[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 164 (Monday, November 18, 2013)]
[House]
[Pages H7176-H7182]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     THE ABUSE OF POWER BY THE IRS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Rodney Davis of Illinois). Under the 
Speaker's announced policy of January 3, 2013, the gentleman from Texas 
(Mr. Flores) is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the 
majority leader.
  Mr. FLORES. Mr. Speaker, thank you for the recognition. This evening, 
I would like to lead the discussion about the blatant abuse of power by 
the Internal Revenue Service, specifically regarding its targeting of 
Americans because of their political beliefs.
  In early 2012, the Waco Tea Party contacted me to express concern 
about overly onerous information requests regarding their request to 
become a 501(c)(4) organization. I subsequently contacted the IRS to 
get answers, and I also contacted the House Ways and Means Committee 
and the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee to inform them 
of the situation that I had been made aware of. Unfortunately, 
following my inquiry into the IRS, the issue did not go away and, in 
fact, it got worse. I began to learn that this targeting was wide and 
spread throughout the country.
  In April of 2012, I, along with 62 of my House colleagues, sent a 
letter to then-IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman requesting a response as 
to why the IRS was targeting and intimidating conservative groups. We 
received a basic, nonresponsive letter from the IRS that outlined how 
applications are processed and that in no way answered our questions on 
the targeting and the onerous questioning of the grassroots groups.
  On May 10, 2013, just a little over a year later, the IRS officially 
apologized for inappropriately targeting conservative groups like the 
Waco Tea Party. The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee and 
the House Ways and Means Committee started and continued to conduct 
hearings into this targeting of conservative groups.
  News reports would go on to reveal that senior IRS personnel knew 
about this practice as far back as 2011, directly contradicting earlier 
testimony of senior IRS personnel, who claimed that they did not know 
of these practices. I, along with my colleagues here on the House floor 
tonight, are far from satisfied with just an apology.
  We have several letters from groups that we are going to share with 
you tonight. This needless and abusive targeting has burdened many 
conservative groups throughout the country. I have invited several of 
my colleagues to come to the House floor and to join me as we bring 
back to the forefront this blatant abuse of power from the IRS on 
conservative groups. Tonight, I would like to present the injustice 
that has been done by reading letters to Congress from these targeted 
groups that go into detail about their experiences.
  The first letter is from a group in my district, Texas District 17. 
It is the Waco Tea Party. Here is what their letter says:

       We are writing to you to explain to you and to your 
     colleagues what it is like to be targeted by the government 
     via the Internal Revenue Service. We are not writing to 
     explain the facts and details--that is all a matter for 
     public record and the courts--but rather to explain what 
     happens to United States citizens who simply exercise their 
     rights under the law.
       When we began the Waco Tea Party, we were regular Americans 
     who spoke out about being taxed enough already. We weren't 
     political operatives or politicians. For the most part, we 
     were new to the world of politics. We were naive. We believed 
     our government had problems, but we didn't realize that it 
     would target citizens for their political beliefs, that it 
     would put us on a ``be on the lookout,'' or BOLO, list, for 
     short, for using the words ``Tea Party'' in our name; that 
     some Members of Congress would write to the IRS and demand 
     action against us because we held a different position on 
     policy.
       We weren't targeted because we broke the law; we were 
     targeted because we were compliant with the law. We weren't 
     targeted because we spoke out; we were targeted because our 
     viewpoints weren't acceptable to government bureaucrats at 
     the IRS. The law was wrongly used against us in an attempt to 
     shut us out and to shut us up.
       The toll this IRS targeting is taking on our lives is 
     immeasurable. The financial burden on our small grassroots 
     group has been staggering, requiring many of us to dip into 
     our household budgets to cover expenses, the sleepless nights 
     worrying about what would happen if we couldn't find someone 
     to help us, the emotional stress of explaining to your 
     spouse, your children, family, and friends why you have to 
     miss a special event or special day because we had to work on 
     inane and intrusive demands by the IRS, questions that had 
     nothing to do with our application but were instead used as a 
     weapon of intimidation.
       The countless nights that we have laid in our bed not able 
     to sleep, the times that we quietly cried into a pillow 
     because we don't want our spouse to know how scared we are, 
     or the isolation we have felt because of how the media and 
     even some Members of Congress have demonized us, none of this 
     matters to an agent of the government. We are not seen as 
     people. We deeply love our country. We are patriotic, and we 
     are dedicated to preserving our birthrights guaranteed by the 
     Constitution and passing them on to the next generation.
       Our grandfathers, fathers, and others fought wars against 
     countries that use government to squelch freedom and liberty 
     of their citizens, only to find that out our own government 
     was now engaging in these tactics. We are not ashamed of our 
     country, but we are disgusted with our government and those 
     who condone the IRS tactics.
       We implore you to act to preserve political speech, free 
     speech, to hold people accountable for what they have done to 
     the American citizens. We pray that you and your colleagues 
     will act to restrain government, punish those who were 
     responsible, and restore our First Amendment rights to what 
     the Founders intended.
       Sincerely, Toby Marie Walker, Carol Waddell, Becky Kodrin, 
     and Bobby Keith, Waco Tea Party members, supporters and 
     volunteers.

  Mr. Speaker, as I told you, there are several letters we have to 
share tonight. The next person I would like to invite to speak is Randy 
Weber from Texas District 14, and he will share

[[Page H7177]]

what some of his constituents have written to him.

