On November 21, Pomona’s Congresswoman Norma Torres, a Democrat, sided with the House Republicans to pass an act that would allow the US secretary of treasury to revoke an non-profit organization’s tax-exempt status by labeling it as “terrorist-supporting.”
This Act, called the Stop Terror-Financing and Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act, comes with few checks and balances, and the vast majority of Democrats are wondering why, in this political atmosphere, with a newly-elected president who has vowed to use his presidential powers to wreak vengeance against his “domestic enemies,” Democrats would support such an act.
In all fairness, Torres was not the only Democrat who voted in favor. However, she is one of a minority of fifteen who have won the dubious distinction of crossing party lines to favor an Act that would only make it easier for the President-elect to pursue his enemies. The other Democrats include: Colin Allred (Texas), Yadira D. Caraveo (Colorado), Ed Case (Hawaii), Henry Cuellar (Texas), Don Davis (North Carolina), Jared Golden (Maine), Vicente Gonzalez (Texas), Suzanne Marie Lee (Nevada), Jared Moskowitz (Florida), Jimmy Panetta (California), Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (Washington), Brad Schneider (Illinois), Tom Suozzi (New York) and Debbie Wasserman Schultz (Florida).
Last week, the same bill failed to advance out of the House because it failed to garner the two-thirds majority needed to pass during a suspension of the lower chamber’s rules. It was subsequently sent back to committee and retooled for a simple majority vote. While 52 Democrats voted for the bill previously, enormous pressure was applied to get those who backed the bill last week to come out against it.
The bill was originally aimed at curtailing the legal actions of pro-Palestinian protesters, and is extremely problematic as it messes with citizens’ basic right to free speech as outlined in the First Amendment of the Constitution. It's also redundant. It is already illegal to provide material support to terrorist organizations.
While it is unlikely that President Joe Biden will sign this bill into law, the same cannot be said for President-elect Trump. The bill, if passed, would make it possible for his administration to place punishing sanctions on many activist organizations, certain universities along with any number of news outlets to raise or bank money. The Act would prevent sanctioned organizations from pursuing legal recourse to plead their case.
Pomonans, who voted overwhelmingly for Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris, should be wondering why their House representative Norma Torres, sided with the Republicans this round. Norma Torres, whose interest are you representing?
The Pomonan editorial board consists of opinion journalists whose perspectives are shaped by their expertise, research, discussions, and established principles. This board operates independently from the newsroom.
