The US House of Representatives passed a bill on Thursday (21 November) that could put art non-profits across the country squarely in the culture wars' crosshairs. The Stop Terror-Financing and Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act, or HR 9495, would allow the Secretary of the Treasury to designate non-profits as “terrorist organisations” and revoke their tax-exempt status. The bill, which will now go to the Senate, has been framed by Democrats as potentially providing president-elect Donald Trump a mechanism by which to punish his political enemies after he takes office.
The bill started its life as a bipartisan measure designed to waive tax liability for US hostages while they are being held captive abroad, but its broad language and the next president's penchant for heightening culture war rhetoric have inspired organisations like Amnesty International, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Pen America to sound the alarm.
“In any other context, this legislation would be seen for what it is, a play from the authoritarian leader’s playbook,” Paul O’Brien, the executive director at Amnesty International USA, said in a statement.
The ACLU organised an open letter to House Majority Leader Mike Johnson of Louisiana and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York, calling attention to the “potential for abuse” endemic to the bill. It warns that “the executive branch would be handed a tool it could use to curb free speech, censor non-profit media outlets, target political opponents and punish disfavored groups across the political spectrum". It was signed by representatives of more than 300 organisations including the New York-based Korea Art Forum, the Wing Luke Museum in Seattle and the Main Line Chinese Culture Center in Philadelphia.
"Given its vague definition of 'terrorist supporting organisations' and the wide discretion given to the Treasury Secretary, we urge the Senate to reject this dangerous legislation which would undermine Constitutional protections including the First Amendment," Laura Schroeder, Pen America’s Congressional advocacy lead, said in a statement that described the bill as part of an effort aimed at "weaponising the federal government against civil society".
“A sixth grader would know this is unconstitutional,” Representative Jamie Raskin, a Democrat from Maryland, said during a speech on the House floor, according to The New York Times. “This is an unlawful power to vest in any president, and a dangerous power to vest in a president who shows no qualms about leveling threats of retribution and revenge against his enemies.”
Many Democrats who previously supported the legislation have changed their stances, prompting defenders to draw attention to the bill's “robust due process protections”, as Jason Smith, a Republican Representative from Missouri and who chairs the House's Ways and Means committee, told the Times. He added: “This bill is desperately needed to end the tax-exempt status to organisations that have provided material support to terrorists."
However, in an increasingly censorious climate where art organisations perceived to be taking stances on any number of issues—from abortion access and systemic racism to transgender rights and support of Palestine—face swift and dramatic backlashes, many fear HR 9495 will enable financially crippling political attacks.