Restore America's Mission today joined a broad coalition urging Congress to include language in the lending omnibus appropriations bill to stop the IRS from advancing its proposed rule severely restricting the activities of 501(c)4 organizations. The letter begins:
As the people’s duly elected representatives, it is imperative that Congress step in and stop the IRS from codifying its suppression of conservative groups. This rogue agency can clearly not be left to police itself, and we therefore urge you to include language in the omnibus appropriations bill to stop the IRS from pursuing rulemaking in this area and to continue robust oversight of this agency.
January 9, 2014
Dear Members of Congress:
As the people’s duly elected representatives, it is imperative that Congress step in and stop the IRS from codifying its suppression of conservative groups. This rogue agency can clearly not be left to police itself, and we therefore urge you to include language in the omnibus appropriations bill to stop the IRS from pursuing rulemaking in this area and to continue robust oversight of this agency.
The IRS confessed to targeting conservative groups in a stunning abuse of power. While initially blamed on a small number of so-called "rogue agents" in Cincinnati, subsequent investigations revealed that high-level IRS officials in Washington, DC actually removed case files of conservative and tea party groups from Cincinnati to Washington, where they stalled action for years, sent lengthy and intrusive questionnaires, and undermined the rights of association and speech of conservatives.
Nobody has been held accountable for these outrageous abuses. Indeed, the apparent ringleader of the suppression scheme, Lois Lerner, was granted six months of paid administrative leave and then allowed to retire with her full pension. Suppression of political dissent has been rewarded. Even worse, the IRS now proposes not to rectify its own misbehavior, but to blame the victims and effectively codify its own misdeeds by adopting draconian limitations on the free speech rights of 501(c)4 social welfare groups via regulation.
The IRS proposal would restrict the free speech rights of such groups by arbitrarily deeming political a wide variety of activities in the newly-created category of “Candidate-Related Political Activity,” which includes voter registration drives, candidate debates, voter guides, voting records and key votes. They would restrict any criticism of an incumbent federal, state, or local politician within 30 days of a primary or 60 days of a general election and effectively require groups to remove any reference to politicians from their websites during these windows. They even distort the definition of "candidate" to include appointees, so groups weighing in on executive or judicial nominations would be restricted.
These draconian rules will effectively muzzle 501(c)4 groups in the run-up to November’s mid-term elections while unfairly exempting 501(c)5 labor unions that support liberal candidates and causes.
The rules proceed from the assumption that political engagement and discussion of health care, government spending, and other public policy issues and the merits of nominees who implement them cannot logically be part and parcel of a social welfare mission. This is not what the law requires and it is inconsistent with longstanding historical practice and understanding.
While Section 501(c)(3) of the tax code specifically bars those organizations from engaging in political activity, no such statutory prohibition exists in Section 501(c)(4). For half a century the IRS has defined “social welfare” in our democratic society to include activities such as nonpartisan get-out-the-vote drives, voter registration, and voter education on issues of public concern.
The 501(c)(4) category has always been the home of groups that advocate public policy and hold politicians accountable for the policies they pursue at every level of government. The IRS is disregarding these facts and severely limiting rights of association and speech, especially for smaller grassroots groups that cannot easily afford high-priced lawyers to navigate complex new rules.
This latest IRS power grab must be stopped, and we urge you to do so in the omnibus appropriations bill.
Sincerely,
Jim Martin
Chairman
60 Plus Association
Melissa Ortiz
Founder/Principal
Able Americans
Phil Kerpen
President
American Commitment
Dan Schneider
Executive Director
American Conservative Union
Thomas Pyle
President
American Energy Alliance
Sandy Rios
Director of Governmental Affairs
American Family Association
Mark Fitzgibbons
President of Corporate Affairs
American Target Advertising, Inc.
Gary L. Bauer
President
American Values
Brent Gardner
Director of Federal Affairs
Americans for Prosperity
Grover Norquist
President
Americans for Tax Reform
John Tate
President
Campaign for Liberty
Susan Carleson
Chairman/President
Carleson Center Welfare Reform Action Fund
Sean Noble
President
Center to Protect Patient Rights
Jeffrey Mazzella
President
Center for Individual Freedom
Matt Patterson
President
Center for Worker Freedom
Elaine Donnelly
President
Center for Military Readiness*
Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.
President
Center for Security Policy*
Tom Minnery
President
CitizenLink
Chris Chocola
President
Club for Growth
Gary Aldrich
President and Chairman of the Board
CNP Action, Inc.
Penny Nance
President and CEO
Concerned Women for America Legislative Action Committee
Peter J. Thomas
Chairman
The Conservative Caucus
Mattie Duppler
Executive Director
Cost of Government Center
Thomas A. Schatz
President
Council for Citizens Against Government Waste
Christopher J. Conover, PhD
Research Scholar
Center for Health Policy & Inequalities Research*
Duke University*
Katie McAuliffe
Executive Director
Digital Liberty
Brian Baker
President
Ending Spending
Ralph Reed
Chairman
Faith & Freedom Coalition
Larry Cirignano
President
Faithful Catholic Citizens
Dick Patten
President
Family Business Defense Council
Paul Caprio
Executive Director
Family Pac Federal
Kenneth R. Timmerman
President & CEO
Foundation for Democracy in Iran
James S. Gilmore III
President
Free Congress Action
Coley Jackson
President
Freedom Action
Matt Kibbe
President
FreedomWorks
George Landrith
President
Frontiers of Freedom
Aaron Stover
Director of Development, Eastern Region
The Heartland Institute
Michael Needham
Chief Executive Officer
Heritage Action
Mario H. Lopez
President
Hispanic Leadership Fund
Michael Smith, Esq.
President
Home School Legal Defense Association
Heather R. Higgins
President
Independent Women’s Voice
Andrew Langer
President
Institute for Liberty
Seton Motley
President
Less Government
Colin A. Hanna
President
Let Freedom Ring
Christopher Arps
Co-Founder
Move-On-Up.org
Lew Uhler
President
National Tax Limitation Committee
Pete Sepp
Executive Vice President
National Taxpayers Union
Dave Wallace, II
Founder
Restore America's Mission
Ken Hoagland
Chairman
Restore America's Voice
Lawrence A. Hunter
President
Social Security Institute
David Williams
President
Taxpayers Protection Alliance
Judson Phillips
President
Tea Party Nation
Amy Kremer
Chairman
Tea Party Express
Jenny Beth Martin
Co-Founder
Tea Party Patriots
Todd Cefaratti
Founder
TheTeaParty.Net
C. Preston Noell III
President
Tradition, Family, Property, Inc.
Carl Bearden
Executive Director
United for Missouri
Morton Blackwell
Chairman
The Weyrich Lunch
Ron Robinson
President
Young America's Foundation
Terry T. Campo
President
YR Alumni Network, Inc.
*Affiliations for identification purposes only.
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