Niagara Leader

Congresswoman Claudia Tenney (NY-24), co-chair of the Election Integrity Caucus, announced that the End Zuckerbucks Act has passed the Ways and Means Committee by a vote of 23-17. This bill, proposed by Tenney, seeks to amend the Internal Revenue Code to prevent 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organizations from directly or indirectly providing funds for election administration.

In the 2020 election, Mark Zuckerberg reportedly used a non-profit organization named the Center for Tech and Civic Life (CTCL) to distribute $350 million to local boards of elections in left-leaning county governments across several states. These include Texas, Ohio, Nevada, Minnesota, Georgia, Florida, Arizona, and Pennsylvania. The funding was allegedly intended for "making voting safer amid the pandemic." However, less than 1% of these funds were spent on Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) or other safety measures at voting sites. Moreover, there was little to no oversight on spending. Reports indicate that 92% of the funds went to left-leaning districts where they were used for advertising, vehicle purchases and other activities unrelated to the pandemic.

"Twenty-eight states have banned Zuckerbucks, prohibiting partisan bureaucrats, billionaires and corrupt special interest groups from interfering in our election process. It’s time for the federal government to follow suit," said Congresswoman Tenney. She further added that as a founder and co-chair of the Election Integrity Caucus she is pleased with this development. "We must restore confidence in our self-governing Constitutional Republic by ensuring that Americans in every state and territory have free, fair, accurate and transparent elections."

Ways and Means Chairman Jason Smith also commented on this issue. He stated that during the 2020 election cycle private donations worth hundreds of millions were laundered through 501(c)(3) organizations into Democrat-run cities and counties in swing states favoring one political party over another. He expressed his support for the End Zuckerbucks Act, saying that "the U.S. Tax Code should not be used to support the electioneering efforts of wealthy private donors."