Legislation that gives a president wide-reaching power to financially harm any nonprofit an administration deems as terrorist supporting passed out of the House of Representatives Nov. 21.
By a vote of 219 to 184, 15 Democrats joined with an overwhelming majority of Republicans allowing a president to abolish the tax-exempt status of nonprofits. Just one Republican voted against H.R. 9495, and 30 representatives did not vote.
Some Democratic lawmakers said they heard from their constituents, urging them to vote against the bill. Last week, 52 Democrats voted in favor of the bill, but the bill needed a two-thirds majority to pass. This time, however, 219 votes was more than enough to advance past the House. Even if all Democrats voted against the bill, it still would have passed on party lines.
The ACLU and reproductive rights groups like Planned Parenthood of America vocally opposed the bill and tried to warn lawmakers of the dangers.
Democrats expressed concern the bill did not include adequate due process protections and wanted the hostage provision raised separately. Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Maryland, said the bill was a "werewolf in sheep’s clothing," noting punishments for supporting terrorists already exist.
“It’s [already] a federal crime today to provide any material support to terrorist groups,” he said. “Losing your tax-exempt status is the least of your worries.
“Once this scarlet letter and the infamy of being designated a terrorist supporting group are hurriedly affixed on the organization, the stigmatized then can finally go to a judge, but incredibly, the legal burden is put on them to prove they are not a terror-supporting group, completely reversing the burden of due process, which properly belongs to the government,” he added. “A sixth grader would know this is unconstitutional.”
Republicans chided the other side of the aisle for voting in favor of the bill earlier this year, but reversing support once President Donald Trump won reelection, as well as not supporting a provision supporting American hostages.
“This is the most bizarre argument that I’ve heard on this bill since I’ve been in Congress,” said Rep. Lloyd Smucker, R-Pennsylvania. “They’ve completely reversed their vote. This is a bill that has parameters around the bill. They say now suddenly it doesn’t have parameters.”
Initially supported because of its ability to crack down on efforts supporting controversial foreign affairs, the bill’s critics grew worried a definition of terrorism could also be loosely applied by a president to attack ideological enemies including environmental, civil rights and reproductive freedom groups. They were joined in support by a coalition of 55 Jewish organizations and even Vermont-based ice cream company Ben & Jerry’s this week.
“To those who say this bill only applies to groups who are supporting terrorism, consider how expansive that term can be,” Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, said on the House floor Tuesday.
“By voting for H.R. 9495 today, the House of Representatives chose fear over freedom,” Kia Hamadanchy, senior federal policy counsel at ACLU, shared in a statement with Fierce Healthcare. “As the bill heads to the Senate, we will continue to make sure our voices are heard, and we urge them not to take this bill up before they adjourn.”
Nonprofits would have 90 days to appeal its terrorist designation to a newly appointed Treasury Secretary.
Democrats narrowly control the Senate, meaning the legislation may not advance out of the House. But Republicans control both chambers in January.
An organization like Planned Parenthood has reason to be on high alert. Through the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), Planned Parenthood could stand to lose nearly $300 million in federal funds as part of a larger effort to shutter self-authorizing expenditures, co-leaders and entrepreneurs Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy said in a Wall Street Journal editorial yesterday.
This would limit access to cancer screenings, birth control, STI testing and treatment and abortion care.
"Musk and Ramaswamy are making clear how they intend to use their power: denying people care and wreaking havoc on our public health system, of which Planned Parenthood is an integral part—all in the name of supposed ‘government efficiency,'" said Alexis McGill Johnson, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood, in a news release. "Planned Parenthood doesn’t get a blank check from the federal government. Like any other health care provider, or hospital, Planned Parenthood affiliates are reimbursed for services provided to patients at health centers."
The organization saw a surge in appointments scheduled the day after Trump won reelection. Vasectomy appointments increased by 1,200%, IUD appointments by 760%, birth control implant appointments by 350% and gender-affirming care appointments by 140%.