H.R. 2501

Summary

H.R. 2501, the Free Speech Fairness Act, was introduced in the House on Mar 31, 2025 by Rep. Mark Harris (R) with 38 co-sponsors. It was referred to Ways And Means, and last saw action on Mar 31, 2025: Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.

Record

Text

H.R. 2501 has 38 co-sponsors.

119 HR 2501 IH: Free Speech Fairness Act
 U.S. House of Representatives
 2025-03-31
 text/xml
 EN
 Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.
 I  119th CONGRESS  1st Session  H. R. 2501  IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES   March 31, 2025   Mr. Harris of North Carolina  (for himself,  Mr. Guest ,  Mr. Weber of Texas ,  Mr. Moore of Alabama ,  Mr. Higgins of Louisiana ,  Mr. Grothman ,  Mr. Self ,  Mr. Baumgartner ,  Mr. Messmer ,  Mr. Walberg ,  Mr. Stutzman ,  Mr. Rouzer ,  Mr. LaMalfa ,  Mr. Ogles ,  Mr. Hamadeh of Arizona , and  Mrs. Miller of Illinois ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the  Committee on Ways and Means    A BILL
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow charitable organizations to make statements relating to political campaigns if such statements are made in the ordinary course of carrying out its tax exempt purpose.
1.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the   Free Speech Fairness Act  .
2.
Allowing
501(c)(3)  organization to make statements relating to political campaign in ordinary course of carrying out its tax exempt purpose
(a)
In general
 Section 501  of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
(s)
Special rule relating to political campaign statements of organization described in subsection
(c)(3)
(1)
In general
For purposes of subsection (c)(3) and sections 170(c)(2), 2055, 2106, 2522, and 4955, an organization shall not fail to be treated as organized and operated exclusively for a purpose described in subsection (c)(3), nor shall it be deemed to have participated in, or intervened in any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for public office, solely because of the content of any statement which—
(A)
is made in the ordinary course of the organization’s regular and customary activities in carrying out its exempt purpose, and
(B)
results in the organization incurring not more than de minimis incremental expenses.
 .
(b)
Effective date
The amendment made by this section shall apply to taxable years ending after the date of the enactment of this Act.

Tracker

The tracker indicates the progress of this legislation as it moves through the legislative process.

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow charitable organizations to make statements relating to political campaigns if such statements are made in the ordinary course of carrying out its tax exempt purpose.

Sponsors

Rep. Mark Harris (R) sponsors H.R. 2501, and 38 members have co-sponsored it, 15 of them from the day it was introduced.

Mark Harris

Rep. · R–NC-8 · Sponsor

Introduced Mar 31, 2025

Michael Baumgartner

Rep. · R–WA-5 · Co-sponsor

Joined Mar 31, 2025 · Original

Glenn Grothman

Rep. · R–WI-6 · Co-sponsor

Joined Mar 31, 2025 · Original

Michael Guest

Rep. · R–MS-3 · Co-sponsor

Joined Mar 31, 2025 · Original

Abraham Hamadeh

Rep. · R–AZ-8 · Co-sponsor

Joined Mar 31, 2025 · Original

Clay Higgins

Rep. · R–LA-3 · Co-sponsor

Joined Mar 31, 2025 · Original

Doug LaMalfa

Rep. · R–CA-1 · Co-sponsor

Joined Mar 31, 2025 · Original

Mark Messmer

Rep. · R–IN-8 · Co-sponsor

Joined Mar 31, 2025 · Original

Mary Miller

Rep. · R–IL-15 · Co-sponsor

Joined Mar 31, 2025 · Original

Barry Moore

Rep. · R–AL-1 · Co-sponsor

Joined Mar 31, 2025 · Original

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Committees

H.R. 2501 went before 1 committee: Ways and Means.

Ways and Means

Ways and Means

Referred To · Mar 31, 2025 · 1,160 Bills

Actions

H.R. 2501 has taken 2 actions since Mar 31, 2025.

Votes

H.R. 2501 has not gone to a roll call.

Related bills

1 bill is related to H.R. 2501, as Identical bill.

S 1205Free Speech Fairness ActMar 31, 2025 · Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance. · Identical bill

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Titles

H.R. 2501 goes by 3 titles, 1 of them short titles.

• Free Speech Fairness Act — Display Title
• Free Speech Fairness Act — Short Title(s) as Introduced
• To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow charitable organizations to make statements relating to political campaigns if such statements are made in the ordinary course of carrying out its tax exempt purpose. — Official Title as Introduced

Lobbying

3 clients hired 3 firms and 15 registered lobbyists who named H.R. 2501 in 8 quarterly filings, 2025 to 2026. Reported under the Lobbying Disclosure Act; a filing’s income covers everything its registrant worked that quarter, so the amounts below are the filings’, not this bill’s.

Filed under Government Issues, Taxation/Internal Revenue Code, Budget/Appropriations, Small Business, Banking, Civil Rights/Civil Liberties, Family issues/Abortion/Adoption, Foreign Relations.

Clients

Who paid to be heard, by how many filings named the bill.

Firms

Registrants who filed on the bill, by filings.

Lobbyists

Named on the filings that cite the bill.

Filings

The documents themselves, on the Senate’s Lobbying Disclosure site, largest reported first.

Classification

The Congressional Research Service files H.R. 2501 under Taxation, one of its 31 policy areas.

CRS Subjects

CRS assigns every bill one policy area from its 31; H.R. 2501’s is Taxation.

Constitutional authority

The clause the sponsor cites as Congress’s power to enact H.R. 2501, as entered in the Congressional Record.

[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 57 (Monday, March 31, 2025)][House]From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]By Mr. HARRIS of North Carolina:H.R. 2501.Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuantto the following:The First Amendment guarantees both free speech and thefree exercise of religion. The Free Speech Fairness Actrestores these fundamental liberties to churches andnonprofits.[Page H1375]

Source: congress.gov · legiscan.com