Americans for Limited Government President Nathan Mehrens today praised Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee Rep. Dave Camp (R-Mich.) for directing the investigation of the IRS targeting of the tea party and other 501(c)(4) organizations toward a November 2013 proposed rulemaking by the Treasury Department that will severely restrict the political speech of all 501(c)(4)s:
“House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp’s request for all documents related to the IRS rulemaking is a step in the right direction to stop these egregious regulations from taking effect. The regulations would effectively legitimize the very IRS activity that resulted in the tea party targeting scandal of the past couple of years. Chairman Camp’s request will help determine if the new regulations were driven more by politics than the law.”
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Below is the press release from Rep. Camp:
Camp Requests All Documents on Proposed Changes to 501(c)(4) Rules
Washington, DC – Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R-MI) wrote to Treasury Department Secretary Jacob Lew and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Commissioner John Koskinen requesting all documents pertaining to 501(c)(4) rulemaking.
Upon sending the letter, the Chairman said “Before having all the facts in hand, Treasury rushed forward with new rules that seriously limit groups’ ability to engage in public debate. It is clear that the Obama Administration is still targeting conservative groups and wrote these rules to put them out of business. This is pure politics and the new IRS commissioner should do the right thing and put a stop to it.”
Background:
- Under proposed Treasury regulations, 501(c)(4) organizations cannot engage in non-partisan activities, like voter registration and get-out-the-vote efforts, or convene candidate forums without jeopardizing their exempt status.
- Chairman Camp introduced H.R. 3865, “Stop Targeting of Political Beliefs by the IRS Act of 2014,” which would prohibit Treasury and the IRS from finalizing the proposed rules for one-year in order to allow for the completion of the IRS targeting investigation and a thorough public discussion, including a review of public comments related to the proposed regulations.
Responses are due to the Committee by February 13, 2014.
