[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 112 (Wednesday, July 31, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1178]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 STOPPING GOVERNMENT ABUSES AND HOLDING THE ADMINISTRATION ACCOUNTABLE

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. MICHAEL R. TURNER

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 31, 2013

  Mr. TURNER. Mr. Speaker, over four years ago, President Obama 
asserted that his would be ``the most transparent Administration in 
history.'' Instead, we have seen the Executive Branch act in a manner 
wholly inconsistent with that statement and take great strides to 
conceal the truth from public scrutiny. Mr. Speaker, the American 
people deserve better.
  That is why today the House is considering several pieces of 
legislation aimed at curbing the widespread abuse that we have 
witnessed in recent years and helping to restore faith in the federal 
government for hardworking taxpayers across this country. As a senior 
Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, I 
have been involved with investigating the many scandals that have been 
reported on throughout the last several months.
  As we continue to see in the ongoing investigation of conservatives 
being targeted for their political beliefs, the Internal Revenue 
Service, IRS, has failed to act in a fair, nonpartisan, and 
nondiscriminatory manner. In targeting an individual or group for 
audits and investigation on the basis of their beliefs--and not a 
legitimate tax-related purpose--the IRS has weakened its level of trust 
among both the American public and Congress. That is why I introduced 
H.R. 1950, the Taxpayer Nondiscrimination and Protection Act of 2013. 
With over 100 cosponsors and a companion measure in the Senate authored 
by Senator Marco Rubio, this bill is aimed at preventing biased, 
politically-motivated discrimination and seeks to strengthen taxpayer 
protections in current law by making such action a crime.
  Earlier this year the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform 
also heard from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration 
in which details were exposed of a lavish, taxpayer-funded conference 
for IRS employees in Anaheim, California. The IRS reported an estimated 
final cost of $4.1 million for the conference--$3.2 million of which 
were transferred from the funds appropriated by Congress for salaries, 
expenses, and personnel. In response to the revelation that taxpayers 
footed nearly 80% of the tab for this wasteful party, I introduced H.R. 
2345, the Stop Internal Resource Slush Fund Act. This bill would 
address the back-door budgeting used by the IRS and put an end to these 
government slush funds.
  In addition to the deeply troubling actions by the IRS, the 
Administration remains defiant in what may well be the lasting legacy 
of President Obama's scandals: the plight of Delphi Salaried Retirees. 
For over three years, I have worked with my colleagues on both sides of 
the aisle and in both chambers to hold the Administration accountable 
for unjustly terminating the pensions of an estimated 22,000 retirees 
in the wake of the General Motors bailout.
  Both Congress and these hardworking men and women continue to press 
the Treasury Department, the President's Auto Task Force, and the 
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation for answers and full and complete 
disclosure of their actions that have led to tremendous hardship for 
thousands across the country. Despite bipartisan efforts toward 
fairness and transparency, the Administration has thus far remained 
secretive and defiant.
  It is my sincere hope that the measures we are considering today, the 
legislation I have authored, and the ongoing investigations of the 
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform will put an end to these 
government abuses and hold bad actors accountable to the American 
people.

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