Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C.-The National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy (NCRP) today decries the exclusion of Abramoff-type abuse of foundations and nonprofits from the gamut of lobbying reform legislation being debated on Capitol Hill.

"These legislative efforts ignore largely untraceable loopholes, which if neglected in this round of lobbying reform, would leave the charitable sector, Congress, and K Street ripe for more abuse and illegal behavior," said Rick Cohen, executive director of NCRP.  "The Abramoff affair should be a clarion call to prevent politicians, their campaign staff, and their K Street cronies from cloaking dirty dealings behind charity and philanthropy," he continued.

The political abuse of charities' tax-exempt status erodes the public's trust in government as well as in the charitable sector, two entities that have been charged to be fiscally responsible and straightforward with public dollars. NCRP urges Congress to ensure that comprehensive lobbying reform includes regulation and disclosure of lobbyists' and politicians' charitable activities. Immediate steps must be taken to expose the political misuse of foundations, to improve the ethical workings of the lawmaking process and restore trust in Congress, and to prevent future abuse and mitigate the growing public distrust of the nation's nonprofit sector.

Based on NCRP's monitoring of the Abramoff case (and others), we call on lawmakers to incorporate into any and all legislation that deals with lobbying reform the following:

• Full disclosure of donors and grants. Any foundation or charity established by or connected to members of Congress should be required to disclose the source of its donations as well as a detailed account of expenditures. Under federal law, the names of donors to charities are protected from the public, but that rule should not apply to tax-exempt groups founded by or affiliated with lawmakers. Members of the House and Senate, even after leaving public office, make and influence policy decisions that affect every citizen; therefore, the public has a right to know fully the interactions of politicians with lobbyists, especially under the cover of nonprofits.