'Safe Harbor' Is Slippery Slope, NCC Warns: Tax Bill Would Let Churches Endorse Candidates

Tuesday, June 15th Update: Safe Harbor for Churches Defeated. Click here for more.

Urgent Action Alert from The National Council of Churches

Despite overwhelming opposition from nearly two dozen religious denominations, House Speaker Dennis Hastert and Majority Leader Tom Delay have ordered a version of Rep. Walter Jones's "Houses of Worship" Political Speech Restoration Act to be included on page 379 of a 398 page tax bill (H.R. 4520, American Jobs Creation Act of 2004).

Entitled the "Safe Harbor for Churches" bill, the legislation would radically change the nation's historic tradition of separation of church and state and "raise moral questions about the actions of religious leaders and their congregations and disrupt the political process itself," said Bob Edgar, General Secretary of the National Council of Churches. A statement from Welton Gaddy of the Interfaith Alliance said: "The bill encourages willful ignorance of the law by houses of worship, amending the tax code to permit churches, and only churches, to engage in political campaigns while maintaining their status as tax-exempt organizations."

Under the legislation, Gaddy noted, houses of worship would be allowed to "accidentally" endorse political candidates up to three times in an election cycle without losing their coveted tax-exempt status. While the bill purports to draw a distinction between intentional and unintentional violations of political activity, it is silent on what constitutes an "unintentional" violation, leaving religious leaders and institutions free to claim ignorance of the law as reasoning for an "unintentional" breach.

It is expected that the House Ways and Means Committee will be voting on the Safe Harbor for Churches provision on Monday, June 14. NCC is urging concerned citizens to call their Members of Congress and raise their concerns about the measure, and to urge legislators to vote for a Ways and Means amendment by Rep. John Lewis of Georgia which would remove the proposed "Safe Harbor for Churches" provision (Section 692) from the tax bill. Phone calls to Members of Congress (202-225-3121), faxes, or e-mail messages (via the Congressional E-mail Center) are important, because many will be caught off guard by the provision, as it was quietly inserted in the bill during a national week of mourning.