The Conservative Movement supports the “Preventing IRS Abuse and Protecting Free Speech Act” (H.R. 5053), which would prevent the Internal Revenue Service from collecting the identity of most donors to tax-exempt organizations.
The bill has been introduced by Rep. Peter Roskam (R-IL). It would prohibit the IRS from requiring that Section 501(c) organizations (that is, (c)(3) and (c)(4) organizations) divulge the names and addresses of donors on the Form 990 Information Returns that they are required to file with the IRS. Under current law, tax-exempt organizations (both (c)(3) and (c)(4) organizations), must disclose to the IRS the identities of donors who contribute more than $5,000.
Congress required only 501(c)(3) entities to report the names of donors. The extension of the disclosure requirement to all 501(c) organizations (i.e., including (501(c)(4) organizations) was done by the Treasury Department and the IRS.
H.R. 5053 deserves the support of all people interested in freedom.
The central problem of our time is too much government. In his first Inaugural Address, President Reagan said: “In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem.”
Today’s advocates for big government of all stripes emphasize the first four words of the quote, “In this present crisis.” Their implication is that that was then; and that now the rest of the quote is inoperative.
That’s nonsense. In fact, now more than ever, government is the problem. And sadly, government is now not just the problem: government, or at least parts of it, has become the enemy.
We saw that in the Internal Revenue Service scandal that began in 2010. The IRS targeted particular charitable groups (all conservative) that opposed the policies of President Obama.
In 2013, senior IRS official Lois Lerner admitted that organizations were targeted because of their titles or beliefs, but claimed that the practice was “absolutely incorrect, insensitive, and inappropriate.”
Subsequently, however, Lerner refused to testify in front of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, pleading the Fifth Amendment. She was placed on administrative leave the next day — but was not subsequently required to return her $42,000 in bonus pay.
But why should she have returned it? She had done the administration’s work and had managed to “lose” thousands of emails in the process, and was entitled to the bonus.
That is the problem.
Too much government is one thing. Misuse of government power is another. But as students of history and government, and almost all sentient Americans, know, too much government power will inevitably lead to misuse. Power corrupts, and it corrupts especially advocates for big government of all stripes – it corrupts them especially because they seek — they continually seek — more and more power with which to govern the lives of the American people.
The growth of government, the growth of government power, inevitably leads to corruption. That President Obama’s IRS and senior IRS official Lois Lerner behaved scandalously should not have surprised anyone. Corrective action is needed.
H.R. 5053 is only a single step to reduce the power of government, but it is an important step, because it will help free people who publicly oppose the excessive power of government from the fear of retaliation by government. Many believe that compelling the disclosure of donor information violates the contributors’ and exempt organizations’ First Amendment rights to freedom of association and that Congress should prohibit the continued collection by the IRS of this sensitive information.
The behavior of the Obama’s IRS and his appointee Lois Lerner is a national scandal. But even if what the IRS did was only a mistake — even Lois Lerner (of the $42,000 bonus) called the IRS’s behavior “absolutely incorrect, insensitive, and inappropriate” — steps should be taken to see that similar “mistakes” can’t occur in the future. The IRS itself has conceded that it has great difficulty maintaining the statutory confidentiality of donors’ identity.
H.R. 5053 will assist the IRS in doing its job: If the IRS doesn’t have information about donors to 501(c) organizations, it can’t release it, by mistake, or by direction of a successor to Lois Lerner — one of whom might, soon, be a Republican.
The IRS would continue to be able to obtain specific financial information, including donor identity and contribution histories and information, as part of any audit or enforcement action involving specific taxpayers; but that would be within a different IRS procedure and would be unaffected by the passage of H. R. 5053.
The Conservative Action Project urges all conservatives and conservative organizations — and all other Americans as well — to urge their representative in Washington to support H.R. 5053. Ronald Reagan was right in 1981. And thirty-five years later, government is still the problem.
