I’ve noticed a pattern over time with the HSUS press releases and CEO Wayne Pacelle’s blog, “Humane Nation”.  The pattern?  With noticeable frequency, issues used to attack their opponents are issues which are reflected within the HSUS itself.  Some examples?

• In “Humane Nation”, HSUS CEO Wayne Pacelle attacks CCF founder Richard Berman for funneling funds from CCF to other pet organizations, yet the HSUS has a history of sending funds to ‘other organizations’ such as ‘Californians for Humane Farms’ which just happen to reside at the same address as the HSUS Sacramento office ($1,360,000 according to HSUS 2007 tax filings)
• In the HSUS webpage “Things you didn’t know about the (CCF) and Richard Berman“, one of the charges levelled against the CCF was “conducting prohibited electioneering and lobbying activities”  yet there is momentum gaining on the regarding the campaign to have the HSUS investigated by the IRS for the SAME THING.  (Both organizations are 501(c)3 organizations and subject to the same restrictions regarding political activity)

Lest you think I am just re-hashing old history, there is the latest matter of CEO Wayne Pacelle hiring new Vice President of Philanthropy, Deborah Peeples, who is the subject of a $87,164.60 federal tax lien.  Perhaps Wayne Pacelle will present an award to the IRS if they seize her property, as he did to Attorney General Greg Zoeller for seizing the property (dogs) of Virginia Garwood for tax reclamation purposes?

My thanks to the mysterious individual who forwarded these documents to me, who ever you are.  I am always interested in rock-solid documentation

Reminder: reference to the Center for Consumer Freedom is made for comparison purposes only.  Nothing written should be interpreted as either an endorsement or a condemnation of the organization.

The first phase of the campaign reportedly resulted in thousands of letters with this request being sent to the IRS Fraud Division, over 1100 by registered mail.  In the current phase, the request for additional letters requesting IRS investigation continues.  This is supplemented by the request to pose similar requests to government representatives.

But WHY would there be a need for such a campaign, you ask?

Because, as referenced in the AR-HR article, “Did the Humane Society (HSUS) Fail to Account for Political/Lobbying Activity of Personnel on IRS Tax Filings?” & according to the IRS website, “Whether an organization’s attempts to influence legislation, i.e., lobbying, constitute a substantial part of its overall activities is determined on the basis of all the pertinent facts and circumstances in each case. The IRS considers a variety of factors, including the time devoted (by both compensated and volunteer workers) and the expenditures devoted by the organization to the activity, when determining whether the lobbying activity is substantial.”

Because as laid out in numerous AR-HR articles and by SAOVA in their summary on this issue, it appears that these rules are being violated.

Because HSUS tax returns from 2005, 2006 & 2007 do not even acknowledge the political activity by HSUS personnel and volunteers despite significant documentation to the contrary, 2008 is the first year to acknowledge such activity yet the numbers do not make a great deal of sense considering the expanded scope of HSUS political activity.

Because HSUS efforts to influence the political processes continue behind the scenes as recently as last week when the following email was sent out be Anne Sterling, the HSUS State (Lobbyist) Director for Indiana.

From: Anne K. Sterling

Sent: Tuesday, January 19, 2010 3:58 PM

To: Anne K. Sterling

Subject: Calls needed – HB 1258: Pet Stores & Animal Fighting

Hello! Our primary animal bill this legislative session, HB 1258, is getting a hearing tomorrow, Wednesday, January 20^th at 3:30 in the House Courts & Criminal Code Committee, Room 156C.

The bill would address pet stores & animal fighting. (Full document available at the link)

If the HSUS wants to maintain its tax-exempt status, then they need to stop playing politics.  If the HSUS wants to play politics, then they need to give up their tax-exempt status.

You have to pay your taxes, why shouldn’t the HSUS have to pay theirs?

