7/30/2019 Testimony of Public Advocate Bill de Blasio on
Regulation of Nonprofit Political Activity
1/3
1
Testimony of Bill de Blasio
Public Advocate for the City of New York
New York State Office of the Attorney GeneralPublic Hearing on
Political Disclosure Regulations for Nonprofits
January 15, 2013
Good Afternoon. I would like to thank the Attorney General for
holding this important
public hearing today. This is an issue that I care about deeply
and have worked on closely.
As Public Advocate for the City of New York, I serve as
ombudsman for more than eight
million residents in the five boroughs. My office holds
government, private corporations
and nonprofits accountable to the law and helps to protect New
Yorkers against fraud and
deception.
In my role as the Citys head watchdog, I have been deeply
concerned by the rise of new
shadowy nonprofit organizations that emerged in response to the
Supreme Courts 2010
ruling on Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission.
In recent years, the nonprofit sector has struggled at the hand
of a challenging economy.
There are 60,000 fewer public charities and private foundations
today, compared to January
2010. However, for one segment of nonprofits 501(c)4 advocacy
organizations and501(c)6 trade associations the last three years
have been a boon for business. In fact, the
number of organizations registered under section 501(c)4 and
501(c)6 of the IRS Code have
increased 10% since January 2010, thanks to Citizens
United.1
1 National Center for Charitable Statistics (NCCS) at the Urban
Institute. Online at http://nccs.urban.org/.
7/30/2019 Testimony of Public Advocate Bill de Blasio on
Regulation of Nonprofit Political Activity
3/3
3
involvement in elections or their support for particular
candidates. 6 However, the 60 Plus
Association has a dirty little secret. The organization spent
more than $10 million on the last
two federal elections including more than $800,000 in attack ads
targeting a dozen New
York candidates.
It is appalling to think that one of my elderly neighbors could
be tricked into giving money
to an organization under false pretense and these donations
could wind up funding the dirty
campaign ads that they so deeply loathe. What may be equally
deceptive is that these attack
ads often have zero direct relevance to senior issues. One such
television ad that was
broadcast in upstate New York this last fall, for example,
showed stacks of money painted
with the Chinese flagwhile explaining that Congressman Dan
Maffei should be fired forhis failure to stop billions in
government borrowing from China.7
It is past time to shine a public spotlight on political
committees that masquerade as tax-
exempt nonprofits. We know that the vast majority of social
welfare groups, such as
volunteer fire departments, Rotary clubs, veterans
organizations, and community groups
provide great benefit to our society. These sham nonprofits do
not.
Lets not allow a few bad apples undermine public trust and spoil
the great work being done
at charities and civic groups across New York. To quote U.S.
Supreme Court Justice Louis
Brandeis, I believe strongly that sunlight is the best
disinfectantand thats exactly what we
need here. The Attorney Generals proposed regulations are
essential to protecting New
Yorkers and bringing much needed transparency to our
elections.
I applaud this work and urge you to quickly move forward on
these reforms. Thank you.
6 60 Plus Association Inc. website. Online at
http://60plus.org/
7Dan Maffei Very Good, Television advertisement by the 60 plus
Association on YouTube. Online
athttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1khzHucQXQ&feature=share&list=UUcX-wx627-WaOL50cd_HlOQ