  Mr. WEBER of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend from Texas.
  As we all know, in May of 2013, it was unearthed--that is probably a 
pretty good word, because they had it deeply buried in the government 
bureaucracy--that the IRS was unjustly targeting conservative 501(c)(4) 
groups and using aggressive intimidation tactics. Today, I rise with my 
colleagues to share the story of organizations that were unlawfully 
targeted by the IRS or Infernal Revenue Service, as I like to refer to 
them.
  In southeast Texas, in my district, Texas District 14--they are on 
the gulf coast--the Clear Lake Tea Party was just such a group, one of 
many that fell victim to the IRS' illegal--and I want to underscore 
that--illegal maneuvers.
  On November 23, 2009, the Clear Lake Tea Party filed their 501(c)(4) 
tax exempt status. After having received no word from the IRS for 
almost 8 months, the founder of the Clear Lake Tea Party made an 
inquiry regarding the status of their application. What they got back 
from the IRS should shock and appall every American. Here is what Mary 
Huls, president of the Clear Lake Tea Party, sent our office, what they 
got back on July 12, 2010:

       The Clear Lake Tea Party received an additional information 
     request from Elizabeth Hofacre in the Cincinnati, Ohio, 
     office of the IRS demanding 19 more nontax-related items to 
     complete our application.
       The Clear Lake Tea Party board was duly alarmed by the 
     broad and personal nature of the information required, which 
     we would have to deliver and declare under penalties of 
     perjury. We judged the questions to be far outside the normal 
     purview of a nominal request for a tax exempt designation.
       For example, number one: they were requested to provide a 
     list of speakers and their qualifications for events that the 
     Clear Lake Tea Party have had in the prior year. They were 
     asked to provide copies of information that was easily found 
     on Facebook and Twitter.

                              {time}  2030

  And then, believe it or not, the Clear Lake Tea Party there in 
Galveston, Texas, Clear Lake, League City, Galveston County area, was 
asked to explain their relationship with the King Street Patriots, 
another Tea Party.
  Now, Mr. Speaker, I was born at night, but it wasn't last night. What 
in the world does that have to do with their application for their own 
tax exempt (c)(4) status?
  Number 4, they were asked to--and let me just hasten to add, they 
were not asked to explain their relationship with ACORN or moveon.org 
or Organizing For America.
  Number 4, they were asked to explain the Operation Pink Slip Program 
and to provide literature concerning this program. How did you decide 
who would be fired?
  Of course, the Clear Lake Tea Party, their immediate reaction upon 
receiving this information was confusion. You see, they had already 
been investigated by an IRS agent.
  Well, after the IRS' beyond intrusive and illegal, I might add, 
investigation of the Clear Lake Tea Party, the Clear Lake Tea Party's 
board met and made the executive decision to withdraw their 501(c)(4) 
application and to file with the State of Texas as a Texas nonprofit 
corporation that pays taxes in order to practice and protect their 
First Amendment freedom of speech.
  We got a subsequent email from Ms. Huls, president of the Clear Lake 
Tea Party, and she stated in that email that they would not be 
intimidated by this Federal agency or any other, and they would go down 
a different path. And so they chose to file as a Texas nonprofit.
  Mr. Speaker, it is an absolute shame, and I will say a travesty, that 
the head of the IRS, the former head, could come up to testify in front 
of our committees, stick her finger in the face of the American 
taxpayer, in the eye, I would say, and say, I am going to claim the 
Fifth Amendment. I don't have to answer your questions. I don't have to 
be accountable to you. I don't have to be accountable to the American 
taxpayer.
  And what I said to my district was, try that one on for size when the 
IRS wants to audit you. Get in front of their agents, their Gestapo, 
their henchmen and say, I plead the Fifth Amendment. I don't have to 
answer your questions, and see how that works.
  It is unbelievable, Mr. Speaker, that in the United States of 
America, we are scrutinized for the applications we file and words are 
chosen like conservatives, King Street Patriots, and we are so deeply 
scrutinized as to drive the Clear Lake Tea Party to withdraw their 
(c)(4) tax exempt status.
  Not in America should this ever happen. I am urging my colleagues in 
the House to join me and my fellow patriots all across this land to 
continue that cry that the justified scrutiny of the IRS to make sure 
two things, that those who did this are held accountable, and that it 
never, ever can happen again in the land of the free and the home of 
the brave.
  Mr. Speaker, I am Randy Weber, and I love my country. It is the 
government I fear.
  Mr. FLORES. I thank my friend from Texas (Mr. Weber). And I am now 
honored to yield to another friend from the great State of Tennessee, 
Marsha Blackburn, who represents the Tennessee Seventh.
  Mrs. BLACKBURN. I thank the gentleman from Texas for yielding, and 
Mr. Flores has really done a wonderful job of outlining the problem 
that we have come to the floor to address tonight.
  Quite frankly, Mr. Speaker, it is a problem and a situation that so 
many of our constituents never thought that they would witness or 
experience in this great Nation. They always felt that they had the 
right to free speech because it is a guaranteed right.
  How dare that they, or their groups, find themselves subjected to 
mistreatment by a Federal Government agency because of what they chose 
to say or to do, all in defense of liberty and the Constitution of this 
great land.
  Well, we had some of our Tennessee groups that were unjustly targeted 
through this process. They brought that to our attention because they 
realized that they were the brunt of this mistreatment, that they were 
facing a Federal Government agency who came bearing the power of the 
Federal Government to try to fear and intimidate citizens.
  Yes, indeed, it is the example of the government turning against the 
citizens and the power of the government being used to silence the 
citizens.
  So many of our constituents that were involved with this process 
said, What happened? How did this change? What has caused this to take 
place?
  And what they began to say to us was, if they can do this to others, 
what are they going to do to us?
  If they can do this to us in our group, what will they end up doing 
to others?
  So we have worked very closely and continue to follow what is 
happening with these groups and, of course, have been very concerned, 
as we have heard and watched the hearings for how the IRS carried out 
this data-mining and these word searches.
  I have to tell you, Mr. Speaker, it is no doubt at all, no doubt in 
my mind at all why the American people are so concerned about the 
security of the President's health care law. They know that their data 
may be used against them because they have living proof with the IRS, 
that they took information, applications, donors to groups, and then 
they turned that information against those donors from those groups in 
order to silence them and to impair their free speech.
  I want to read a letter tonight from one of the groups in my 
district, in our State, that has been unfairly and unjustly treated by 
the IRS. And this one comes from Linchpins of Liberty. It is stating 
their posture as of October 21 of this year.
  And the gentleman who is the executive director of Linchpins of 
Liberty is a gentleman named Kevin Kookogey, who started his 
organization because he loves his country. He loves freedom. He wants 
to preserve this for his children and future generations.
  So he did what a lot of Americans do, decided to put together an 
organizational structure that individuals could come together under to 
further the cause of freedom, something more individuals could and 
should do.