| The Honorable Edwin Meese III Former Attorney General President Ronald Reagan ____________________________________ |
The Honorable Becky Norton Dunlop Chairman, Conservative Action Project Former White House Advisor President Ronald Reagan __________________________________________ |
| L. Brent Bozell, III Founder & President Media Research Center |
The Honorable Bob McEwen U.S. House of Representatives Former Member, Ohio |
| Cleta Mitchell Attorney Washington, DC |
David Bozell President ForAmerica |
| The Honorable T. Kenneth Cribb, Jr. Former Domestic Advisor President Ronald Reagan |
The Honorable David McIntosh President Club for Growth |
| The Honorable Tony Perkins President Family Research Council |
Jenny Beth Martin Co-Founder & President Tea Party Patriots |
| Adam Brandon President FreedomWorks |
David N. Bossie President Citizens United |
| Gary L. Bauer President American Values |
James C. Dobson, Ph.D. Founder and President Family Talk |
| Diana L. Banister President Shirley & Banister Public Affairs |
Luke Hilgemann CEO Americans for Prosperity |
| Jason Jones President Movie to Movement |
Rod D. Martin Founder and CEO The Martin Organization, Inc. |
| Sherri R. Martin Co-Founder The Martin Foundation |
Monty S. Warner Plains States Legal Foundation |
| The Honorable Jerry Melvin President Florida Republican Assembly |
Nicholas Stehle Campaign for the American Future |
| Anthony Allen President Hannibal-LaGrange University |
Mathew D. Staver, Esq. Founder and Chairman Liberty Counsel |
| Tom DeLay Former Majority Leader US House of Representatives |
Kelly Shackelford, Esq. President, CEO & Chief Counsel First Liberty Institute |
| Andrea Lafferty President Traditional Values Coalition |
Rev. Louis P. Sheldon Founder and Chairman Traditional Values Coalition |
| Norm Singleton President Campaign for Liberty |
Mario H. Lopez President Hispanic Leadership Fund |
| Ali Akbar Senior Advisor Black Conservatives Fund |
Mark J. Fitzgibbons President of Corporate Affairs American Target Advertising, Inc. |
| Phil Kerpen President American Commitment |
Susan Carleson President American Civil Rights Union |
| The Honorable Belden Bell Trustee The Heritage Foundation |
Andresen Blom Executive Director Grassroot Hawaii Action, Inc. |
| Dan Backer, Esq. DB Capitol Strategies PLLC |
The Honorable Mike Hill State Representative District 2 |
| Allen J. Hebert Chairman, American-Chinese Fellowship of Houston |
Tim Echols Commissioner, State of Georgia Founder, TeenPact |
| Brian C. Baker President Ending Spending |
Kevin Kookogey President and Founder Linchpins of Liberty |
| Ken Boehm Chairman National Legal and Policy Center |
Gary Aldrich President and Chairman of the Board CNP Action, Inc. |
| Amy Ridenour Chairman, National Center for Public Policy Research |
Trent England David & Ann Brown Distinguished Fellow Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs |
| Herman Cain C.E.O. www.hermancain.com |
James Bopp, Jr. James Madison Center for Free Speech |
| Richard A. Viguerie Chairman Conservative HQ.com |
Grover Norquist President Americans for Tax Reform |
| Gary A. Marx President Madison Strategies |
Joseph A. Morris Attorney Chicago, Illinois |
| Michael J. Bowen CEO Coalition For a Strong America |
Stephani Scruggs COO Coalition For a Strong America |
| Kathleen Patten President and CEO American Target Advertising, Inc. |
Richard D. Gaby Founder/CEO A K Rikk’s |
| Charles J. Cooper Cooper & Kirk, PLLC |
Michael R. Long, State Chairman NYS Conservative Party |
| Tim LeFever Chairman Capitol Resource Institute |
Heather R. Higgins President and CEO Independent Women’s Voice |
| Sabrina Schaeffer Executive Director Independent Women’s Forum |
David Williams President Taxpayers Protection Alliance |
| Somers H. White Former State Senator Somers White Co. Inc. |
Pete Sepp President National Taxpayers Union & NTU Foundation |
| Jim Martin Chairman 60 Plus Association |
Floyd Brown Chairman Western Center for Journalism |
| Twila Brase President and Co-founder Citizens’ Council for Health Freedom |
Willes K. Lee President National Federation of Republican Assemblies |
| David W. Preston Executive Director, Oklahoma Wesleyan University Foundation |
Bill Pascoe Partner Antietam Communications |
| Lewis K. Uhler Founder and President National Tax Limitation Committee |
Col Francis X. De Luca USMCR(Ret) President Civitas Institute |
| Ellen Grigsby Director of Institutional Partnerships Open Doors USA |
Craig Shirley Reagan Biographer |
| Russell Ramsland Founder, Park Cities/Preston Hollow Leadership Forum |
Joe Calvert President Rabon-Calvert Interests, Inc. |
| Tricia Erickson President, Angel Pictures & Publicity, Inc. Publisher: www.TheConservativePundit.net |
Elaine Donnelly President Center for Military Readiness |
| Rick Scarborough President Vision America Action |
Peter J. Thomas Chairman Americans for Constitutional Liberty |
| Melissa Ortiz Founder & Principal Able Americans |
Phillip Leo Jauregui President Judicial Action Group |
| Peter Weyrich Conservative Activist |
Bradley Mattes President Life Issues Institute |
| Thair Phillips President/CEO RetireSafe |
Sean Noble President American Encore |
| Pam Pryor President and Owner PryorWorks |