Copyright 2010 by Erica Saunders http://AR-HR.com

All rights reserved

This Annual filing also includes the contracts signed with fundraising organizations, allowing a close inspection of how much of the money raised is retained by these organizations.   For example, did you know:

• For some fund-raising organizations, the HSUS has agreed to potentially receive only 0-1% of the pledged revenue (pg 30-36 of 370, contractual minimums) and pay up to $51/calling hour, not including additional expenses?(pg 25 of 370). 
• For other organizations, the HSUS has agreed to specifically receive between 0.1-2% of gross revenue, “Organization agrees that DSG shall be compensated pursuant to the terms of the agreement which is estimated to be ninety- eight percent (98%) of gross revenue.”    (pgs 136-138 of 370)
• $8850/month  @ 54hours/month  ($163.80/hr) for “Internet consulting services” related to online communications  and Internet based relationship building (after July 2008) (pg 82 of 370)
• $16000/month @ 88 hours/month ($181.82/hour) for Internet consulting services” related to online communications  and Internet based relationship building (prior to July 2008) (pg 97 of 370) (pg 142 of 370)
• The Humane Society of the United States contracts with offshore telemarketing firms? (pg 127 of 370)

As always, donate to an organization you believe in and that is using your funds the way you intend them to be used.

Last week, WSB-TV aired an investigative report into how the primary focus of the Humane Society of the United States is on activist efforts and political/lobbying activities, not directly on animals in need.  As aptly described by the writer of the YesBiscuit! blog, finding the video of this report online has been like a game of whack-a-mole ever since.  The video keeps re-surfacing, only to be forced offline again within hours, so I won’t be posting new links to the video, instead I encourage searches for video using keywords such as Humane Society, HSUS, WSB, Expose, Investigation as it does reappear in an increasing number of locations. (NOTE: Since this article was released, I have been forwarded several stable links that remain available.  The Blogroll link for the video is now usable)

I do continue to ask, “How is it that the Humane Society of the Unites States (HSUS) continues to qualify as a 501(c)3 tax-exempt charity?”  I actually don’t care if the HSUS wants to be an animal rights lobbying organization, all power to them.   But if that’s what they want to be, I believe they need to be explicitly clear about their goals, and that their tax & charitable status should reflect it.   

 For the skeptics out there that don’t believe the extent of the political activity of the HSUS, employees and executive, I offer further examples of public declarations of legal, political and lobbying efforts made on behalf of the HSUS:

• Michael Markarian, HSUS Executive VP for External Affairs and regular contributor to the Huffington Post, wrote of his involvement efforts on Capitol Hill in his article, ‘Herd on the Hill’
• On the HSUS Legislation and Laws page, “These are just some of the issues we will be tackling in the 111th Congress. Click here for a more complete roster of pending and anticipated bills”   The roster includes 3 pages proposals for legislation covering topics from pets (companion animals) to scientific research and changes in educational curriculum
• In his HSUS blog article, “Maine-stream” (May 15, 2009) HSUS CEO Wayne Pacelle  makes reference to ” our landslide victory in Californiaon Proposition 2 last November”, “And this week, Maine Governor John Baldacci signed our billto ban both veal crates and gestation crates in his state”  and  “remember when Floridians favored an HSUS-authored initiative in 2002″
• July 12, 2006, HSUS Vice-President Patricia Forkan was before the Federal Ways and Means Committee testifying in favor of a US-Peru Trade agreement
• Don’t forget the extensive list of court cases that HSUS has initiated against or has supported against farmers, pet owners and/or breeders, hunters and others.

These are only a few examples of the extensive amount of legal, political and lobbying involvement of the HSUS, its employees, volunteers and executive.   Consider the following sections of the IRS website:

• Regarding Lobbying:  An organization will be regarded as attempting to influence legislation if it contacts, or urges the public to contact, members or employees of a legislative body for the purpose of proposing, supporting, or opposing legislation, or if the organization advocates the adoption or rejection of legislation.  Yet here is an example of the kinds of emails being sent out to supporters
• The IRS considers a variety of factors, including the time devoted (by both compensated and volunteer workers) and the expenditures devoted by the organization to the activity, when determining whether the lobbying activity is substantial. (Click here for original reference)
• Organizations other than churches and private foundations may elect the expenditure test under section 501(h) as an alternative method for measuring lobbying activity.  Under the expenditure test, the extent of an organization’s lobbying activity will not jeopardize its tax-exempt status, provided its expenditures, related to such activity, do not normally exceed an amount specified in section 4911.  This limit is generally based upon the size of the organization and may not exceed $1,000,000 (Click here for original reference)  Yet, in 2007  $1.36 million was granted just to Californians for Humane Farms, a lobbying group for the famous Proposition 2 located at the same mailing address as the California HSUS office. This doesn’t factor in the HSUS own direct activities.

