The IRS should not be telling us what we can and cannot say. Action Alerts!
Recently, we told you about newly proposed IRS rules that would say what we are allowed to tell you and what not. To give just one example, we would be forced to remove every single reference to a candidate’s connection to any legislation from our website sixty days before an election—giving incumbents a free pass to introduce legislation with almost no public scrutiny.
If this stands, Senator Durbin would be allowed to introduce an anti-supplement bill knowing that we could not link him to it in print.
A new bill, released on January 15, could help. The bill, the “Stop Targeting of Political Beliefs by the IRS Act of 2014” (HR 3865), would prohibit the IRS from enforcing its unconstitutional new rules concerning 501(c)4 nonprofits for exactly one year. This would get us past the next election, give the Ways and Means Committee time to complete its ongoing investigation into the IRS’s targeting of political groups, and provide the public with ample opportunity to learn about and weigh in on the new rules.
The bill is sponsored by Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R-MI), who has been leading the congressional investigation and is gravely concerned about the IRS’s new rules.
The timing of the new IRS rules has raised many questions. Why were they released the Friday after Thanksgiving—well-known as one of the slowest media days of the year—if not to avoid public scrutiny? Why do they come just when preparations are starting for the next election? And why, in the throes of a serious scandal and under inquiry by the House’s most powerful committee, did the IRS issue rules that would seem to legalize the very discrimination they’re being investigated for?
First Action Alert! Ask your congressional representative to support HR 3865. Chairman Camp’s legislation would get us past the next election, give the Ways and Means Committee time to complete their investigation, and give the public the opportunity to learn about these rules and submit their comments.
Second Action Alert!The IRS has no business in politics or interfering with free speech. Even if you’ve already done so, tell the agency again to rescind this political gag order and protect the right of political dissenters and organizations that represent individuals like you! Please send your message to the IRS immediately—the deadline for comments is this month!
