Johnson Amendment in the Final Tax Bill

A letter to congressional leaders from a coalition of organizations regarding the Johnson Amendment and the tax reform bill, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (H.R. 1).

December 14, 2017

We supported the Free Speech Fairness Act of 2016 (H.R. 781, S. 264 “Fairness Act”), introduced by Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) and Representative Jody Hice (R-Ga.), and by Senator James Lankford (R-Okla.) to protect the speech and religious freedom rights of 501(c)(3) organizations and their leaders. The House-passed version of the tax reform bill, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (H.R. 1) included the important language from the Fairness Act, though it incorporated a 2019 sunrise and a 2024 sunset of the Johnson Amendment repeal. The Senate left the Johnson Amendment untouched. We urge you to ensure that the House language regarding the Johnson Amendment is included in the final passage of the bill, and that the sunset is removed from the final conference report. The Constitution should not be sunset.

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