And so, I continue to ask the question?  How does this permit the HSUS to continue to qualify for tax-exempt status?  Can someone who understands charity tax law better than I do explain it?

Copyright 2009 by Erica Saunders   http://AR-HR.com
All rights reserved

The WSB-TV article addressed a number of important points that are commonly mis-understood about the Humane Society of the United States:

• The Humane Society of the United States has little to no affiliation to local shelters and local Humane Societies, despite having a name that leads to the convenient but mistaken identification of the HSUS as the parent organization.
• Only a small percentage of donations made to the Humane Society of the United States are granted to local shelters and Humane Societies. In 2007, less than 6 million dollars were handed out as US grants out of over 152 million* taken in (less than 4%*). Of the almost 4%, a large percentage of the grants were handed out to organizations that did not provide direct care to animals in need.
• After Hurricane Katrina, Humane Society of the United States fundraising efforts raised 34 million dollars. By 2 years after Hurricane Katrina, only 52% (18 million) could be accounted for as spent on Katrina-related activites. The connection between reconnecting animals with their owners, the premise for the Hurricane Katrina fundraising, was tenuous at best for a number of the projects indicated as supported by Hurricane Katrina funds. As of the 2 year mark, funds related to the Gulf Coast began to make a shift to HSUS legislative goals again.
• Channel 2 attendance at a local HSUS meeting found the 2 hour discussion to be dominated by activist planning and lobbying efforts. This impression was confirmed as accurate by Cheryl McAuliffe, Georgia Director for the HSUS. Ms McAuliffe also confirmed that all budgeting was directed from the Humane Society of the United States Washington headquarters

By Friday morning, there was a response from HSUS CEO Wayne Pacelle claiming WSB-TV had used discredited source information from the Center for Consumer Freedom (CCF). It is difficult to understand how Mr. Pacelle can take the position that the CCF information has been discredited when it is able to be verified independently using HSUS IRS documents and HSUS press releases. Mr. Pacelle also indicated that all funds raised for the Hurricane Katrina crisis have been spent helping Katrina families and pets, yet this is also established as dubious, based on HSUS press releases. (unless introducing items such as cock-fighting bills are counted in this position) By Friday evening, all links to this ground-breaking and courageous article had disappeared from the WSB-TV website.

Yet, the most interesting result of the investigation is a point not (yet) pursued by WSB-TV. Is the HSUS in compliance with requirements to maintain its 501 (c) 3 tax-exempt status? According to Cheryl McAuliffe, Georgia Director for the HSUS, activist and lobbying efforts form the bulk of her activities. Yet, according to IRS 501 (c) 3 regulations:

“In general, no organization may qualify for section 501(c)(3) status if a substantial part of its activities is attempting to influence legislation (commonly known as lobbying). A 501(c)(3) organization may engage in some lobbying, but too much lobbying activity risks loss of tax-exempt status.

Legislation includes action by Congress, any state legislature, any local council, or similar governing body, with respect to acts, bills, resolutions, or similar items (such as legislative confirmation of appointive office), or by the public in referendum, ballot initiative, constitutional amendment, or similar procedure. It does not include actions by executive, judicial, or administrative bodies.

An organization will be regarded as attempting to influence legislation if it contacts, or urges the public to contact, members or employees of a legislative body for the purpose of proposing, supporting, or opposing legislation, or if the organization advocates the adoption or rejection of legislation.”

Yet the Humane Society of the Unites States dedicates a significant amount of resources to its efforts to introduce and influence legislation as demonstrated by the portion of its website tracking HSUS legislative efforts at the state and federal levels as well as through ballot initiatives.

