Late on Wednesday, March 21, the House and Senate Appropriations Committees released the text of the omnibus spending bill that funds the government through the current fiscal year 2018 that ends on September 30. The bill is officially titled the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2018 and is 2,232-pages long containing numerous extraneous policy riders. What is critical for nonprofits to know is that lawmakers did NOT include a provision to repeal or weaken the longstanding Johnson Amendment, the law that protects charitable nonprofits, houses of worship, and foundations from partisan politics. Thank you to all Oregon nonprofits that responded to our calls to sign the community letter and call our Congressional Delegation. You, along with thousands of nonprofits across America, did it! Big kudos to the National Council of Nonprofits that links NAO with the other state associations across the country to mobilize the nonprofit network nationally. This is a huge testament to the grassroots influence of this network!

In the coming days, we will be working to understand the bill with all of its provisions. We expect that there are some concerning issues buried in bill regarding critical funding to programs for our communities. We will work quickly, in coordination with national nonprofit leaders, to get you the latest updates on what the bill includes and excludes. More to come, so stay tuned! Thank you again for your great work!