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A bill opponents fear would give the Trump administration the power to strip tax-exempt status away from nonprofits passed through the U.S. House of Representatives despite some Democrats backing away from the bill.
Gabe Vasquez, D-N.M., was among the Democrats who initially supported the Stop Terror-Financing and Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act. In an email to the Las Cruces Bulletin, he said his support stemmed from the bill’s other provision, which would allow the Internal Revenue Service to suspend penalties and back taxes on people wrongfully detained overseas.
Vasquez and other Democrats backed away from the bill after criticism swelled over its authorization for the U.S. Treasury secretary to strip nonprofits of their tax-exempt status if the secretary deems them "terrorist-supporting organizations."
Opponents of the legislation included the American Civil Liberties Union, NAACP, Greenpeace USA and Planned Parenthood. In a letter to Congress earlier this week, the nonprofits said the bill “creates a high risk of politicized and discriminatory enforcement.”
The bill passed the House by a vote of 219-184, mainly on party lines. Fifteen Democrats supported it, and one Republican voted against it. All three New Mexico House members voted against it. The bill now heads to the U.S. Senate.