This raises an important question. With an income of over 152* million annually, is the IRS being cheated out of substanial revenue if the Humane Society of the United States is not in compliance with the 501 (c) 3 charitable organization requirements? The HSUS claimed involvement in 140 legislative bills at the state level in 2008 alone, has claimed credit for a great deal of legislation in 2009 and publicly acknowledges ‘urging’ assorted legislators on a variety of bills.

It seems fishy to me & I simply don’t understand why the mainstream media doesn’t find it interesting as well.

Copyright 2009 by Erica Saunders http://AR-HR.com
All rights reserved

*CORRECTION: Originally stated 200 million should have referred to HSUS assets. HSUS 2007 gross income was just over 152 million. Percentages have been corrected to reflect this.

Some examples of the workshops include:

• Becoming a Citizen Lobbyist at the State and Federal Level, “Come to this workshop to learn effective approaches to getting bills passed for animals”  Speakers: Speakers: Nancy Perry, Vice President, Government Affairs, HSUS; Jessica Feingold Lieberson, Director of Grassroots Campaigns, HSUS 
• Sound Strategy: A Key to Ending the Use of Animals in Labs, “The panel discussion will offer a toolkit for how you can help educate the public, influence policy efforts and prompt action.” Speakers: Kathleen Conlee, Director of Program Management, Animal Research, HSUS; Laura Ducceschi, Director of Education at American Anti-Vivisection Society/Animalearn; Jennifer Campbell, Director of Member Services, New England Anti-Vivisection Society
• Advocating for Animals at Your State Capitol, “Speakers will focus on the state legislative process and cover topics such as picking the right author to advance a bill”  Speakers: Kelly Peterson, Policy Advisor to Chief Operating Officer and Oregon Legislative Specialist, HSUS; Nicole Paquette, Senior Vice President & General Counsel, Born Free USA
• Get Ready, Get Set, Lobby! And Training for Lobby Day, “You will get all the training you need for Lobby Day including tips on how to be a good citizen lobbyist, a refresher on how the legislative process works, a briefing on the highest priority animal welfare bills in Congress right now, and the logistics and schedule for Lobby Day.” Speakers: Nancy Perry, Vice President, Government Affairs, HSUS; Jessica Feingold Lieberson, Director of Grassroots Campaigns, HSUS; Heather Carpenter, Deputy Director of Grassroots Campaigns, HSUS  (mandatory for Lobby Day Attendance) 
• Advocating for Animals in the U.S. Congress, “Come learn about some of the federal bills that we’re working on to protect animals and how you can help ensure their passage!”  Speakers: Tracy Silverman, Animal Welfare Institute; Lauren Silverman, Federal Legislative Specialist, Government Affairs, HSUS; Jean Flemma, Staff Director, Insular Affairs, Oceans & Wildlife, US House of Representatives (mandatory for Lobby Day Attendance) 

That is just a small fraction of the workshops that are aimed at promoting political and lobbying activity.  I  feel like I’m being tedious documenting that much of the politically focused portions of the TAFA conference.  (If you agree on the tedious part, I’m sorry.  Really I am.)  Yet, I feel compelled to point out the intense focus on political effect at the conference.  Why?  Because of the following comment on Twitter from the HSUS, “We’re not a “political group”. That’s a lame argument that our opponents use because they have nothing else.”

As usual, I have many more questions than answers.  My primary question tonight is, “If it is such a lame argument, why does the topic form the significant majority of the TAFA conference?” 

I don’t expect there to be much of a response forthcoming though. 

