Groups challenge terrorist-screening rule in federal charity campaign

A coalition of charities filed a lawsuit Wednesday against a new federal rule requiring them to certify that they do not support, or employ people from, organizations on terrorist watch lists. The group contends that the requirement is vague, difficult to comply with and violates the law.

The nonprofits object to a new requirement for participation in the government's Combined Federal Campaign, which allows federal employees to make direct donations through their paychecks to approved nonprofits. The CFC certification process now requires participating charities to certify that they do not "knowingly employ individuals or contribute funds to organizations" found on government-managed terrorist watch lists.

"In 2004, for the first time, the CFC program required all organizations seeking to participate … to sign a new, vague, and poorly drafted certification," the charities said in the lawsuit. "This unprecedented effort to require nonprofit organizations to function as enforcement arms of federal authorities is prohibited by federal statute and is unconstitutional."

The lawsuit was filed against the Office of Personnel Management, which administers the CFC. OPM referred questions to the Justice Department. A Justice spokesman declined to comment because the issue is a pending legal matter, adding that the department had not yet seen the lawsuit.

Some of the charities have withdrawn from the CFC program in response to the new requirement, meaning that federal employees will not be able to make paycheck contributions to them in fiscal 2005.

Nearly 10,000 nonprofits participate in the CFC, which distributed almost $250 million to charities in fiscal 2003.

The nonprofits asked the court to prevent enforcement of the certification language and permit them to participate without signing the certification.

The lists that charities now must check under the new requirements include the Treasury Department's Specially Designated Nationals list and the Justice Department's Terrorist Exclusion list.

According to the lawsuit, OPM did not provide sufficient notice or allow for sufficient public comment when it added the new certification requirement. The charities also say that OPM has not provided guidance on how to comply with the new rules.

The lawsuit says the SDN list changes frequently, contains incomplete names or very common names, and has different rules for different persons listed. The charities were unable to find the Terrorist Exclusion List on the Justice Department's web site.

"None of the lists referred to in the CFC certification provides any facts explaining how or why a person or organization has been placed on the list," the lawsuit notes.

It adds, however, that the charities "never have and never would hire anyone or contribute funds to any individual or organization with the specific intent of furthering or aiding terrorism."

The lawsuit was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, the Advocacy Institute, Amnesty International USA, the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the NAACP Special Contribution Fund, the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, the Natural Resources Defense Council, OMB Watch, Our Bodies Ourselves, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, and the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee.