Key Letters Opposing Repeal or Weakening of the JOhnson AMendment:
Letter From More Than 4,500 Faith Leaders
"As a leader in my religious community, I am strongly opposed to any effort to repeal or weaken current law that protects houses of worship from becoming centers of partisan politics. Changing the law would threaten the integrity and independence of houses of worship. We must not allow our sacred spaces to be transformed into spaces used to endorse or oppose political candidates."
Letter from 5,800 Nonprofit Organizations
"Nonpartisanship is a cornerstone principle that has strengthened the public’s trust of the charitable community. "
Letter from 106 Religious & Denominational Organizations
"The charitable sector, particularly houses of worship, should not become another cog in a political machine or another loophole in campaign finance laws."
November 2017 Letter from 104 Members of Congress
October 2017 Letter from Nearly 100 Members of Congress
"For decades, this policy has shielded our nation's charitable community against the rancor of partisan politics and allowed them to freely address humanitarian, social, and community-specific problems in a nonpartisan manner."
Letters On Specific Legislation
Letters Urging Congress to Keep Language Weakening the Johnson Amendment Out of the Appropriations Process. Read about the House's appropriations bill here.
April 25, 2019 Letter from 131 Charitable and Religious Groups to House and Senate Financial Services and General Government Subcommittees in Support of the Johnson Amendment
As the appropriations process begins, the 131 groups urge the committee chairs to uphold the Johnson Amendment and reject legislation that would compromise the integrity of our nation’s houses of worship and other charitable nonprofits.
February 6, 2019 Letter from 131 Charitable and Religious Groups to the Senate Finance Committee and House Ways and Means Committee in Support of the Johnson Amendment
As a new Congress begins, the 131 groups urge the committee chairs to uphold the Johnson Amendment and reject legislation that would compromise the integrity of our nation’s houses of worship and other charitable nonprofits.
December 18, 2018 Letter from 113 Charitable and Religious Groups to the House of Representatives
The 109 undersigned organizations write to strongly oppose the inclusion of any language in H.R. 88, the tax package scheduled to be debated by the House in December, that would repeal or weaken the Johnson Amendment.
July 16, 2018 Letter from 145 Charitable and Religious Groups to the House Rules Committee
The 145 undersigned organizations write to urge you to rule in order Wasserman Schultz Amendment #8 and Lewis Amendment #48 to strike the language in Section 112 of the House 2019 Financial Services and General Government Appropriations bill.
June 11, 2018 Letter from 145 Charitable and Religious Groups to the House Appropriations Committee
"This provision would make it effectively impossible for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to enforce a long-standing federal law, sometimes referred to as the Johnson Amendment, insofar as it applies to houses of worship."
June 11, 2018 Letter from Americans United to the House Appropriations Committee
"By creating unnecessary hurdles that would slow down and prevent investigations, this provision would essentially cripple enforcement of the Johnson Amendment insofar as it applies to houses of worship."
November 3, 2017 Letter from 78 Charitable and Religious Groups to the House Ways and Means Committee
"Repealing or weakening the law would allow candidates and political parties to pressure tax-exempt organizations for endorsements, transforming them into tools for their own political gain. It would also fundamentally alter the character of tax-exempt organizations, dividing congregations and communities, eroding the public trust, and turning them into conduits for the flow of secret money."