Copyright 2009 by Erica Saunders   http://AR-HR.com
All rights reserved

The HSUS appears to be becoming much more comfortable with the label Animal Rights very recently.  It was only Easter Sunday this year when the HSUS Internet Marketing Manager, Carie Lewis, rejected the ‘Animal Rights’ label outright in conversation with me on Twitter.  Yet in the HSUS blog re-print  on Opposing Views titled “Humane Society Responds to Attacks on Animal Rights Record” the term seems to raise no alarm. The increase in acknowledgement of an Animal Rights position becomes more apparent with Schedule of Events at the upcoming HSUS run TAFA conference such as the lecture “Animal Rights as a Mainstream Phenomenon” and a sponsorship list composed of Animal Rights Industry members such as:

•  Farm Sanctuary
  • Animal Rights Anti-Animal Agriculture group
  • contributing a minimum $10,000 sponsorship to the event and 3 speakers participating on the agenda
• Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF)
  • Animal rights law organization based in California. Programs include civil litigation, working to enact state felony anti-cruelty statutes, and the Great Ape Legal Program, dedicated to winning legal rights for great apes
  • contributing a minimum $2500 sponsorship and 1 speaker to the event
• American Anti-Vivisection Society (AAVS)
  • Animal Rights group dedicated to ending experimentation on animals in research, testing, and education
  • contributing a minimum $1500 sponsorship to the event & contributing 1 speaker from  AAVS and 1 speaker from New England Anti-Vivisection Society
  • HSUS donated $500 to this organization according to their most recently available  tax forms

The focus on legislation, lobbying, influencing public opinion and manufacture of message is even higher, which can be easily seen be examining the schedule of events.  Due to the massive number of items to examine on the agenda, I will be breaking these items down into a series of articles looking at the conference’s focuses on combating Animal Agriculture, combating Animal Research, Legal/Legislative involvement & manipulation of the media.  These will be presented leading up to the actual TAFA conference start and through the HSUS guiding attendees in participation in the Lobby Day on July 27th on Capitol Hill.  Wait a minute, isn’t this exactly the kind of action that is in violation of the terms of the HSUS 501(c) 3 status?  I thought that HSUS didn’t have any employees or volunteers participating in attempting to influence national, state or local legislation, including any attempt to influence public opinion on a legislative matter or referendum?

Copyright 2009 by Erica Saunders   http://AR-HR.com
All rights reserved

It is ironic because the HSUS is claiming four years of accomplishments that did not involve their volunteers, their employees or their executive according to the their tax records. 

In 2006, some of the HSUS major legislative and political accomplishments included:

• The HSUS led a successful Arizona Ballot Initiative against sow gestation crates and battled against a Michigan State  Ballot Initiative regarding Mourning Dove Hunting, yet according to the tax records no HSUS volunteers, employees or executive worked on the campaign?
• The HSUS ”led the fight in Congress to achieve passage of the Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards Act to ensure adequate planning for moving companion animals out of harm’s way” yet according to the tax records no HSUS volunteers, employees or executive worked on this endeavor?
• The HSUS “helped pass 69 new laws in state legislatures”  and worked on a total of 73 legislative proposals, yet according to the tax records no HSUS volunteers, employees or executive worked on these campaigns?

In 2007:

• The HSUS claimed credit for helping to pass a record 86 new laws at the state level, yet according to the tax records no HSUS volunteers, employees or executive worked on these campaigns?

Now, keep in mind that in 2006, the Humane Society Legislative Fund (HSLF) spent a total of just over $3.3 million while spending just over $3.1 million in 2007.  Also keep in mind that much of the HSUS executive sits on the HSLF board, but they only claim an involvement  of 10 hours/week.  That’s an average of less than $44,000 per project in 2006 and around $36,000 per project in 2007 without factoring any other associated budget items if one tries to claim all associated personnel costs are attributed to HSLF. 

In 2008:

• The HSUS claims credit for driving the passage of Proposition 2, a California ballot initiative and the anti-greyhound racing bill in Massachusetts.   Will the HSUS tax records state yet again that no HSUS volunteers, employees or executive worked on these ballot initiatives?   Proposition 2 was a campaign that opponents spent 10 million dollars arguing against for reasons proving to be accurate like increased cost to consumers and increases disease and injury in the birds?
• The HSUS claims credit for three significant provisions in the Federal Farm Bill.  Will the HSUS tax records state yet again that no HSUS volunteers, employees or executive worked on this bill?
• The HSUS claims credit for a record 93 pro-animal state laws  that were passed & 53 animal unfriendly laws that were defeated.  Will the HSUS tax records state yet again that no HSUS volunteers, employees or executive worked on these campaigns?