  But this is what happened to him, and I am quoting from his letter, 
which I will enter, Mr. Speaker, as a part of the permanent record for 
the proceedings of this evening:

       Dear Congresswoman Blackburn,
       As you know, I am president and founder of Linchpins of 
     Liberty, an American Leadership Development Enterprise.

[[Page H7178]]

       On January 2, 2011, we filed our application with the IRS 
     seeking to obtain a 501(c)(3) status as an educational 
     organization.

  Now, Mr. Speaker, that date is important. January 2, 2011:

       For over 33 months now, the IRS has unlawfully delayed and 
     obstructed that application. Under threat of perjury, the IRS 
     has demanded that I disclose the identities of my students, 
     some of whom are minors. One letter from the IRS contained in 
     excess of 90 inquiries of intimidation intended to force me 
     to disclose my donors and to identify the political 
     affiliation of my mentors.
       This has come at great cost to me. I have already lost a 
     $30,000 grant from a reputable nonprofit whose executive 
     director advised me that he had never seen such treatment of 
     a 501(c)(3) applicant in his 25 years of making grants.
       On June 5, 2013, the day after I testified before Congress, 
     I then lost most of my business when my largest client 
     advised me that it was uncomfortable with the public 
     expression of my political views in defending my 
     constitutional rights.
       A few days later, Congressman McDermott suggested on 
     national television that I may have lied before Congress 
     simply because I was not under oath when I testified. Perhaps 
     he was projecting, because I don't make a distinction between 
     whether or not I am under oath. I tell the truth all the 
     time.
       If the intent of the administration is to intimidate and 
     silence the voices of freedom, then it has grossly misjudged 
     its citizens. The government is not our master. It is our 
     agent. We are the principals, and we delegate our rights. We 
     do not surrender them.
       I therefore respectfully appeal to you to confront this 
     abuse of power by the executive branch, and, in so doing, to 
     protect, defend and preserve human liberty for ourselves and 
     our posterity.
       Sincerely, Kevin Kookogey, president and founder, Linchpins 
     of Liberty.

  Mr. Speaker, when you read the letters such as the one from Mr. 
Kookogey, such as the ones that you are going to hear from other 
organizations tonight, what you realize is there is an outstanding 
field of questions relative to what has transpired with the IRS:
  Why did they go about this?
  What was their purpose?
  Was it maliciousness?
  Were their actions purposeful?
  Was it intended to silence, to silence those that stand in opposition 
to the practices and the positions of this administration?
  Those are some of the questions that our constituents are still 
seeking to find the answers to. They would like to have their IRS 
designation because they recognize we are a Nation of laws. We abide by 
the law, and they would seek to operate within the law.

                                                 October 21, 2013.
     Re Linchpins of Liberty--The Cost of Speaking for Freedom

     Hon. Marsha Blackburn,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Congresswoman Blackburn: As you know, I am President 
     and Founder of Linchpins of Liberty: An American Leadership 
     Development Enterprise.
       On January 2, 2011, we filed our application with the IRS, 
     seeking to obtain 501(c)(3) status as an educational 
     organization.
       For over 33 months now, the IRS has unlawfully delayed and 
     obstructed that application. Under threat of perjury, the IRS 
     has demanded that I disclose the identities of my students--
     some of whom are minors. One letter from the IRS contained in 
     excess of ninety (90) inquiries of intimidation intended to 
     force me to disclose my donors and to identify the political 
     affiliation of my mentors!
       This has come at great cost to me. I have already lost a 
     $30,000 grant from a reputable non-profit whose Executive 
     Director advised me that he had never seen such treatment of 
     a 501(c)(3) applicant in his 25 years of making grants.
       On June 5, 2013, the day after I testified before Congress, 
     I then lost most of my business when my largest client 
     advised me that it was uncomfortable with the public 
     expression of my political views in defending my 
     Constitutional rights.
       A few days later, Congressman McDermott suggested on 
     national television that I may have lied before Congress 
     simply because I was not under oath when I testified. Perhaps 
     he was projecting, because I don't make a distinction between 
     whether or not I am under oath. I tell the truth ALL the 
     time.
       If the intent of the Administration is to intimidate and 
     silence the voices of freedom, then it has grossly misjudged 
     its citizens. The government is not our master. It is our 
     agent. We are the principals, and we delegate our rights. We 
     do not surrender them.
       I therefore respectfully appeal to you to confront this 
     abuse of power by the Executive Branch, and in so doing to 
     protect, defend, and preserve human liberty, for ourselves 
     and our posterity.
           Sincerely,
                                                   Kevin Kookogey,
                        President & Founder, Linchpins of Liberty.

  Mr. FLORES. I thank the Congresswoman from Tennessee.
  Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the words that were shared with us from the 
gentlelady from Tennessee, from one of her constituents. And we hear 
firsthand the agonizing feelings of her constituents as they have 
experienced the abuse of an overreach of Federal power by this feared 
agency, the IRS.
  I am now pleased to yield to another one of my good friends. 
Representative Lankford from Oklahoma will share what some of the folks 
in Oklahoma Five think about what the IRS has done.

