Declaring in her opening statement of the House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee Delivering on Government Efficiency (DOGE) June 4 hearing, “Public Funds, Private Agendas: NGOs Gone Wild” that nonprofit organizations (aka non-governmental organizations (NGOs)) are part of a scheme, subcommittee Chair Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) set forth a scenario.

“This scheme,” she said, “works in a cycle. Democrat Administration officials work with leftist NGOs to implement programs in a manner that ensures those NGOs receive massive grants and contracts. The leaders of those recipient groups then turn around and donate to Democrat political campaigns.”

A different perspective on NGOs and the subcommittee’s approach came from subcommittee Ranking Member Melanie Stansbury (D-MN), who, in opening remarks, said “this Subcommittee lacks any credibility at this point” and described it as being on a “wild journey of baseless conspiracy theories.” Ranking Member Stansbury’s summary: “Nonprofits are at risk and under attack.”

As LeadingAge’s advocacy to protect nonprofits continues, the hearing shed light on why some in Congress are wary of nonprofits, as evidenced by the House passage in the last Congressional session of H.R. 9495, the Stop Terror-Financing and Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act, legislation viewed by many nonprofits as a threat to the tax status of those nonprofits who disagreed with the executive branch policies or goals.

The hearing’s Majority witnesses focused on grants and funding to nonprofits by the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act’s climate programs and what they see as the role of nonprofits in supporting illegal immigration into the United States. As Chair Greene put it, nonprofits are “pushing fake environmental justice and illegal immigration” to be a part of an unchecked funding cycle supporting Democrats and their interests. Her goal, she said, is to “drain these slush funds dry.”

Saying that so “many nonprofits are addicted to government cash,” witness Scott Walter, president, Capital Research Center, expressed his point of view that “no reasonable person should fall for these sob stories. Business-as-usual with federal tax dollars sent unaccountably to big nonprofits disserves both government and the nonprofit sector. The deficit-plagued federal government needs to waste a lot less of our money, and a nonprofit sector addicted to government funding needs to leave the political trenches and learn to refocus on real acts of charity.”

In an unusual move for a congressional hearing, Mr. Walter attacked the hearing’s Minority witness, Diane Yentel, president and CEO, National Council of Nonprofits (NCN), saying she “provides further examples of nonprofits serving Big Government” and gave examples of her opposition to the inclusion of the Stop Terror-Financing and Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act in an early version of the House reconciliation bill (which has since been removed from the House-passed bill) and NCN’s suing of the Trump administration over illegally frozen federal funding.

During his time to ask witnesses questions, Representative Brandon Gill (R-TX) pressed Ms. Yentel seven times on whether she is “a covert white supremacist.” After additional questions by Representative Gill, Ranking Member Stansbury interrupted, saying the questioning breached the hearing’s decorum and attacked the witness. Chair Greene responded that she was extending Representative Gill’s time because he had been interrupted by the Ranking Member.

Read witness testimony and watch the hearing here.

Keep up with LeadingAge news about federal policy’s impact on nonprofits here.