Christian Coalition of America - Recent Years

Recent Years

In 2000, the CCA moved from its long-standing headquarters in Chesapeake, Virginia, to a large office on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.. Roberta Combs, the current president and CEO, is a founding state director and has been the only woman on the board of directors for the CCA in the history of the organization..

In March 2001, the CCA was sued U.S. District Court by its African-American employees, who alleged racial discrimination by Roberta Combs. The Washington D.C. District Court issued an injunction against the CCA and the case was later settled with money paid to the African-American plaintiffs.

In 2005, the Coalition finally concluded a settlement agreement with the Internal Revenue Service, ending its long-running battle with that agency regarding its tax exempt status. As a result, the IRS has now recognized the Coalition as a 501(c)(4) tax-exempt organization, the first time in the agency's history that it has granted a letter of exemption to a group that stated in its application that it would distribute voter guides directly in churches. The consent decree enforces limitations on the terminology that may be used in the Coalition's voter guides.

In March 2006, the Christian Coalition of Iowa renamed itself the Iowa Christian Alliance. In splitting from the national group, the Iowa Christian Alliance cited "the current problems facing the Christian Coalition of America" in announcing that it had no ties to the national organization. In August 2006, the Christian Coalition of Alabama split from the national group. It later renamed itself Christian Action Alabama.

In November 2006, the president-elect of the CCA resigned his post, citing a difference in philosophy over which issues the conservative Christian organization should embrace. Rev. Joel C. Hunter, currently the senior pastor of the Northland Church in Longwood, Florida, was to assume the presidency in January. But Hunter said the Coalition's leaders resisted his calls to expand their issue base, saying the organization wouldn't allow him to expand its agenda beyond opposing abortion and same-sex marriage. Hunter also said he wanted to focus on rebuilding the Coalition's once powerful grassroots, an appeal he says board members rejected. "After initial willingness to consider these changes, the board of the CCA decided, 'that is fine, but that is not who we are,'" Hunter said. Combs still remains as the Coalition's president.