                              {time}  2045

  Mr. LANKFORD. Thank you to my colleague for hosting this.
  Mr. Speaker, about 3\1/2\ years ago, Americans started getting more 
and more frustrated. It is really a product of several years of 
building, this sense of helplessness as they struggled and watched 
their Nation--I don't even know how to begin to describe the emotions 
that really welled up about 4 years ago when Americans watched their 
health care beginning to slip away. This absolute divide that happened 
as a Nation between Republicans and Democrats--and they used to try to 
work together to try to resolve things--went out the window on a pure 
partisan vote to push through a health care change that not a single 
Republican voted for. And Democrats, in a skittish way, pushed it with 
glee while others stepped back and said, I hope this works the way it 
is being advertised.
  As we know now, it is not working. It is working exactly as many 
Republicans said it would work. And the impulse of the Federal 
Government to take over more and more would actually cause serious 
problems in the process.
  At the same time, the United States Government began to overspend 
more than it ever had in the history of the United States. Mr. Speaker, 
$1.45 trillion of overspending in a single year led millions of 
Americans to stop and to gather--many of them for the first time--
gather in small groups and say, Our government is really struggling. 
This is not going, as a Nation, how we thought it would go. And they 
gathered together in small groups, which were spontaneously called 
these Tea Party groups, groups of patriots and individuals, housewives, 
moms, business leaders, and guys that owned locksmith shops, and all of 
these different places that were around just started gathering together 
to say, What can we do? Just normal Americans.
  As they began to form and to meet in groups of five, 10, 20, 25--
sometimes they would meet with huge rallies of 100 or 200 people. But 
most of the time, it is at somebody's house. Most of the time it is at 
a VFW meeting place or some other spot. They determined, Well, we need 
to get organized, and we need to be able to pass out materials and do 
some things. And to do that in our governmental system, they have got 
to try to find some way to be able to organize that money together, 
which means they need to contact the Internal Revenue Service and be 
able to access and get a revenue number. Well, they started that.
  One of those groups was in Oklahoma, a group called Oklahoma City 
Patriots in Action. This group of individuals are just normal Oklahoma 
great folks. They got together, submitted their application, and went 
through the process they needed to do. And then they get a letter back 
with 21 questions, some of them having up to nine subquestions to it. 
Sixty-five total requests came back to this group of individuals 
saying, We will give you your number if you will tell us all of this 
information. And to accentuate it, the letter begins with first them 
needing to sign this statement:

       Under penalties of perjury, I declare that I have examined 
     this information, including accompanying documents, and, to 
     the best of my knowledge and belief, the information contains 
     all the relevant facts relating to the request for the 
     information, and such facts are true, correct, and complete.

  And then they go on to make 65 different data requests, many of them 
incredibly long.
  There is no question this letter is intended to intimidate people; 
but I can tell you from knowing these Oklahomans, they tried to 
intimidate the wrong people with this.
  So let me just give you an example of some of the things they began 
to ask for in this long list of questions. They asked things like:

       Do you directly or indirectly communicate with members of 
     legislative bodies? If so,

[[Page H7179]]

     provide copies of the written communications and contents of 
     other forms of communications.

  In other words, if you redress grievances to your elected officials, 
as our Constitution allows you to do, please provide us a copy of 
everything you said when you went to your government for a redress of 
grievances.
  How about this:

       Give detailed examples on how you will educate the public 
     concerning key legislation and the positions of political 
     candidates and elected officials on that legislation.
       Please explain how you obtain the current legislative 
     information, both State and Federal, and the turnaround time 
     to post on your Web site.

  Why in the world does it matter what their turnaround time is--
whether they post it in a day or 10 days--for your IRS application?
  How about this:

       Please provide copies of your current Web pages from your 
     Web site.

  Wouldn't it be easier just to ask for the Web site name and then go 
search it themselves? They wouldn't have to print out copies of every 
page.
  And here are two sets of my favorites, of this long list. I could go 
on and on with it. This asks:

       Have you conducted or will you conduct rallies or 
     exhibitions for or against any public policies, legislation, 
     public officers, political candidates, or like kinds? If yes, 
     please explain and provide the following: State the time, 
     location, and content schedule of each rally or exhibition. 
     Provide copies of handouts you provided or will provide to 
     the public. The names of persons from your organization and 
     the amount of time they have spent or will spend on the 
     event.

  One last piece--and again, I could go on and on with this. This is 
the one that, when I read through this, it continued just to make my 
blood boil:

       Have any candidates running for public office spoken or 
     will they speak at a function of your organization? If so, 
     provide the names of the candidates, the functions at which 
     they spoke, any materials distributed or published with 
     regard to their appearance and the event, any video or audio 
     recordings of the event, and a transcript of any speeches 
     given by the candidates.

  Now, these are a gatherings of 20 people sitting around in someone's 
house. They are not transcribing every part of everything that is said. 
These are normal Americans getting together to discuss what is going on 
in their government. And the IRS said, If you want to continue to do 
this and be organized, we need to get a transcript of every speech that 
was done around your kitchen table.
  And to add insult to injury, remember what I said at the beginning, 
Under penalties of perjury, if you don't provide completely everything 
in this, you are not eligible.
  What is this intended to do? This is intended to silence. This is 
intended to tell good, hardworking Americans, Be quiet, sit around your 
dining room table, don't organize, don't keep moving.
  Now when our committee asked about this, the Oversight and Government 
Reform Committee, which I serve on, when we asked about this initially 
and began pushing forward to get more information--because as the folks 
in Oklahoma City know, this is not an isolated event. Letters like 
this, with other questions, went to other places all over the country, 
to everyone who had the name ``Tea Party,'' had the word ``liberty,'' 
or had the word ``patriot'' in their name. They were assigned to a 
specific group in Cincinnati, and they dead-ended all in that one 
group.
  Now, initially, when we asked individuals about it, we were told this 
was just a crazy group of folks in Cincinnati that went rogue, as if 
they all worked for WKRP, and they were out there just being crazy in 
Cincinnati.
  When we asked those quote-unquote ``rogue'' agents in Cincinnati to 
come before our committee and to tell us about it, what we were told 
was very clear. They were following the instructions they got from 
Washington, D.C., on what to do with these applications. And a special 
group was set up that all they did was take in applications that had 
``Tea Party,'' ``liberty,'' or ``patriot'' in it. And when they arrived 
at that location, they were to sit there and wait for instructions from 
Washington, D.C.
  So we asked the Cincinnati folks, Who gave you those instructions in 
Washington, D.C.? Those individuals were then called before our 
committee. And we asked those individuals, Did you give instructions to 
the Cincinnati office? Yes. Why did you do that? Here was their 
statement:

       Because we were told by the IRS counsel to wait on their 
     instructions.

