AMAC joins numerous conservative organizations to oppose H.R. 1 and S. 1 that would, among other things, dramatically alter First Amendment protections Americans have enjoyed since the founding of our country.
The Honorable Nancy Pelosi Speaker of the House of Representatives U.S. House of Representatives Washington, DC 20510
The Honorable Chuck Schumer Majority Leader U.S. Senate Washington, DC 20510
The Honorable Kevin McCarthy Republican Leader U.S. House of Representatives Washington, DC 20510
The Honorable Mitch McConnell Republican Leader U.S. Senate Washington, DC 20510
On behalf of the millions of Americans who cherish and rely on the right to support causes we believe in without fear of harassment and intimidation, we, the undersigned individuals and organizations, ask you to reject H.R. 1 and S. 1, the deceptively named “For the People Act.”
Nonprofit organizations serve a vital role in encouraging free speech and the free exchange of ideas. Privately supporting causes — and the | organizations advancing those causes — is a fundamental freedom protected by the First Amendment.
Our Founding Fathers used pen names to encourage independence from Great Britain. Nearly 200 years later, the Supreme Court of the United States blocked the state of Alabama from demanding the supporter list of the NAACP, citing concerns about retribution against the group’s members and financial backers. And last month, the Supreme Court agreed to hear a case challenging a California regulation forcing charities to hand over their supporter lists to the government.
H.R. 1 and S. 1 would dramatically alter the First Amendment protections that Americans have enjoyed since the founding of our country. It would institute sweeping new burdens on their constitutionally protected rights to freely speak, publish, and organize into groups to advocate for the causes they support. In particular, H.R. 1 and S. 1 would impose onerous and unworkable regulatory standards on the ability of individual Americans and groups of Americans to discuss the policy issues of the day with elected officials and the public. This bill would also violate the privacy of advocacy groups and their supporters and stringently and excessively regulate political speech on the Internet.
More specifically, H.R. 1 and S. 1 include numerous, sweeping provisions that would violate the First Amendment rights of Americans by:
• Subjecting citizens who contribute to nonprofit organizations to harassment and intimidation by making their personal information available in a searchable government database. This mandate focuses public attention on the individuals and donors who support causes instead of on the messages communicated by those organizations, exacerbating the politics of division and personal destruction and further coarsening political discourse. This would have a considerable chilling effect on civic engagement and free speech. • Policing speech by Americans about legislative issues by expanding the definition of “electioneering communications” – historically limited to large-scale TV and radio campaigns targeted to the electorate in a campaign for office – to include online advertising that bears no relation to an election. This will subject far more issue ads to burdensome disclaimer requirements, which will coerce groups into truncating their message and make some advertising, especially online, practically impossible. • Indiscriminately regulating groups that incidentally or occasionally advocate on federal judicial nominations and require those groups to broadly expose their donors, even if those citizens had nothing to do with the groups’ speech about judicial nominees. • Forcing groups to publicly identify their supporters on the face of the ads themselves. Faced with the prospect of being inaccurately associated with what the law would consider (unjustifiably, in many or most instances) “campaign” ads in FEC reports and disclaimers, many donors will choose not to give to nonprofit groups. • Increasing regulation of the online speech of American citizens while purporting (and failing) to address the threat of Russian propaganda. • Expanding the universe of regulated online political speech by Americans beyond paid advertising to include communications on groups’ or individuals’ own websites and email messages. • Deterring American citizens from serving their country through political appointments by forcing them to disclose their donations to causes they have supported in the past. Our elections will not be more honest, more informed, or more secure from foreign interference if we sacrifice the privacy of American citizens. But our democracy will be weakened if voices are eliminated from public debate through intimidation and overregulation.
As a Member of Congress, you have taken an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States. H.R. 1 and S. 1 propose multiple violations of our First Amendment rights. On behalf of the millions of American citizens our organizations represent, we strongly urge you to oppose H.R. 1 and S. 1.
