In addition to normal IRS enforcement, all organizations with annual receipts in excess of twenty-five thousand dollars must file a detailed information tax return with the IRS that, unlike returns filed by businesses must be made available for public inspection upon request. Media representatives often make use of Form 990 as an information source when reporting on the activities of nonprofits. The existing IRS restrictions on lobbying are working well. There is no evidence of substantial violations of the lobbying limitations currently in effect, or that OMB and IRS are incapable of administering these regulations. It makes no sense for Congress to establish a new, massive federal bureaucracy to impose further burdensome regulations on nonprofit grantees and duplicate requirements already in effect.
Recent proposals prohibit activities traditionally accepted as furthering a charitable purpose.
The hostility of recently proposed legislation extends beyond lobbying to encompass normal activities people engage in to express their views. The arious proposals attempt to regulate forms of advocacy that have never been subject to similar government regulation. Some drafts also would bar all litigation, except that directly involving the nonprofit as a defendant, if agents or instrumentalities of federal, state, or local governments are parties. Any organization which engages in any significant amount of litigation in which a government entity is a party would be prevented from receiving federal monies, a prohibition which flies in the face of established public policy. Litigation has long been recognized as a legitimate tool for advancing the public interest.