by Michael Lyle, Nevada Current

U.S. Rep. Susie Lee provoked the ire of local and state organizers for supporting legislation deemed a “nonprofit killer.” But Lee isn’t the only Nevada congressional Democrat to support previous versions of the bill.

The Stop Terror-Financing and Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act, or H.R. 9495, passed the House 219-184 last week. She was one of 15 Democrats to vote with Republicans in support.

The bill would allow the U.S. Treasury secretary the sole power to strip tax exempt status from any nonprofit organization the administration deemed “terrorist supporting” and postponed tax deadlines for American who were detained or held hostage abroad. 

Lee was one of 52 Democrats to support the bill during an earlier vote on Nov. 12 to advance the bill. That vote failed to get the two-thirds vote needed to pass the House under “suspension of the rules” procedure, prompting the final vote last week.

After mounting pressure from groups, 22 of the 52 Democrats switched their votes and 15 didn’t vote.

Lee was one of 15 Democrats to continue supporting the bill, prompting swift criticism from numerous groups, including some that endorsed the congresswoman for the last several election cycles. 

ACLU of Nevada, Make the Road Nevada, Planned Parenthood of Nevada and Institute for a Progressive Nevada were among more than two dozen Nevada nonprofit organizations condemning Lee’s vote. They also criticized Republican U.S. Rep Mark Amodei for voting in support. 

Athar Haseebullah, the executive director of the ACLU of Nevada, said the group always considered Lee “an ally in advocating for civil liberties and civil rights.” But said her support for the legislation “empowers Donald Trump’s hand-picked head of the Treasury Department to revoke organizations’ nonprofit statuses in an arbitrary fashion.”

Trump announced Friday that hedge fund manager Scott Bessent would be his pick for treasury secretary. 

“If this administration moves to declare undocumented people ‘terrorists,’ a possibility, if not a probability, based on the administration’s rhetoric of declaring an ‘invasion’ at our southern border, churches that provide support to those individuals could be subject to the revocation of their nonprofit status,” Haseebullah said in a statement. 

Describing the legislation as “a direct danger to the voices of our community,” Leo Murrieta, the executive director of Make the Road Nevada, said Lee’s vote was “deeply disappointing.” Make the Road Action Nevada, the organization’s political arm, endorsed Lee in the election. 

“In this decision, the executive branch is granted broad powers to silence the opposition and target justice-seeking organizations, undermining the principles of fairness and democracy,” he said. 

The bill outlines a procedure for the Treasury Dept. to notify nonprofits and give them an opportunity to respond.

“Even the threat of designation could cause loss of funding and result in organizations self-censoring themselves to avoid accusations of terrorist support,” said Shelbie Swartz, the executive director of the Institute for a Progressive Nevada.

Lee declined to answer questions on whether she has seen the statements from nonprofits or what she thought of her Democratic colleagues who changed their support.

“This bipartisan bill would protect American hostages and their families from unnecessary financial harm and ensure we are holding our nation’s adversaries accountable to keep Americans safe.” she said in an emailed statement, which was identical to one she provided the Current following her Nov. 12 vote.

An earlier iteration of the bill, H.R. 6408, featured similar provisions allowing the treasury department to strip tax exempt status from “terrorist supporting” organizations. 

The bill passed 382-11 in April but never received a hearing in the Senate. 

The vote for that legislation was taken against the backdrop of widespread protests on college campuses and elsewhere against the mass atrocities in Gaza, leading many groups to interpret the legislation as an effort to suppress groups critical of Israeli policy. 

U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), one of the few Democrats who voted against the measure at the time, contended the bill was unconstitutional for allowing “unchecked power to target nonprofit organizations.”

At that time, 179 Democrats supported the bill, including Lee and U.S. Rep. Steven Horsford. 

Horsford voted against H.R 9495. 

His office didn’t respond to questions about whether his vote against the November iteration of the legislation was due to Donald Trump winning the presidential election, or if the language in the legislation goes too far regardless of who is in the White House.

U.S. Rep Dina Titus didn’t vote on the measure in April.

Titus co-sponsored the Stop Terror-Financing and Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act, the latest iteration, but voted against it in both November votes.

Dick Cooper, a spokesman for Titus, said the language she introduced was “related strictly to tax relief for hostages.”

“Her bill was combined with another bill in the Ways and Means Committee and that bill eventually became H.R. 9495,” Cooper said. “When it became clear that H.R. 9495 could be used by the Treasury Department against non-profit organizations and stifle dissent, she withdrew her support.”

After the first time she voted against the bill in November, Titus told the Current she supported provisions “that provide essential tax relief to Americans wrongfully detained and held hostage” and worried that the sections on “non-profit tax-exempt status could be abused by a future administration.”

Uncertain future

There is no indication whether the Senate will hear the bill before the end of the year, but groups are already urging Democratic U.S. Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen to vote against the legislation if it comes up for a vote. 

“We implore Senators Cortez Masto and Rosen to take the true threat of this legislation into account when voting on this bill,” said Lindsey Harmon, the executive director of the Nevada Education Fund for Planned Parenthood Affiliates.

In an email to the Current, Rosen’s office said the senator “will review this bill if it comes to the Senate for a vote.”

“Senator Cortez Masto will carefully review this legislation if it comes up for a vote in the Senate,” said Lauren Wodarski, a spokeswoman for Cortez Masto.

Nevada Current is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Nevada Current maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Hugh Jackson for questions: [email protected]. Follow Nevada Current on Facebook and X.