New Congress Proposes Drastic Legislation to Impact Churches

smokey the dog

New Congress Proposes Drastic Legislation to Impact Churches

full article here: http://aclj.org/TrialNotebook/Read.aspx?id=437

Nancy Pelosi hasn’t been Speaker of the House for two weeks yet and there is already proposed legislation which would be the most significant encroachment ever into the affairs and ability of churches and other organizations to communicate. Under the guise of lobbying reform, Speaker Pelosi and others have proposed legislation greatly expanding the scope of lobbying regulation which would have a significant impact on churches, pastors, religious denominations, public interest organizations, civic organizations and other nonprofit groups. Even private individuals who voluntarily pay for media to distribute important messages to the general public on political matters would be impacted.

So draconian is the proposed Lobbying Reform Bill that it would actually impose registration and reporting requirements on churches and other nonprofit organizations. This is because the definition of “lobbyist” and “lobbying firms” includes specifically grassroots-organizing efforts. Under this broad-based regulatory scheme that Nancy Pelosi is advocating, many churches, especially larger churches with TV and radio ministries, would be subject to registration as a lobbying organization. Failure to comply with these lobbying requirements could result in fines and even criminal sanctions. Churches and their pastors who address the social issues of the day and encourage members and non-members alike to mobilize for action, including communications with Congress, would be required to make certain initial and quarterly disclosures to the United States Congress about their activities.

Under the House version of the Bill, a church or organization would be considered a “grassroots lobbying firm” subject to this law if the group attempted to influence the general public to voluntarily contact federal officials in order to express their own views on a federal issue. Furthermore, many large churches and ministries utilize mass media to communicate their message. Under this House Bill by Nancy Pelosi, these communications, as long as they are directed to at least one person who is not a member of the church, would fall under this new Bill. Finally, if the church spends an aggregate of only $50,000 or more for such efforts in a quarterly period, they are now required to register as lobbyists. Many ministries spend $50,000 or more a month for air time.

This attempt to slip in this onerous requirement on churches and other organizations must be stopped. The rationale behind Speaker Pelosi and others’ desire to silence churches is obvious. Pastors addressing the moral issues of the day have been able to mobilize tens of thousands of individuals to speak out on various issues. But under this proposed legislation, if a church or denomination spent $50,000 of its own resources on air time to encourage people to support the confirmation of federal judicial nominees or to lend its support to a federal marriage amendment, then that church or denomination would be classified as a grassroots lobbying firm. This is one of the most significant violations of free exercise of religion and the freedom of political speech in our Nation’s history. Some have said that this plan is the most comprehensive regulation of political speech that has ever been put forward by Congress.

full article here: http://aclj.org/TrialNotebook/Read.aspx?id=437

God's Warrior

Double Trouble
Article Posted: 1/18/2007 12:00:00 PM
http://aclj.org/TrialNotebook/Read.aspx?ID=438

At the very same time we are battling out Senate Bill 1 dealing with Grassroots Lobbying, Congressmen Dennis Kuchinich has announced that he is going to hold hearings in order to bring back the Fairness Doctrine. This repudiated doctrine was in existence until 1987. Although the idea of "fairness" sounds palatable, in reality it is an attempt to muzzle and silence talk radio and other outlets. Anytime a controversial issue is presented, the government would require a competing view to be put forward.

Last night in the Senate on a procedural move, we were able to avoid the vote on Senate Bill 1. It is likely to come up again in the next few days. There is also talk in the House of Representatives about introducing companion legislation. Couple the Grassroots Lobbying definitions with the Fairness Doctrine and you have double trouble. In essence, large organizations, churches and others that address social issues would be required to register as grassroots lobbyists. At the same time, talk radio would no longer be able to fully communicate because of the new censorship rules of the FCC. Our Governmental Affairs and legal staffs are working on this in our Washington, D.C. office. We will keep everyone posted.

Posted: 1/18/2007 12:00:00 PM

God's Warrior

A Temporary Reprieve
Article Posted: 1/19/2007 9:00:00 AM

I am happy to report that last night the Senate voted 55-43 and adopted the Bennett Amendment, which removed the grassroots lobbying provisions, to the Lobbying Transparency and Accountability Act. As you will recall, Harry Reid, the majority leader in the Senate, had proposed legislation which would require churches, public interest organizations and others to register as grassroots lobbyists. As I stated, this would have been one of the most significant restrictions placed on the freedom of political expression in our Nation’s history. The outcry against this measure has been nothing short of amazing. We heard from over 20,000 citizens in just 48 hours, expressing outrage over this attempt to muzzle our voices. At the same time, House leadership has indicated that they will now re-evaluate the Fairness Doctrine, which would significantly censor and curtail conservative talk radio and Christian talk radio. Our Government Affairs office is looking at the Fairness Doctrine issue right now. I’ve also assembled a legal team that’s preparing an analysis on why the Fairness Doctrine would be an unconstitutional restraint on free speech.

While I am very pleased with our victory at the United States Senate, we cannot afford to drop our guard for even one moment. The House will take up this legislation as early as next week. Indications are that Nancy Pelosi, the new Speaker of the House, will insert the grassroots lobbying legislation provision in the House of Representatives’ Bill on Lobbying Reform. Once passed, it will require a conference committee between the House and the Senate. We are not out of the woods yet on this important matter. Momentum continues to build, and we need to now turn our efforts to the United States House of Representatives.

On next week’s radio broadcast, Jay Sekulow Live!, we will be devoting a substantial amount of time focusing in on the challenge in the House of Representatives with regard to lobbying reform. If you have not signed on to our Petition of Protest, we encourage you to do so today by clicking here. Again, we’re thrilled with the temporary reprieve that we’ve received; but the battle on this important issue is going to continue in a very aggressive way.

Posted: 1/19/2007 9:00:00 AM

smokey the dog

It's sad that you see this nowhere in the newspapers or the secular media. Now if the republicans tried this, boy oh boy would we hear about it.

God's Warrior

Amen, Brother!