  We are now in the process of doing interviews with the IRS counsel to 
say, Why was the decision made to say, people with certain names, send 
them letters like this with no intention of ever answering them? That 
they would get 65 detailed requests like this, each providing a very 
long response needed? And that then when it was finally collected, they 
would dead-end in Cincinnati. Why? We are still trying to get that 
answer.
  Why does that matter? Because Americans, whether they be liberal, 
conservative, anything in between should have a government that serves 
them, rather than intimidates them. It is right that we continue to 
walk through this process. It is right that good, hardworking Americans 
are not intimidated by their government.
  This is something that needs to be resolved and will be resolved, and 
though the headlines have faded away on it, we have not forgotten these 
individuals. And we will continue to work through the process to be 
held to account and to make sure this doesn't happen to anyone again in 
the days ahead.
  I thank the gentleman for hosting this time so that these folks in 
Oklahoma City and around the country are not forgotten.
  Mr. FLORES. I thank the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Lankford) for 
sharing with us more chilling evidence of a Federal Government that has 
gone wild and how the Federal Government can target you based on what 
is in your name.
  I would now like to yield to my good friend from Texas, Mr. Louie 
Gohmert, from Texas' District One.
  Mr. GOHMERT. I thank my dear fellow alumnus of Texas A&M. We do go 
way back, knowing each other from undergraduate days.
  I want to follow up, and I am very grateful for my friend from Texas 
(Mr. Flores) taking charge of this hour, setting it up to talk about 
the IRS and the abuses.
  And I know we have been talking about the abuses of Tea Party 
conservative groups, pro-Israel groups; but I wanted to just touch in 
brief on the extent of the arrogance of the IRS. They feel like they 
are above the law. Lois Lerner never showed any remorse for what 
certainly appears not only to have been perjury but also to have been a 
crime. There is a specific criminal code provision dealing with abuses 
of the Internal Revenue office.
  And you have Kathleen Sebelius. And right now, of course, people all 
over the country, millions are losing or have lost their health 
insurance. And there was this article here in October. This was from 
CNN News:

       In an interview with CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta Tuesday night, 
     Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said 
     she won't be enrolling in the problem-plagued health 
     insurance system that she was charged to implement. ``I have 
     created an account on the site. I have not tried signing up, 
     because I have insurance.''

  Well, she--like the IRS--has Federal employee insurance, and they 
don't care about everybody else, but we know the head of Health and 
Human Services says she is not going to bother with it.
  And as we look into the arrogance of the Internal Revenue Service--
and I especially appreciate my friend from Texas, Bill Flores, bringing 
this up because I don't know how many CPAs we have in Congress--but I 
know the CPA exam was a lot tougher than the bar exam. And I certainly 
appreciate somebody that knows about dealing with the IRS.
  But this article, ``IRS Employees' Union Urges Members to Oppose 
Obamacare--For Themselves.'' And the article goes on. So NTEU, which is 
the union for Treasury employees, is strongly urging its members, 
including the IRS agents tasked with implementing ObamaCare, to oppose 
Dave Camp's legislation which would compel them to personally 
participate in the same health care program they will be enforcing. On 
the NTEU Web site, union members are urged to email their Congressmen 
and Senators and ask them to oppose H.R. 1780. It provides a sample 
letter that they should provide, saying:


[[Page H7180]]



       I am a Federal employee and one of your constituents. I am 
     very concerned about legislation that has been introduced by 
     Congressman Dave Camp to push Federal employees out of the 
     Federal Employees Health Benefits Program and into the 
     insurance exchanges established under the Affordable Care 
     Act.

  It is just the height of arrogance that the IRS, while they are 
investigating groups that believe in the propriety and fidelity of the 
United States Constitution--because somehow they are a threat to the 
United States Constitution because they believe in it--at the same 
time, they know they are gearing up to enforce ObamaCare and to delve 
into the most private information that people have. It is not enough to 
just look at financial information. They are going to be looking to see 
about their health care and their health care coverage and can get even 
more detail than what we have been hearing during this hour.
  I can't imagine a worse prescription for abandoning the Constitution 
than that. And not only that, we have heard that ObamaCare--correctly, 
apparently--that it will cause the hiring of 17,000, 18,000 new IRS 
agents. And although I was not a math major, I love math and did very 
well every time I took it, but if you multiply 56,000 times 18,000 IRS 
employees, in 1 year you have added over $1 billion to health care 
costs. And there is not one of those 18,000 IRS agents, as arrogant as 
they may be and as personal as they are going to get, that are going to 
do anything but create a need for health care and not provide any 
whatsoever.

