Van Hollen, Menendez, Democratic Colleagues Renew Call to Prohibit NRA Foundation from Receiving Donations from Federal Employees

Today, U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) joined Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and several Democratic colleagues in urging the Biden Administration to remove the National Rifle Association (NRA) Foundation from the list of charities eligible to solicit and receive contributions from federal employees during the yearly Combined Federal Campaign (CFC). 

This renewed call follows failure last year by the Trump Administration to remove the controversial gun group’s so-called charity organizations despite serious allegations of fraud, misuse of funds and pending lawsuits by the Attorneys General in New York and the District of Columbia against the NRA. The senators outlined their deep concerns in a September 2020 letter.

“Despite the serious allegations of fraud and wasteful misuse of charitable donations, the Trump administration’s OPM concluded that the NRA Foundation and NRA Civil Rights Foundation still met the criteria for inclusion in the [Combined Federal Campaign] CFC,” wrote the Senators in a letter to Kathleen McGettigan, Acting Director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM).

Since the Trump administration’s OPM concluded that the NRA Foundation still qualified for the CFC, the NRA has admitted to a litany of inappropriate and excessive payments in its most recent public tax filing. Moreover, the NRA is doing everything possible to avoid being held accountable such as filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and seeking to move its operations to Texas to escape accountability from the New York Attorney General’s lawsuit against them. 

“Even applying the previous administration’s overly restrictive bar for removal from the program (“finding by a court, the IRS, or any binding jurisdiction that either organization has failed to comply with the law….), the NRA’s admission that several of its officers engaged in a years-long campaign of wrongdoing makes clear that charitable foundations controlled by the NRA should not be allowed to remain in the CFC,” the Senators added.

Senators Van Hollen and Menendez were joined by Sens. Edward Markey (D-Mass.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.).

You can find a copy of the letter here and below.

Dear Acting Director McGettigan: 

We write to request a clarification about the eligibility of the National Rifle Association (NRA) Foundation and its related affiliates to participate in the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC). Recent public filings by the NRA and the IRS make clear it is imperative that OPM remove the NRA and its related affiliates from the giving program.

Last September, we wrote to OPM to request that the agency remove the NRA Foundation (CFC #10006) and the NRA Civil Rights Foundation (CFC #11872) from the federal employee charitable giving program because of  pending lawsuits by the Attorneys General in New York and the District of Columbia against the National Rifle Association, which controls both entities.  Specifically, the District of Columbia civil suit alleges the NRA misused charitable funds of the NRA Foundation to support the NRA and its executives, including extending a risky multi-million-dollar loan from the Foundation to the NRA and payment of fees from the Foundation to the NRA, without any clear evidence such payments furthered the Foundation’s charitable mission.  In addition, the New York Attorney General’s civil suit raises a number of deeply troubling allegations related to the NRA’s abuse of its nonprofit status, including senior executives diverting millions from its tax-exempt mission.

Despite the serious allegations of fraud and wasteful misuse of charitable donations, the Trump administration’s OPM concluded that the NRA Foundation and NRA Civil Rights Foundation still met the criteria for inclusion in the CFC. Specifically, OPM stated that “there has been no finding by a court, the IRS, or any binding jurisdiction that either organization has failed to comply with the law.”

Since our September letter, the NRA admitted in its most recent public tax filing that the organization has paid its executives at least $1.4 million in improper or excessive payments. These inappropriate payments included a litany of personal expenses dating back several years including personal and family travel, unapproved first class travel, tickets to sporting and entertainment events, and other expenses. The NRA also acknowledged in the filing that the total value of improper or excessive payments is unknown and could be much higher pending the outcome of the New York Attorney General’s lawsuit. The Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia has alleged in a lawsuit that the NRA Foundation facilitated much of the NRA’s admitted inappropriate spending through a $5 million loan from the Foundation.  Additionally, the NRA has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and seeks to move its operations to Texas to escape accountability from the New York Attorney General’s lawsuit.  During the bankruptcy proceedings, the IRS filed a proof of claim as a creditor that appears to indicate the NRA owes the IRS over $1 million in past-due taxes The IRS’s breakdown of taxes owed is provided below.

Even applying the previous administration’s overly restrictive bar for removal from the program (“finding by a court, the IRS, or any binding jurisdiction that either organization has failed to comply with the law….), the NRA’s admission that several of its officers engaged in a years-long campaign of wrongdoing makes clear that charitable foundations controlled by the NRA should not be allowed to remain in the CFC.

Given the NRA’s admitted years-long financial misconduct and newly revealed tax debt, we ask that you examine this matter to determine whether the organization and its related affiliates still meet the standard for inclusion in the CFC. Thank you in advance for your consideration.

Sincerely,