serve their communities free from unfair and unexpected government overreach.” – Greg Baylor, ADF Senior Counsel
Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission
“The Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) strongly supports the Safeguarding Charity Act, which provides essential clarification that tax-exempt status is not equivalent to receiving federal financial assistance. Recent court decisions have wrongly conflated these two ideas, endangering vital religious liberty protections and subjecting churches and faith-based nonprofits to harmful, undue federal regulations. The ERLC urges Congress to uphold this longstanding precedent and protect religious organizations’ freedom to operate in accordance with their faith, free from government interference.” – Brent Leatherwood, ERLC President.
Association of Christian Schools International
“ACSI commends Senator Lankford and Congressman Steube for their leadership in introducing the Safeguarding Charity Act. This legislation is critical to set the record straight: an organization’s non-profit status is not the receipt of federal financial assistance. It never has been. It is not now. Politically motivated lawsuits based on this false premise must stop, or else all non-profits will be at risk. We urge every member of Congress to support the Safeguarding Charity Act.” – P. George Tryfiates, VP for Public Policy and Legal Affairs at the Association of Chrisitan Schools International.
Agudath Israel of America
“Agudath Israel of America is pleased to support the ‘Safeguarding Charity Act (SCA),’ introduced by Senator James Lankford (R-OK) and Representative Greg Steube (R-FL). This legislation is vitally important to nonprofits across the country, including synagogues, religious schools and charities within the Jewish community. It will enshrine into law that which has generally been understood that ‘tax-exempt status’ does not constitute ‘federal financial assistance.’” – Rabbi Abba Cohen, VP for Government Affairs of Agudath Israel of America
Read full bill text here.