                              {time}  2100

  They may cause some ulcers. They are certainly not going to solve or 
be a solution for someone's ulcers. We still don't have proper 
accountability for the IRS.
  One other thing about the IRS and their handling of this. We keep 
being told that there are 5 million people that have lost their 
policies. As I understand it, it is 5 million policies. We are talking 
about a lot more than 5 million people. And when you think about the 
people that are going to have to pay for their health care and the 
extra billion dollars for new IRS agents and the billions of dollars 
over time that will be paid for the navigators and all those people 
that won't provide any health care whatsoever, it is staggering.
  People across America, from the polls, are figuring out this isn't 
about their health care. This is about the GRE--the government running 
everything.
  And some people I know wonder, well, what solution is there? Even if 
you had a fair tax or a flat tax, you still have got to have an IRS.
  And I love Arthur Laffer, Reagan's economic adviser. He said, Louie, 
you don't have to have the IRS. You ought to do away with it.
  The problem with the IRS is that, of course, they are going to get 
arrogant because they pick who they are going to audit, just like we 
have seen with all these abuses. They pick what all they are going to 
audit, just as we have been hearing. They get so intrusive, so 
personal, and then they decide what your punishment is going to be.
  There is no other area like it in America, and I don't think the 
Founders anticipated that the IRS or any entity would ever exist that 
could be the prosecutor, the judge, the jury, and the executioner all. 
And that is why Arthur Laffer says you need to get rid of the IRS and 
have an auditing agency that is a fraction of the size of the IRS.
  They don't get to pick whom they audit. That is done completely at 
random. They never get to pick whom they audit. And they never get to 
decide what will be done with their auditing. It has to be passed on to 
Justice or to the collection of the taxes if they have not been paid. 
They never get to participate in that. And I like the way that sounds, 
especially the more we hear about the abuses of people that are just 
freedom-loving Americans.
  So I appreciate very much my friend taking this time so we can talk 
about the IRS. And I realize that he knew when he signed up for this 
hour that there would be others to come. And it is a brave thing 
because he is risking an audit as we go in because he knows better than 
anybody just how abusive the IRS can get.
  Mr. FLORES. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the comments of Mr. Gohmert. I 
think he raises an issue that all Americans rightly need to be 
concerned about, and that is the invasion of our privacy that we expect 
to have under our Constitution when you have an IRS that is looking 
into your personal records.
  Mr. Speaker, I did get a letter from the IRS about 6 weeks after I 
wrote my letter to them demanding an answer for what they were doing to 
the Waco Tea Party. So I think they are targeting everybody. They don't 
care who they target. It seems like they are on a mission to try to 
squelch opposition to this administration's policies.
  I would now like to yield to a brand-new freshman Member from 
Florida. Mr. DeSantis from Florida's Sixth District is going to share 
some stories about what his constituents have experienced with the IRS.
  Mr. DeSANTIS. I thank the gentleman from Texas.
  Mr. Speaker, the power to tax is the power to destroy, and so when 
you have the government using that taxing power to target individual 
Americans based on their exercise of First Amendment rights, that 
really is the utmost seriousness in terms of the threat that that 
represents to constitutional government.
  I received a letter from one of my constituents a couple of weeks 
back named Carole McManus, and she is a leader in a conservative group 
in northeast Florida. They are basically dedicated towards educating 
about constitutional government, individual freedom, the rule of law, 
and traditional American principles. I would think that that would be 
something that we would be applauding, especially in this day and age.
  Well, they had to go through this situation with the IRS. So they 
submitted an application and they waited for a month, 3 months, 6 
months, a year. It took 18 months for the IRS to respond to their 
inquiry; and when the IRS responded, did they approve the group, as 
would be a matter of course, particularly for groups that were 
recognized as representing a liberal perspective? No. They were given a 
list of very intrusive questions about the operation of their group.
  I actually saw this firsthand during the 2012 election, because I 
went just to shake hands with folks one night just to see how people 
were doing, and all the group leaders were scared that I was there 
because they didn't want to get hit by the IRS. They didn't want to do 
anything wrong.
  And so what the IRS was able to do by stretching this out, by 
submitting all these intrusive questions, they really chilled these 
folks from feeling confident in being able to exercise their First 
Amendment rights. And they did look scared about what could happen to 
them just because I happened to show up even though it was not a 
partisan event. I was shaking hands and we were talking about this 
stuff.
  So I appreciate the gentleman from Texas organizing this hour.
  The frustrating thing about it is, yes, you may have impropriety in 
any given administration, but what we have now with the IRS is we have 
a lot of career bureaucrats who have their own ideological bent. We 
have people like Lois Lerner, who take it upon themselves to target 
groups that they think deserve targeting. And the problem with that is 
nobody ever elected Lois Lerner to anything. Essentially, she is a 
nameless, faceless bureaucrat that you have just got to hope the point 
of view that you are trying to pursue is not one that she finds 
objectionable.
  That lack of accountability, not knowing whether the bureaucracy will 
come down on you, that is a problem with the IRS. That is a problem in 
any of these agencies, quite frankly.

  So I think the more that Americans understand the threat that is 
posed by a runaway bureaucracy, I think the better. I would like to see 
some far-reaching reforms so that we are protecting taxpayers and we 
are protecting American citizens in the exercise of their right.
  And you know what? If the bureaucracy steps out of bounds, there 
ought to be consequences for that. The idea that somehow Lois Lerner is 
going to retire with full pay and benefits and not be held responsible 
at all, even though she couldn't even testify in front of the Oversight 
Committee, I think that rubs a lot of Americans wrong.

[[Page H7181]]

  So I thank the gentleman from Texas for organizing this. I really 
appreciate the attention that you have focused on this issue.
  Mr. FLORES. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Florida for that 
heartfelt testimony today. I would also like to thank him for his years 
of service in the United States Navy and as a current member of the 
United States Naval Reserve. We appreciate having people like this that 
serve our country.
  It is a shame that Americans who serve their country, whether they 
are in Congress or just a member of a local Tea Party, are targeted 
because of the fact that they are concerned about what is happening in 
Washington, what is happening from an administration or from the 
nameless, faceless bureaucrats that you heard of a few minutes ago.
  Mr. Speaker, may I inquire how much time we have left?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman has 13 minutes remaining.
  Mr. FLORES. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
  We have, as I told you at the outset of this conversation, many 
letters that we received from folks all over this country. And I am not 
going to read all these letters, but I am going include some of them in 
the Record of tonight's proceedings.
  One letter is from Amen, or Abortion Must End Now, that talks about 
how they were targeted. The Greenwich Tea Party Patriots of South 
Jersey wrote in about how they were targeted and the IRS treated them.
  You heard Mr. DeSantis from Florida talk about the First Coast Tea 
Party and how they were targeted, so their letter is going to be part 
of the Record. The Hawaii Tea Party writes in and talks about their 
experiences with the IRS. The Kentucky 9/12 Project has written in to 
talk about what they experienced.
  The Manassas Tea Party next door in Virginia has written in to talk 
about how long it took for them to have their application reviewed and 
how they were bullied and insulted.
  You heard Mr. Lankford talk about the OK Tea Party and Patriots in 
Action Association. The Patriots Educating Concerned Americans Now, or 
PECAN for short, in California, we got a letter from them. The Roane 
County Tea Party from Tennessee, we have got a letter from them.
  We also have a letter from the San Fernando Valley Patriots in 
California that talks about the IRS treatment and the abuse. Actually, 
this one is sort of interesting because it has a poem, so I am going to 
read this one.
  Again, this is from the San Fernando Valley Patriots in California. 
This letter starts with a poem entitled, ``Our Grassroots Voice,'' by 
Karen Kenney, coordinator, San Fernando Valley Patriots:

       The faces of the San Fernando Valley Patriots are different 
     from our voice.
       We are Democrats, Republicans, and Independents, but 
     patriots all.
       We speak as one with a love of God and country.
       But our voice is a whisper against the roar that is this 
     government.
       We began as a ``tea party'' group in May 2009 near Los 
     Angeles; born from the tax burdens within the American 
     Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
       A government too big, makes each citizen small, we thought. 
     The First Amendment would offer a platform for us to speak 
     politically, but we were wrong. Our government unsheathed its 
     sword: the IRS.
       The IRS did what tyranny does: threaten and control. The 
     questionnaires sent to us were consuming; their intent to 
     test our resolve.
       But liberty prefers to stand and be heard.
       We held more than 85 events in 2 years, but donations 
     dropped and costs rose. We could afford fewer speakers, 
     rallies, and handouts.
       In July 2012, we withdrew our application for tax-exempt 
     status with the IRS after 20 months of delays and grueling 
     red tape.
       We must now pay nonprofit taxes in California. The minimum 
     is $800 annually.
       We have little money, but more people.
       On June 4, 2013, the Ways and Means Committee heard our 
     voice.
       Now, our voice is stronger and more hear it. God bless 
     America.

