Against the backdrop of abuse-of-power warnings from leading civil rights groups, the US House of Representatives on Thursday passed a bill that, if enacted, would grant the Treasury Secretary the discretion to designate certain nonprofits as “terrorist supporting organizations” and thus strip their tax-exempt status.

The so-called Stop Terror-Financing and Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act defines a “terrorist supporting organization” as an organization the Treasury Secretary has found to have provided material support or resources to a terrorist organization exceeding a certain threshold amount within a three-year period ending on the date of nonprofit’s designation.

Under the bill’s current text, before designation, the Secretary must mail a written notice to the organization’s most recent address stating the intended designation, the organization(s) they allegedly supported, and a description of the material support “to the extent consistent with national security and law enforcement interests.”

Organizations have 90 days after receiving notice to either demonstrate they didn’t provide the alleged support, or make reasonable efforts to recover the support and certify in writing they won’t provide further support. Organizations cannot use the certification option to disavow future support if they’ve made similar certifications in the past five years.

Prior to the bill’s passage, civil rights advocates spoke out against its potential for harm. Over 180 organizations, including the ACLU, sent a letter to Congress warning of the dangers of vesting such broad powers in one individual government official, particularly in the absence of key due process safeguards. The authors argued this creates risks of politicized enforcement and could be used to suppress free speech, target political opponents, and punish disfavored groups across the political spectrum. They noted that accused organizations wouldn’t receive full disclosure of evidence against them or a meaningful opportunity to defend themselves before a neutral party.

The letter also stated that the bill is unnecessary given that “the executive branch already has extensive authority to prohibit transactions with individuals and entities it deems connected to terrorism and nonprofit organizations are already prohibited from providing material support to terrorist organizations.”

The NAACP Legal Defense Fund and other advocacy groups released a letter Thursday warning that the expanded powers the bill would vest in the Treasury Secretary could be misused to target racial justice organizations. The statement said the bill “would give the federal government additional tools to target civil rights leaders, racial justice activists, and protestors not because of legitimate national security or law enforcement interests but because the administration disagrees with their positions and goals. Even if these organizations successfully challenge the designation, being labeled a ‘terrorist supporting organization’ may cause irreparable reputational and fiscal harm.”