The chaos and HR 9495: A time-sensitive read

The first Trump term was one of collective trauma and almost daily chaos. Yet it seems that people have forgotten just how chaotic those times were. No doubt as we went from almost daily unimaginable horrors to the first year of COVID and our world literally being turned on its head, we have had little time to process that time—much less truly consider how much more intense a second term of Trump will likely be. It also doesn’t help that one of the lingering gifts of COVID is cognitive decline in too many who have had multiple bouts

So, you almost understand how we got here.

For many, there is the feeling that we survived the first Trump term and we will be fine for a second term. To make that assumption is to be very unrealistic about what’s going on. Trump is assembling his top lieutenants—oops, nominees—and truthfully, they are scary.

For the first Trump term, he was surrounded by competent people who, despite being Republicans, provided the guardrails to keep this locomotive called the United States from jumping the tracks and creating mass casualties. We won’t be so fortunate this time around, as many of the competent people actually quit or were fired. I saw a figure that said 85% of the folks who worked with him the first time either quit or were fired and many of them took the unusual stance of breaking with Republican tradition and actually spoke out against him.

Listen, when the John Boltons of the world tell you the man is dangerous and unfit, and that his early picks are worrisome, that’s the sort of detail worth paying attention to.

I mean, what can go wrong with a treasure trove of malcontents and misfits who are grossly unqualified for the positions they are being picked for and aching to tear everything apart? I mean, a nominee for attorney general who has faced allegations of sex trafficking, relationships with underage girls, and rampant drug use and a national security nominee who, if not a Russian plant, sure parrots their talking points a lot and might as well be one. And that’s just two horrific examples of many. In regular times, it would be laughable, since I am old enough to remember when potential nominees had to have impeccable records generally speaking. But now? It’s anything goes.

We are entering uncharted waters where one thing is clear: retribution and fear will be the law of the land. We will need to mobilize and organize as if our lives depend on it, because what we can’t expect is that the rule of law will save us. Trump and company are already signaling that laws are mere suggestions, and they don’t give a damn about such suggestions. If Elon Musk has his way, the federal government will be hollowed out and we know that the for-profit sector probably won’t do much, if they can get favorable conditions under which to continue their goal of turning the working people into serfs. Which leaves only one sector with the organizational capacity and ability to organize: the non-profit sector.

While non-profits can include hospitals and universities, it is also the home to the organizations that work for the common good. Your food pantries, your animal shelters, advocacy groups, rights groups, the big players such as the ACLU and thousands of small grassroots activist groups such as mine. Groups such as mine that have their own mission and work but who also serve as fiscal sponsors for localized organizing, which allows them to raise funds to carry out their missions without being burdened by onerous administrative tasks so they can just focus on their work.

Sadly, even before Trump takes office in 70+ days, our work and missions are under attack and I suspect that outside of activist and online spaces, most people aren’t aware.

Bill H.R. 9495 isn’t getting enough attention and no doubt that is the plan. Set the systems in place to effectively hobble any organized resistance while people are still catching their breath.

The bill would let the Treasury secretary designate an organization as “terrorist-supporting” without any explanation or proof, and then end its 501(c)(3) status. That language is paired with legislation to provide tax relief for people detained or held hostage abroad and their spouses, a decision that critics say was made to force through the nonprofit policy.

This bill is not just a threat to free speech, it is a threat to non-profits, the only sector that might be able to push back against the incoming administration. Here’s the thing: Any organization could get caught in the Treasury department’s web. Your mission might be straightforward, but as I am reading this—as someone with 27 years of non-profit experience and 16 as an executive director, with a masters in non-profit management—if you ever issued a statement in support of saying the Palestinians are being oppressed, for example, you might find yourself at risk of losing your exemption. I wouldn’t be surprised if something like calling for defunding the police might not get the same treatment under the incoming administration.

Given the totalitarian and fascist leanings of this new administration, to expect to be reasonably heard and adjudicated if your organization were to be targeted is fanciful dreaming. The thing is, if you lose your exemption, the way most non-profit funding is set up, you are effectively shut out of the financial world that allows non-profits to work. That means you can’t apply for most grants, you can’t accept donations, and you can’t even get a bank account. There is no way to exist as an entity and when you have career folks who do this work, we aren’t going to crowdfund our way into the salaries and benefits needed to keep the work flowing.

You see the problem?

Last week, H.R.9594 failed to get the two-thirds majority in the house that was needed to pass and those of us in the non-profit sector took a collective sigh of relief. Sadly, that sigh was too early. In record time, the House GOP has decided to try and ram this bill through. It is set to go before the Committee on Rules on Monday for a hearing that could tee up the bill for a new floor vote.

Monday—as in tomorrow, Monday, November 18, 2024, as I write this.

I tend to stay abreast of happenings that impact my work, but apparently this decision was made Thursday might while most of us were regrouping and word only got out yesterday for most of us. Yesterday, as in Saturday, the weekend day that I try to avoid all work, as many of us do.

This is the Trump chaos machine that I remember from his first term. Things happening at times when no one is expecting them. That first Muslim ban happened on a Friday or Saturday—I remember it well because I was at dinner with a cocktail when I got the call from my Boston team about it.

What’s particularly ghoulish about the bill and the timing is that these folks are laying the groundwork to hobble our resistance before we even start, when we are still decompressing. At Monday’s meeting, if a majority of committee members approve of the bill, whether in its original or amended form, it would move on to another vote on the House floor.

Should it survive, it will probably be put to a simple majority vote and with GOP in control of the House and the 52 Democrats who previously voted in favor of this bill, there is a good chance it will pass. If it does, I won’t say its game over for democracy and resistance, but I will say that I am not as hopeful as I was in our efforts for resistance.

I will just say this: Call your representatives, we can’t let this bill pass. Otherwise, we are giving Trump and company a huge win before he even takes office. I am writing this frantically on Sunday afternoon as I prepare for today’s Beloved Community session and I don’t have a list of resources to pass along, but this is where I trust that you can use your search engines and look for more ways to let the powers to be that this is not acceptable.

We can’t let these people score a win before they have even been installed.

PS: I am adding these suggestions after meeting with my Beloved Community, one of our members has worked in the system and had the following suggestions.

1. This is a US House of Representatives bill (H.R. stands for House of Representatives); so first find your House Representative by clicking here. 

2. Call your Representative’s DC office (not their district office) and ask for the name and email of the staffer who handles taxes (this is technically a tax bill, tho also falls in foreign affairs). 

If they only give the name, House emails follow this format: firstname_lastname@mail.house.gov; so Rocky Balboa’s email address would be rocky_balboa@mail.house.gov. 

Kindness and respect go a long way on these calls. The folks who answer the phones are the most junior and most powerless in the office – they do not set policy. They typically get a barrage of abuse on the phones daily. If we treat them as fellow humans and the Representative happens to ask what’s happening on the phones that day, they are more likely to remember our respectful approach and mention the bill. 

3. Send a short, respectful email to the staffer who handles the issue that says something to the tune of: 

“I understand that the Stop Terror-Financing and Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act (HR 9495) is coming before the Rules Committee on Nov. 18. As a constituent, I ask that INSERT REPRESENTATIVE’S NAME vote against H.R. 9495 should it come before the full House for a vote. Thank you for your time and consideration, YOUR NAME and TOWN” (to show you’re a constituent). 

Note: legislative staffers can get 100s of emails/day. The best way to get their attention is with respect and brevity.  

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