If a similar set of expenses is filed for 2008 for HSLF, $3.3 million, the HSLF attributable costs would drop to an average of under $23,000 per project. 

Its a good thing that the HSUS has started to pursue the religious community, because numbers like this for the HSLF are miraculous. Or dare I say mythical since I don’t share their religious view? 

Copyright 2009 by Erica Saunders   http://AR-HR.com
All rights reserved

“Did the Humane the United States fail to account for Political and/or Lobbying activity of Paid Personnel and Volunteers on their 2005, 2006 & 2007 IRS Tax Filings?”

According to the IRS website, “Whether an organization’s attempts to influence legislation, i.e., lobbying, constitute a substantial part of its overall activities is determined on the basis of all the pertinent facts and circumstances in each case. The IRS considers a variety of factors, including the time devoted (by both compensated and volunteer workers) and the expenditures devoted by the organization to the activity, when determining whether the lobbying activity is substantial.”  

Yet, when looking at the 2007 IRS 990 forms filed by the HSUS, I noticed the following information in the statement of Lobbying Activity by Non-Electing Charities:

The question for this section reads: During the year, did the organization attempt to influence national, state or local legislation, including any attempt to influence public opinion on a legislative matter or referendum, through the use of (a) Volunteers  (b) Paid staff or management.  The response to both sections was No.  This was the response in 2007  as well as in 2006 & 2005 despite the following examples:

• May 8 2007  HSUS CEO Wayne Pacelle, testified before Congress to “urge the Congress to pass legislation” as stated in his HSUS blog Humane Nation, introducing himself as representing the Humane Society of the United State and submitting a 52 page report including his testimony and supporting documentation
• November 8, 2005 HSUS CEO Wayne Pacelle testified before Congress on the issue of the Pet Animal Welfare Statute
• On the Ballot Initiative section of the HSUS website, one may access a list of Ballot Initiatives where HSUS claims central involvement extending from 1990 through 2008
• On the Enacted and Vetoed State Legislation section of the HSUS website, the following statement is found, “The Government Affairs section of the Humane Society of the United States tracks, reviews, drafts, comments, lobbies and testifies on legislation that impacts animals in almost every state. We also keep a record of certain priority legislation on this website so citizens can take action.”  This page includes the lists of Enacted and Vetoed Legislation from 2005, 2006, 2007 & 2008.

All of the above cited items could not have occurred without the involvement of paid and/or volunteer personnel.   All were claimed under the auspices of the Humane Society of the United States, not the Humane Society Legislative fund or one of the other HSUS sub-entities.  

It appears that these activities continue, as was observed by the investigative team who attended a Georgia state HSUS meeting and found it to be primarily involved in activist plans and lobbying, an assessment agreed with by HSUS Georgia State director Cheryl McAuliffe who also acknowledged that this forms the majority of her work-related activity and that all budgeting is controlled from the HSUS Washington headquarters.  It is reasonable to believe  significantly greater volunteer involvement, especially when one considers emails such as this one being sent on the behalf of the HSUS:

From: Jordan Matyas [mailto: jmatyas@hsus.org] 

Sent: Monday, April 06, 2009 2:51 PM

To: Jordan Matyas

Subject: Legislative Update from Springfield

It has been a very busy few months at Illinois’ state capitol. Because of your help, we are having a great year in Springfield. The summaries below provide a blurb about each bill – for more information on any particular legislation, feel free to contact me. Thanks so much to all of you for your phone calls and emails to legislators – but remember the fight is not over!  (See here for remainder) 

If the HSUS has not accounted for the activities of paid employees and volunteers, and this lack of accounting causes the HSUS to fail the “Substantial Part of Activities” standard set by the IRS, the HSUS could be subject to back-taxes on the $152 million in gross receipts for 2007 alone.  Considering the increase in lobbying activities in 2008 and 2009, will the HSUS continue to claim that there is no activity by either volunteers or paid personnel that is occurs under the auspices of the HSUS?  Will the HSUS executive explicitly reference the sub-entity that they are representing, as Patricia Forkan did in 2006, without invoking the authority of the HSUS? 