Sincerely,
Heather Lauer, Executive Director People United for Privacy
Lisa B. Nelson Chief Executive Officer ALEC Action
Michael P. Farris, President & CEO Alliance Defending Freedom
James L. Martin, Founder/Chairman Saulius “Saul” Anuzis, President 60 Plus Association
Caleb Crosby, President and CEO Alabama Policy Institute
Bethany Marcum, CEO Alaska Policy Forum
John Droz, Jr., Founder Alliance for Wise Energy Decisions
Bob Carlstrom, President AMAC Action
Dick Patten, President American Business Defense Council
Phil Kerpen, President American Commitment
Bill Johnson, President American Decency Association
Tom Pyle, President American Energy Alliance
Carrie Ann Donnell, President & CEO* American Juris Link
Gary L. Bauer, President* American Values
Bradley Johnson, President Americans for Intelligence Reform
Richard Manning, President Americans for Limited Government
Mike Nichols, President Badger Institute
Nathan Anderson, Executive Director Concerned Veterans for America
Penny Young Nance, CEO and President Concerned Women for America Legislative Action Committee
Ron Pearson, Executive Director Conservative Victory Fund
The Honorable George K. Rasley Jr., Managing Editor ConservativeHQ.com
Thomas A. Schatz, President Council for Citizens Against Government Waste
Linda W. Smith, President D. James Kennedy Center for Christian Statesmanship
Frank Wright, Ph.D., President & CEO* D. James Kennedy Ministries
Katie McAuliffe, Executive Director Digital Liberty
Lawson Bader, President & CEO DonorsTrust
Colleen Holcomb, President Eagle Forum
Tim Hoefer, President & CEO Empire Center for New York State Policy
Craig Richardson, President* Energy & Environment Legal Institute
Rob Roper, President Ethan Allen Institute
Patrick Purtill, Director of Legislative Affairs Faith & Freedom Coalition
Fred Birnbaum, Director of Legislative Affairs Idaho Freedom Foundation Idaho Freedom Action
Matt Paprocki, President Illinois Policy Institute
Jon C. Caldara, President Independence Institute
Heather R. Higgins, CEO Independent Women’s Voice
Ryan McCann, Executive Director* Indiana Family Institute
Andrew Langer, President Institute for Liberty
F. Vinnie Vernuccio, President Institute for the American Worker
Chris Ingstad, President Iowans for Tax Relief
James Bopp Jr., General Counsel James Madison Center for Free Speech
Becki Gray, Senior Vice President John Locke Foundation
James Franko, President* Kansas Policy Institute
Phillip Wright, Executive Director* Keep My Voice
Jacob Hibbard, President Latter-day Freemen
Seton Motley, President Less Government
Colin A. Hanna, President Let Freedom Ring
Chris Chmielenski, Vice President NumbersUSA
Ellen Weaver, President & CEO Palmetto Promise Institute
Daniel Erspamer, CEO Pelican Institute for Public Policy
Michael Geer, President Pennsylvania Family Institute
Jim Vokal, Chief Executive Officer Platte Institute
Mary Taylor, President* Pro-Life Utah
Lorenzo Montanari, Executive Director Property Rights Alliance
Eli Lehrer, President R Street Institute
Mike Stenhouse, CEO Rhode Island Center for Freedom & Prosperity
Denise Leipold, Executive Director* Right to Life of Northeast Ohio
James Wigderson, Editor* RightWisconsin
Paul Gessing, President Rio Grande Foundation
Bette Grande, CEO Roughrider Policy Center
James Setterlund, Executive Director Shareholder Advocacy Forum
Sharp, President and CEO State Policy Network
Rusty Cannon, Vice President Utah Taxpayers Association
Diane Spicher, President Veterans and Patriots United
Jane Richey, Local Coordinator Vegango County Tea Party Patriots
Lynn Taylor, President Virginia Institute for Public Policy Tertium Quids
Dann Mead Smith, President/CEO Washington Policy Center
Susan Loch, Co-Owner WFYL 1180 AM
Julaine K. Appling President* Wisconsin Family Council
Richard M. Esenberg, President & General Counsel* Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty
Scott Manley, Executive Vice President of Government Relations Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce
Scott Suder, President* Wisconsin Paper Council
Heather Weininger, Executive Director* Wisconsin Right to Life
*Affiliation used for identification purposes only.
