WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators John Cornyn (R-TX) and Tim Sheehy (R-MT) introduced legislation that would allow the U.S. Department of the Treasury to terminate the tax-exempt status of groups like the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) that provide material support, such as finances, services, or training, to terrorist organizations. This comes as Texas announced its designation of CAIR as a foreign terrorist organization.

“I’m introducing legislation to strip CAIR of its tax-exempt status because no organization who bankrolls terrorists should get a tax break, period,” said Sen. Cornyn.“CAIR is a radical group of terrorist sympathizers with a long history of undermining American values and trying to unconstitutionally impose Sharia Law on Texas, which is why I stand behind Governor Abbott’s decision to designate it as a foreign terrorist organization. I also call on President Trump to do so at the federal level to ensure this breeding ground for anti-American hate is starved of funding and forced to close its doors once and for all.”

“Radical groups that support terrorists who chant ‘Death to America’ should not benefit from tax breaks to fund their extremist ideology,” said Sen. Sheehy. “I’m proud to support this America First, commonsense bill to remove the tax-exempt status for organizations that support terror groups like Hamas, Hezbollah, and Al-Qaeda.”

U.S. Congressman David Kustoff (TN-08) introduced companion legislation in the House of Representatives.

Background:

Under current U.S. tax code, an entity’s tax-exempt status is suspended if it is designated by the U.S. Department of State as a terrorist organization, which includes groups like Hamas, Hezbollah, and Al-Qaeda. This legislation would extend the current prohibition to include organizations that provide or have provided material support or resources, such as finances, services, or training, to a terrorist organization within the past three years. In addition, the bill would establish procedures for the IRS to provide notice to those organizations, for organizations to refute the designation, and for designations to be rescinded through administrative and judicial review.