Scalise, Meadows and Wenstrup Urge IRS to Abandon Rule Stifling Free Speech

WASHINGTON – Today, Republican Study Committee Chairman Steve Scalise, along with Congressmen Meadows and Wenstrup, wrote to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) urging the tax collection agency to abandon its revision of rules which would codify the practice of politically targeting certain nonprofit groups.

Last Thursday, the IRS announced that they will restart the writing process of a rule which will severely restrict the free speech rights of certain nonprofit organizations.

An excerpt from the letter reads:

“Last Thursday's announcement that the IRS is abandoning its proposed change is both welcome and troubling. We applaud your admission that your proposal was flawed and needed to be abandoned. However, rather than finding a more creative way to harass taxpayers with further revisions, you should abandon any attempt at a rewrite and instead focus on ensuring that the substantial backlog of 501(c)(4) applications are expeditiously reviewed and processed, free from partisan politics.”

Earlier this year, Scalise, along with 80 members of the Republican Study Committee, submitted a public comment urging the IRS to abandon the proposed rule.

The full letter can be found here.