  And here is their letter:

       On June 4, 2013, we told our story to the Ways and Means 
     Committee. We did not plead the Fifth. We did not hide the 
     facts. We did not lie. Our voice rose against the tyranny 
     that is the IRS scandal. We told the truth of how a 
     government too big makes each citizen small. We told the 
     truth of abuse of power by the fist of a grinding 
     bureaucracy.
       We spoke of demand-and-delay tactics that cut our funds and 
     public face. The IRS kept pounding, and we stopped our 
     application for tax relief. But we did not stop meeting, 
     teaching, and talking about the Constitution.
       Now we have fewer speakers, fewer rallies, and fewer 
     resources. But our resolve is undaunted. You see, we stand 
     firmly with the First Amendment, not the Fifth.
       God bless this Nation. God bless its people. God bless our 
     liberty.
       Karen Kenney, San Fernando Valley Patriots.

  We have a letter from the Shelby County Liberty in Ohio. We have the 
Unite in Action from Nashville, Tennessee. We have the Wetumpka Tea 
Party from Alabama, who wrote in about their treatment at the hands of 
an overreaching IRS.

  The Liberty Township Tea Party from Ohio has written in. The Richmond 
Tea Party, again, from next door in Virginia, has a letter that they 
want Americans to know about. The Rochester Tea Party Patriots in 
Minnesota, and the Greater Phoenix Tea Party Patriots in Arizona have 
written in.
  On our Web site at flores.house.gov we have a timetable of when the 
IRS started this and what processes they went through and the lies that 
were told to the American people about what they were doing. And then 
we also had some testimony about when they came clean and when IRS 
officials started to resign. So it would be fascinating for Americans 
to be able to see that.
  Mr. Speaker, the IRS is supposed to enforce our tax laws with 
integrity and fairness. Yet here we are, 6 months later, and the Obama 
administration has done nothing more than to try and ride out the storm 
without taking action.
  Lois Lerner and Doug Shulman have resigned from the IRS. However, 
they are still entitled to live the rest of their lives living on the 
backs of the hardworking American taxpayers that they abused when they 
were with the IRS.

                              {time}  2115

  Mr. Speaker, folks like Lerner and Shulman should never be allowed to 
get away with behavior like this and to get on Federal retirement. The 
IRS must stop targeting certain individuals and groups for partisan 
reasons. It is time that the administration gives Congress the 
information that we have requested over and over and over again so that 
the American people will know the facts and so that they will know that 
these practices are no longer being done. Americans deserve and demand 
transparency from government agencies, and they deserve compliance with 
law and with the Constitution.
  My colleagues and I remain committed to finding answers and to 
putting a stop to this injustice. Mr. Speaker, I would like for every 
Federal bureaucrat who has tried to abuse the American people to have 
to submit their testimony with this same language that they requested 
from these everyday Americans who were just trying to stand up and 
exercise their First Amendment rights. I would like them to say:
  Under penalties of perjury, I declare that I have examined this 
information, including the accompanying documents, and to the best of 
my knowledge and belief, the information that all the relevant facts 
relating to the request for information and such facts are true, 
correct and complete.
  This is what Lois Lerner should have had to provide, not plead the 
Fifth. As I said before, my colleagues and I remain committed to 
finding answers and to putting a stop to this injustice.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank you for allowing us to bring this issue back to 
the forefront as we continue to look for answers and demand action. We 
will reassure the American public that the IRS and other Federal 
agencies will not scrutinize individuals and groups for political or 
ideological party reasons.
  I also submit for the Record the letters that we received tonight.
  I would ask that all Americans tonight continue to pray for their 
country during these difficult times for our military men and women and 
for our first responders.
  I will close by saying, God bless America.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

                      AMEN (Abortion Must End Now)

       AMEN (Abortion Must End Now) is a faith-based organization 
     dedicated to defending the sanctity of life from its moment 
     of conception. The Internal Revenue Service targeted AMEN, 
     accusing us of being political.

[[Page H7182]]

       Months into our 501c3 filing, AMEN received a letter from 
     the IRS, not fully understanding the terminology, I phoned 
     them. The IRS specialist shared with me that we could be seen 
     as being ``too political''. The specialist continued to 
     explain that the references to religion within our Mission 
     statement could be an issue. The IRS also informed me that 
     our name, AMEN (Abortion Must End Now) could be seen as 
     ``political'' because it infers, ``we aim to abolish 
     abortion.'' I questioned, ``We would have to change our name 
     and Mission?'' the IRS Specialist responded, ``Most likely.'' 
     I shared with the specialist that if we changed our name and 
     Mission, we would no longer be the same organization.
       It is because of the statements made by the IRS that we 
     ignored future letters to pursue our tax-exempt status. We 
     felt with abortion silencing the voices of over 3,200 
     American babies each day, we could not allow the IRS to 
     silence ours.
       The abuse of the IRS has truly impacted our organization. 
     We operate on a very low budget, as many are unable to donate 
     without having the advantage of a tax credit. We feel that 
     our growth has been stunted due to the unethical actions of 
     the IRS. We also feel that we continue to be a target as 
     after our application for tax exemption in 2009, 2 out of 3 
     Directors of AMEN have been audited.
       AMEN was targeted because we believe in defending the 
     Unalienable Right to Life. The IRS has acted unlawfully and 
     it is this unlawful abuse that must be aborted.
           God Bless America,
     Kristy Lien,  President.
                                  ____


       Greenwich Tea Party Patriots of South Jersey (New Jersey)

