Congress Is Targeting the Johnson Amendment Now

Lawmakers appear to be using a new spending bill to target a 1950s law that effectively bars nonprofits like churches from endorsing or opposing political candidates.

Many pastors already ignore the so-called Johnson Amendment, and the IRS rarely investigates churches that violate a law that many clergy feel provides a chilling effect on their free speech. But some observers fear the language proposed in a new spending bill released this week would make it difficult for the IRS to investigate any claims of pulpit politicking or money flowing between houses of worship and political campaigns.