[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 159 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

113th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 159

  Expressing the sense of the Senate condemning the targeting of Tea 
    Party groups by the Internal Revenue Service and calling for an 
                             investigation.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              June 4, 2013

Mr. Paul submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
                          Committee on Finance

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
  Expressing the sense of the Senate condemning the targeting of Tea 
    Party groups by the Internal Revenue Service and calling for an 
                             investigation.

Whereas it is a well-founded principle that the power to tax involves the power 
        to destroy;
Whereas employees of the Internal Revenue Service (commonly known as the 
        ``IRS'') have publicly admitted that the IRS targeted Tea Party groups 
        in a manner that infringes on the free association rights and free 
        speech rights of those groups;
Whereas the IRS admitted that employees of the IRS engaged in politically 
        discriminatory actions;
Whereas the IRS used the taxing power as a political tool to intimidate Tea 
        Party groups from engaging in free speech;
Whereas, according to media reports, as early as in 2010, the IRS was targeting 
        Tea Party groups;
Whereas President Obama is aware that a Federal agency under his control has 
        admitted to targeting Tea Party groups;
Whereas, according to media reports, a report by the Treasury Inspector General 
        for Tax Administration indicates that some Tea Party groups withdrew 
        applications for tax-exempt status as a result of the discriminatory 
        actions of the IRS;
Whereas, according to the Washington Post, in late June 2011, employees of the 
        IRS discussed giving special attention to case files in which groups 
        made statements that ``criticize[d] how the country is being run'' and 
        educated the people of the United States ``on the Constitution and Bill 
        of Rights'' and targeting groups interested in limiting government; and
Whereas the discriminatory actions of the IRS impacted the free speech rights of 
        the groups targeted by the IRS: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that--
            (1) the Internal Revenue Service engaged in discriminatory 
        behavior;
            (2) Congress should use existing authority--
                    (A) to investigate potential criminal wrongdoing by 
                individuals who authorized or were involved in 
                targeting people of the United States based on their 
                political views; and
                    (B) to determine if other entities in the 
                administration of President Obama were involved in or 
                were aware of the discrimination and did not take 
                action to stop the actions of the Internal Revenue 
                Service;
            (3) President Obama should terminate the individuals 
        responsible for targeting and willfully discriminating against 
        Tea Party groups and other conservative groups; and
            (4) the Senate condemns the actions of all individuals and 
        entities involved in the infringement of the First Amendment 
        rights of members of the Tea Party and other affected groups.
                                 <all>