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314 Action

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314 Action
314 Action.png
Basic facts
Location:Washington, D.C.
Type:501(c)(4)
Website:Official website

314 Action is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization that aims to elect STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) professionals to the U.S. Senate, U.S. House of Representatives, state legislatures and governor's offices. It also holds among its goals to "promote the responsible use of data driven fact based approaches in public policy."[1]

314 Action is affiliated with 314 PAC, a super PAC that was founded in 2014 by Shaughnessy Naughton and has since made independent expenditures supporting or opposing candidates.[2][3]

According to Naughton, "Traditionally the attitude has been that science is above politics, and therefore scientists shouldn't get involved in politics, and what that ignores is the fact that politicians are unashamed to meddle in science. The way we push back against that is to hold a seat at the table."[4]

Mission

According to the group's website, 314 Action's mission includes the following statement:[1]

“ We are committed to electing more leaders who will use their training as STEM professionals to influence policy-making. Evidence-based reasoning should be the foundation of legislation related to issues like climate change, and gun violence. 314 Action is also devoted to aggressively advocating for a pro-science agenda in Washington, D.C. and in local and state legislatures.[5] ”

Background

After Shaughnessy Naughton unsuccessfully ran for Congress in 2014 and 2016, she founded 314 Action to help elect scientists to public office. The group, which takes its name from the first three digits of the mathematical constant pi, billed itself as an EMILY's List for scientists. "There's nobody [else] who's recruiting, training and providing the EMILY's List-like support for the scientists and technical folks running for Congress," 314 Action executive director Joshua Morrow said. "There's really no [other] organization that is harnessing the power of this community."

According to a December 2016 post on the organization's blog, 314 Action launched its initiatives in late 2016, saying "Our first large-scale initiative as a group was our letter to Donald Trump and his Transition Team, urging him to give scientists a seat at the table."[6]

Work

In January 2017, 314 Action launched a campaign called "STEM the Divide," which aimed to recruit and train STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) professionals to run for office and become involved in the political process.[7][8]

The group also drafts and solicits signatures for petitions and letters to Congress. Documents drafted by 314 Action include a letter urging the United States House of Representatives Committee on Science, Space, and Technology to "utilize leading scientific consensus in all policy matters," a petition to President Donald Trump urging him not to exit from the Paris Climate Agreement, and a petition and letter campaign to oppose the appointment of Scott Pruitt as the administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.[9][10][11]

Political activity

2020

314 Action endorsed the following federal candidates for the 2020 elections as of August 2019:[12]

U.S. Senate

U.S. House

2018

314 Action endorsed engineer Aruna Miller in the closed Democratic primary in Maryland's 6th Congressional District.

It backed neuroscientist Hans Keirstead in the top-two race to unseat California Republican Dana Rohrabacher.

The group backed pediatrician Mai Khanh Tran over chemistry professor Phil Janowicz in the top-two race to succeed retiring Rep. Ed Royce (R) in California's 39th Congressional District.

2017

As of June 2017, the following candidate endorsements appeared on the 314 Action website:[13]

Leadership

According to the organization's website, the following individuals served as 314 Action's leadership team as of May 2020:[14]

  • Shaughnessy Naughton, President
  • Joshua Morrow, Executive director
  • Erik Polyak, Director of campaigns
  • Hilary Badger, National development director

Tax status

314 Action is a 501(c)(4) tax-exempt nonprofit organization. Its 501(c) status refers to a section of the U.S. federal income tax code concerning social welfare organizations.[15] Organizations that have been granted 501(c)(4) status by the Internal Revenue Service are exempt from federal income tax.[16] Section 501(c) of the U.S. tax code has 29 sections listing specific conditions particular organizations must meet in order to be considered tax-exempt under the section. Unlike 501(c)(3) organizations, however, donations to 501(c)(4) organizations are not tax-deductible for the individual or corporation making the contribution. 501(c)(4) organizations may engage in political lobbying and political campaign activities. This includes donations to political committees that support or oppose ballot measures, bond issues, recalls, or referenda.

See also: 501(c)(4) organizations on Ballotpedia

Affiliated programs

314 Action is affiliated with 314 PAC, a super PAC that has made independent expenditures supporting or opposing candidates.[3]

A super PAC is a political committee that can solicit and spend unlimited sums of money. A super PAC cannot contribute directly to a politician or political party, but it can spend independently to campaign for or against political figures. These committees are also called independent expenditure-only committees. A super PAC is not legally considered a political action committee (PAC) and as such is regulated under separate rules.[17][18]

Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 314 Action. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

314 Action - Google News

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 314 Action, "Mission," accessed June 18. 2017
  2. ↑ Politics PA, "Naughton Creates PAC Aimed at STEM Professionals," accessed June 27, 2017
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Open Secrets, "314 PAC Summary, 2016," accessed June 30, 2017
  4. ↑ Mother Jones, "Donald Trump's war on scientists had had one big side effect," July 31, 2017
  5. ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
  6. ↑ 314 Action, "314 Blog Launches Today," accessed June 30, 2017
  7. ↑ Washington Post, "This group wants to fight ‘anti-science’ rhetoric by getting scientists to run for office," accessed June 27, 2017
  8. ↑ 314 Action, "Want to Run?" accessed June 27, 2017
  9. ↑ 314 Action, "Sign Our Letter to the House Science Committee," accessed June 30, 2017
  10. ↑ 314 Action, "Tell President Trump: Don't exit the Paris Agreement," accessed June 30, 2017
  11. ↑ 314 Action, "314 Action Launces Online Petitition to Stop Scott Pruitt," accessed June 30, 2017
  12. ↑ 314 Action Fund, "Endorsed Candidates," accessed August 26, 2019
  13. ↑ 314 Action, "Trailblazers," accessed June 18, 2017
  14. ↑ 314 Action, "Leadership," accessed May 7, 2020
  15. ↑ Internal Revenue Service, "Social Welfare Organizations," accessed January 14, 2014
  16. ↑ Internal Revenue Service, "IRC 501(c)(4) Organizations," accessed July 10, 2014
  17. ↑ The Atlantic, "The New York Times' Disingenuous Campaign Against Citizens United," February 24, 2012
  18. ↑ The New York Times, "Who's Financing the 'Super PACs?" May 7, 2012
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