House passes bill that could make it easier for Trump to crack down on political dissent

US legislators put particular emphasis on Hamas and Hezbollah in their calls to 'hold organisations that support terrorism accountable'

US president-elect Donald Trump with his supporters at Madison Square Garden in New York, on November 16. AFP

The US House of Representatives narrowly passed a bill Thursday that could pave the way for Republicans and president-elect Donald Trump to crack down on non-profit organisations deemed to be supportive of terrorists, a measure pro-Palestinian groups fear could disproportionately affect them.

In a vote of 219-184 vote the Stop Terror-Financing and Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act passed the Republican-led House after failing a week earlier.

The bill has two parts: one that postpones the tax deadlines and reimburses paid late fees for US citizens who are “unlawfully or wrongfully detained or held hostage abroad”; and another more controversial provision that terminates the tax-exempt status of “terrorism-supporting” organisations.

Republican leadership specifically named Hamas in its defence of the bill and efforts to revoke the tax-exempt status of US non-profit organisations they say provide funding to the Palestinian militant group and others like it.

“This bill addresses critical gaps in our tax laws to hold organisations that support terrorism accountable and provide relief for hostages who are just trying to get home and reunite with their families,” Republican Congressman Blake Moore told reporters before Tuesday's vote.

The bill's Democratic co-sponsor, Congressman Brad Schneider, specifically highlighted Hezbollah and Hamas in September when he said it was “important we continue to highlight the troubling issues of individuals and organisations here in the United States, many with special tax-exempt status, giving material support to terrorism”.

Pro-Palestinian and pro-ceasefire groups in Washington are concerned about what the bill could mean for them. CodePink, a pro-ceasefire activist group, has been particularly outspoken about the legislation.

“All of us are feeling very insecure about this right now,” Medea Benjamin, a leading activist with the progressive anti-war group, said in a statement before the bill's first vote last week.

Eva Borgwardt, a national spokeswoman for the Jewish-American pro-ceasefire group IfNotNow Movement, said in a statement: “The Maga [Make America Great Again] crackdown on free speech is already starting in Congress."

The bill does not require the Department of Treasury to disclose the specific reasons for denying an organisation's tax-exempt status, or provide any evidence of its designation, according to testimony from the congressional joint committee on taxation.

Rights groups have also raised the alarm over how the bill puts together these two provisions. The American Civil Liberties Union, joined by more than 120 other civil society organisations, sent a letter to Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson claiming the proposed law “creates a high risk of politicised and discriminatory enforcement”.

The legislation's detractors come from the Capitol Hill mainstream, too, including Democratic representatives who have said it could authorise “Donald Trump to recklessly impose a death penalty on any non-profit in America”.

“We really are giving to one person single-handedly under the orders – we could be under the orders of a vengeful president – the right to make an authoritarian decision,” warned Democratic Congressman Lloyd Doggett when the bill was first introduced.

The legislation came up for a vote last week and earned a majority of votes, but failed under a special rule that stipulated it needed to earn two thirds and not a simple majority.

Democrats are still in control of the Senate chamber, where the bill will go for a final vote next. But Republicans have pointed out that they are weeks from retaking control of that chamber, and could bring failed legislation back for a vote.

Correction: A previous version of this article said the bill had passed the House on Tuesday, when it cleared a procedural vote in the Congressional chamber.