(Washington, D.C.) – The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW) today sent a letter to Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) in opposition to the increased regulation of 527 organizations.  The letter from CCAGW President Tom Schatz follows: 

On behalf of the more than 1.2 million members and supporters of CCAGW, I am writing to let you know of our opposition to H.R. 513, the 527 Reform Act of 2005.  Although CCAGW may oppose the philosophical beliefs of many 527 organizations, they have a right to exist and participate in the political and election process without additional regulations.

H.R. 513 is another dangerous encroachment on Americans’ essential right to organize, engage, and make their feelings known in the political arena.  The more Congress “reforms” campaign finance laws, the more difficult it becomes for American citizens to band together and raise money to support or oppose a candidate.  The end result is that incumbents will be protected from any challenges and a governing “royal class” will be created.  Furthermore, the only people that will be able to run for Congress will be wealthy individuals that use their own money to finance a campaign. 

CCAGW has also heard rumors that there may be an attempt to expand federal regulations of 501(c) organizations either as part of H.R. 513 or the lobbying reform bill, H.R. 4975.  Nonprofit organizations help diverse communities mobilize for social, educational, charitable, political and religious ends.  Any provision to further regulate 501(c) organizations starts Congress down a slippery slope that will eventually lead to laws demanding even greater disclosure of information about who provides support for nonprofit organizations, reducing such groups’ vital functions in our free society.

Men and women have died fighting for the fundamental liberties articulated in our Constitution and Bill of Rights, in particular the right for American citizens to join together and to participate in the political process, no matter their ideology.  As long as Congress chooses to engage itself in every facet of American life, citizens and taxpayers will use their Constitutional right to “petition the government for a redress of grievances” and to make their feelings known about candidates.

We will follow this issue closely and all votes on H.R. 513 and H.R. 4975 will be among those considered for CCAGW’s 2006 Congressional Ratings.

The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste is the lobbying arm of Citizens Against Government Waste, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in government.