A Minnesota Democrat introduced legislation last week that would expand the jurisdiction of the House Committee on Small Business to include nonprofit organizations.
Currently, there is no House committee tasked with overseeing — or, in Rep. Betty McCollum’s words, to support the success of — the nonprofit sector. The Ways and Means Committee oversees the organizations’ 501(c) tax exemption designation.
“Main streets across our country are filled with small businesses and nonprofit organizations. Both are vital employers working to keep families and community’s strong and successful. Congress needs to be strengthening all small employers that help to keep our communities vibrant and growing.”
McCollum tried in the last Congress to establish the United States Council on Nonprofit Organizations and Community Solutions in a liberal-sponsored bill that died in committee. It would have subjected nonprofits to data-reporting requirements not currently required.
The congresswoman says that Congress is “ignoring” the sector that employs 10 percent of the U.S. workforce and generates 5.5 percent GDP. She maintains that the congressional oversight can give nonprofits new ways to finance expansion.
But in introducing this latest bill, McCollum also brought up the desire to get workplace data from the nonprofit sector.
“Nonprofit organizations need and deserve a seat at the table in Congress so their voices can be heard on issues that affect their mission, the communities they serve, and the millions of Americans they employ,” she said. “In my opinion, the absence of jurisdiction for nonprofit issues in the U.S. House is unacceptable and irresponsible.”
How on earth does a nonprofit “generate GDP”?
And if Brett Kimberlin builds a nonprofit, did he build that, or did someone else make it happen?
I have no doubt her bill is crappy even without reading it, but the non profit sector needs much more oversight than it’s getting. It is sitting on billions of dollars and dispenses of those funds with too little controls.
Even more pernicious are these government-nonprofit hybrids like the one Gibson Guitars was strong-armed into donating to. They get support from the government, and yet are exempt from FOIA. Yes, NPR, I’m talking about you.
Non-profits should be subject to the same accounting and disclosure rules as publicly-traded corporations.
Forget about the admitted lefty 501c3s. The real story is the Byzantine financial interconnections of supposedly non-partisan non-profits with left-wing causes and media outlets such as NPR, PBS, etc.
Labor unions buy time for programs on the progressive outlets, foundations (for a more ‘verdant’world) support public radio. It goes on and on.