       In early 2011, our organization, The Greenwich Tea Party 
     Patriots of South Jersey filed an application for an 
     exemption from Federal income tax and are still ``in the 
     process.''
       It is the desire of our organization to simply educate and 
     informs the public concerning policies and issues that are 
     taking place in our society. Membership includes a large 
     number of elderly who do not have computers so newsletters 
     are sent at least monthly via regular mail. Our primary 
     reason for asking for this exemption was simply to get a 
     better rate when mailing newsletters. Although we do take 
     advantage of the ``bulk rate'' price allowed to us due to the 
     number of pieces we send, the price for an exempted 
     organization is significantly lower.
       Most Americans historically are extremely intimidated by 
     the IRS and the scandal that was created by the IRS and has 
     made most citizens even more apprehensive.
       Our organization has been irreparably affected by this 
     scandal.
       For instance, we have had a booth at our county fair for 
     several years now. In the past, many people wanted to sign up 
     on our mail list to get information. This year, only a few 
     people wanted to put their name on the ``sign-up'' form with 
     most saying, ``I'm not putting my name on that and risk being 
     audited by the IRS.''
       Many people have also told us that they would love to give 
     us a nice donation but are afraid the ``IRS will find out and 
     they will be targeted.''
       All we wanted was a better rate for mailing our newsletters 
     and we are still awaiting the process.
           Sincerely,
     Brenda Roames, President.
                                  ____


                    First Coast Tea Party (Florida)

       I know you are familiar with the First Coast Tea Party that 
     encompasses members in the NE area of Florida (specifically 
     most members are from Duval, St. Johns and Clay counties). I 
     wanted to bring our group's IRS issue (following our 8/31/10 
     501c4 application) to your attention.
       As our group was going thru a transition with the 
     leadership of our organization, in early 2012, we received a 
     letter from the IRS requesting additional information before 
     the IRS could/would complete their consideration of our 
     application for exemption. Early 2012, was a hectic period 
     for our volunteer tea party group.
       Leadership changes and the kick-off of our 2012 focused 
     goals to help with getting out the vote, was now interrupted 
     with the IRS request for responses to 11 comprehensive 
     questions regarding our organization. This request came 
     nearly 18 months after we sent in our application. (Note: The 
     letter from the IRS was dated January 31, 2012 with a request 
     for our response by February 21, 2012.)
       At the time of this request from the IRS, I was responsible 
     for answering the questions with the assistance of our CPA 
     and the help of volunteers with the FCTP.
       As a young volunteer organization, our files, etc. were not 
     fully established and yet the window to complete the request 
     was upon us. Gathering the data and providing samples (where 
     specifically asked) was time intensive and costly. We met the 
     deadline and sent off 4 pounds of paper to the IRS.
       We had not provided the information completely, in the eyes 
     of the IRS, so on July 16th with an added request for 
     information from 2 comprehensive questions, the FCTP 
     responded to the IRS on August 7, 2012. Again, this 
     interruption to our 2012 election year focus was frustrating 
     and seemed like a diversion. We worked with Mr. Grant Herring 
     from a Cincinnati, Ohio office of the IRS.
       We received our 501c4 status in November of 2012.
           Regards,
     Carole McManus.
                                  ____


                            Hawaii Tea Party

       Hawaii Tea Party also known as TEA Party Maui is a non-
     partisan educational group which sought recognition and 
     standing with the IRS under provision 501(c)4 for Tax-Exempt, 
     Non-Profit status.
       From the very beginning of our 755 day ordeal, which began 
     with our original application in May 2010, and continued 
     until our eventual receipt of official IRS approval in July 
     2012; we were targeted, thwarted, intimidated, and subjected 
     to unreasonable and over-reaching demands that were far-
     afield of the intent of the screening of such applications. 
     Bear in mind that normally, 501(c)4 applications were 
     routinely granted by the IRS within 90 to 180 days. The IRS 
     delays in returning follow-up telephone calls and emails and 
     their stonewalling of our requests for information only 
     served to exacerbate our in-limbo status; which in effect 
     shrunk attendance at our meetings, lessened participation in 
     our events, and diminished the donations we did receive. But 
     most significantly, the IRS actions created in the general 
     public a fear of association and identification with the TEA 
     Party name; and with our membership, an overwhelming fear of 
     personal identification and harassment by the IRS. All of 
     this conspired to place us in the unenviable position of not 
     being able to fully participate in the democratic process for 
     the important 2010 mid-term election cycle, as well as the 
     2012 national elections.
       As of this writing, October 2013, we have learned that our 
     suspicions during the 755-day ordeal of an IRS campaign 
     targeting suppression of our Freedom of Speech, Freedom of 
     Assembly, and Freedom to Redress our Grievances have proved 
     to be true. We believe that all Americans should find this 
     illegal activity by the IRS outrageously egregious and demand 
     full accountability by the persons involved and that they be 
     prosecuted to the full extent of the law.
           Sincerely,
     TEA Party Maui Board of Directors.
                                  ____


                         Kentucky 9/12 Project

       It is with sadness for our country that I write this to 
     inform you of what we went through and implore you to fix 
     what we have become. Kentucky 9/12 Project filed its 
     application for 501(c)(4) in December, 2010 with great 
     confidence that all of its activities, relations, and 
     dealings fell well within the bounds of that which defines 
     that status. We as citizens were then targeted and held 
     hostage by this administration at the arms of the IRS for 
     over two years. During this time of uncertainty we were 
     directly hindered in our fund raising and abilities to serve 
     the people that shared our principles in the communities and 
     state we live in. This is far greater than a financial impact 
     and to us this was never about a bureaucracy verses some 
     large organization but a government directly attacking and 
     trying to silence ordinary individual people and thought. 
     Personally this fundamentally changed me and it was with 
     great consternation for me and my family that we went forward 
     with a federal lawsuit against the IRS and United States of 
     America. I would hope that those we elected and our 
     representatives on both side of the isle would see the 
     severity of this as a wakeup call to what we have become. As 
     for me, I shall and we should be forever fearful of what 
     government has become and can and may do to any of us.
           Respectful Regards,
     Eric Wilson.

                          ____________________