Will the HSUS pay taxes on its 2008 filing or 2009?

Copyright 2009 by Erica Saunders   http://AR-HR.com
All rights reserved

Last week, WSB-TV aired an investigative report into how the primary focus of the Humane Society of the United States is on activist efforts and political/lobbying activities, not directly on animals in need.  As aptly described by the writer of the YesBiscuit! blog, finding the video of this report online has been like a game of whack-a-mole ever since.  The video keeps re-surfacing, only to be forced offline again within hours, so I won’t be posting new links to the video, instead I encourage searches for video using keywords such as Humane Society, HSUS, WSB, Expose, Investigation as it does reappear in an increasing number of locations. (NOTE: Since this article was released, I have been forwarded several stable links that remain available.  The Blogroll link for the video is now usable)

I do continue to ask, “How is it that the Humane Society of the Unites States (HSUS) continues to qualify as a 501(c)3 tax-exempt charity?”  I actually don’t care if the HSUS wants to be an animal rights lobbying organization, all power to them.   But if that’s what they want to be, I believe they need to be explicitly clear about their goals, and that their tax & charitable status should reflect it.   

 For the skeptics out there that don’t believe the extent of the political activity of the HSUS, employees and executive, I offer further examples of public declarations of legal, political and lobbying efforts made on behalf of the HSUS:

• Michael Markarian, HSUS Executive VP for External Affairs and regular contributor to the Huffington Post, wrote of his involvement efforts on Capitol Hill in his article, ‘Herd on the Hill’
• On the HSUS Legislation and Laws page, “These are just some of the issues we will be tackling in the 111th Congress. Click here for a more complete roster of pending and anticipated bills”   The roster includes 3 pages proposals for legislation covering topics from pets (companion animals) to scientific research and changes in educational curriculum
• In his HSUS blog article, “Maine-stream” (May 15, 2009) HSUS CEO Wayne Pacelle  makes reference to ” our landslide victory in Californiaon Proposition 2 last November”, “And this week, Maine Governor John Baldacci signed our billto ban both veal crates and gestation crates in his state”  and  “remember when Floridians favored an HSUS-authored initiative in 2002″
• July 12, 2006, HSUS Vice-President Patricia Forkan was before the Federal Ways and Means Committee testifying in favor of a US-Peru Trade agreement
• Don’t forget the extensive list of court cases that HSUS has initiated against or has supported against farmers, pet owners and/or breeders, hunters and others.

These are only a few examples of the extensive amount of legal, political and lobbying involvement of the HSUS, its employees, volunteers and executive.   Consider the following sections of the IRS website:

• Regarding Lobbying:  An organization will be regarded as attempting to influence legislation if it contacts, or urges the public to contact, members or employees of a legislative body for the purpose of proposing, supporting, or opposing legislation, or if the organization advocates the adoption or rejection of legislation.  Yet here is an example of the kinds of emails being sent out to supporters
• The IRS considers a variety of factors, including the time devoted (by both compensated and volunteer workers) and the expenditures devoted by the organization to the activity, when determining whether the lobbying activity is substantial. (Click here for original reference)
• Organizations other than churches and private foundations may elect the expenditure test under section 501(h) as an alternative method for measuring lobbying activity.  Under the expenditure test, the extent of an organization’s lobbying activity will not jeopardize its tax-exempt status, provided its expenditures, related to such activity, do not normally exceed an amount specified in section 4911.  This limit is generally based upon the size of the organization and may not exceed $1,000,000 (Click here for original reference)  Yet, in 2007  $1.36 million was granted just to Californians for Humane Farms, a lobbying group for the famous Proposition 2 located at the same mailing address as the California HSUS office. This doesn’t factor in the HSUS own direct activities.

And so, I continue to ask the question?  How does this permit the HSUS to continue to qualify for tax-exempt status?  Can someone who understands charity tax law better than I do explain it?

Copyright 2009 by Erica Saunders   http://AR-HR.com
All rights reserved