Grover Norquist, President Americans For Tax Reform
Brent Wm. Gardner, Chief Government Affairs Officer Americans for Prosperity
John Toedtman, Executive Director Caesar Rodney Institute
Will Swaim, President California Policy Center
Ryan Johnson, Associate Commissioner, District 2* Cass County Commission
Ryan Ellis, President* Center for a Free Economy
Cathi Herrod, Esq, President Center for Arizona Policy
Andrew F. Quinlan, President Center for Freedom and Prosperity
Jeff Mazzella, President Center for Individual Freedom Star Parker, President
Rev. Tim Latiff, Clergy Director Center for Urban Renewal and Education
John Hinderaker, President Center of the American Experiment
Larry Cirignano Children First Foundation
David Nammo, Executive Director & CEO Christian Legal Society
Aaron Baer, President* Citizens for Community Values
David N. Bossie, President* Citizens United
Charles Mitchell, President and CEO Commonwealth Foundation
Kent Lassman, President and CEO Competitive Enterprise Institute
Craig DeRoche, President & CEO Family Policy Alliance
Bob Dane, Executive Director* Federation for American Immigration Reform
Kelly Shackelford, Esq., President, CEO & Chief Counsel First Liberty
Tom McCabe, CEO Freedom Foundation
Annette Meeks, CEO Freedom Foundation of Minnesota
Adam Brandon, President FreedomWorks
Randy Hicks, President and CEO Georgia Center for Opportunity
Victor Riches, President and CEO Goldwater Institute
Ron Williamson, President Great Plains Public Policy Institute
Tim Macy, Chairman Gun Owners of America
Sam Paredes, Executive Director Gun Owners of California
Jessica Anderson, Executive Director Heritage Action
Mario Lopez, President Hispanic Leadership Fund
Jon Coupal, President Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association
Daniel Perrin, President HSA Coalition
Connor Boyack, President Libertas Institute
Charles T. Moran, Managing Director Log Cabin Republicans
Gene Mills, President Louisiana Family Forum
Joseph Lehman, President Mackinac Center for Public Policy
Tom McClusky, President March for Life Action
John Helmberger, Chief Executive Officer Minnesota Family Council
Douglas Carswell, President & CEO Mississippi Center for Public Policy
Gregg Keller, Chairman Missouri Century Foundation
Hunter King, Director of Federal Affairs National Association for Gun Rights
Troy A. Miller, CEO National Religious Broadcasters
Carol Tobias, President National Right to Life
Greg Mourad, Vice President National Right to Work Committee
Pete Sepp, President National Taxpayers Union
Karen Bowling, Executive Director Nebraska Family Alliance
Robert Fellner, Vice President & Policy Director Nevada Policy Research Institute
Maureen Blum, Founder and Principal Strategic Coalitions & Initiatives LCC
Kristan Hawkins, President Students for Life of America Students for Life Action
David William, President Taxpayers Protection Alliance
Judson Phillips, Founder Tea Party Nation
Jenny Beth Martin, Honorary Chairman* Tea Party Patriots Action
Robert Alt, President and CEO The Buckeye Institute
Gary Marx, President The Concord Fund
Art Harman, Executive Director The Conservative Caucus / Americans for Constitutional Liberty
Jim Lakely, Vice President The Heartland Institute
J. Robert McClure III, Ph. D., President and CEO The James Madison Institute
Brett Healy, President The John K. MacIver Institute for Public Policy
