Several Democratic lawmakers are coming together in an effort to halt the National Rifle Association (NRA) Foundation from receiving donations from federal employees.
In a letter to the head of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Michael Rigas on Friday, the senators called for the NRA Foundation to no longer be on the list of charities that can receive funds from federal employees, according to The Hill.
They are calling for immediate removal from the list during Combined Federal Campaign’s (CFC) annual fundraising drive, which begins on September 21.
The effort is led by Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) is among the 12 lawmakers included.
While the CFC’s mission is to “promote and support philanthropy through a program that is employee focused, cost-efficient, and effective in providing all federal employees the opportunity to improve the quality of life for all,” the senators do not believe the NRA Foundation should be eligible to receive the contributions.
They wrote in the letter, “In order to maintain the integrity of the CFC and ensure that participating charities adhere to OPM’s own regulations, we request that you remove the NRA Foundation and all related entities from the list of eligible CFC charities in advance of the next giving campaign.”
Menendez also tweeted, “Come on. NRA [and] NRA Foundation execs are facing a slew of allegations/lawsuits for lavishly spending ‘charity’ [money] on themselves, yet they’re still eligible to solicit [and] take donations from our federal employees? That’s rich.”
Come on. NRA & NRA Foundation execs are facing a slew of allegations/lawsuits for lavishly spending "charity" $ on themselves, yet they’re still eligible to solicit & take donations from our federal employees? That’s rich. https://t.co/E3SOwTbvXH
— Senator Bob Menendez (@SenatorMenendez) September 18, 2020
In August, New York State Attorney General Letitia James announced her office filed a lawsuit against the NRA to “dissolve the organization in its entirety for years of self-dealing and illegal conduct that violate New York’s charities law and undermine its own mission,” as IJR previously reported.
James noted at the time, “This lawsuit specifically charges the NRA as a whole in addition to four individual defendants.”
The NRA pushed back, however, as the organization wrote in a tweet, “This is an unconstitutional, premeditated attack aiming to dismantle and destroy the NRA – the fiercest defender of America’s freedom at the ballot box for decades. The NRA is well governed, financially solvent, and committed to good governance.”
“We’re ready for the fight,” the NRA continued. “Bring it on.”