Congressman Mike Turner, a senior member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, today directly questioned IRS officials at a hearing on the IRS targeting taxpayers for their political beliefs. Turner is seeking to find answers as to who undertook this action, who approved it, and who orchestrated it. In response to his questioning, Former IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman refused to answer Turner “Yes” or “No” if the actions of the IRS were against our nation’s democratic values.

Turner has introduced the Taxpayer Nondiscrimination & Protection Act of 2013. The bill would amend Title 18 of the U.S. Code to make it a crime for an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) employee to discriminate against an individual or group on the basis of their protected rights. In addition, it expressly clarifies that political speech and political expression are protected rights. Sen. Marco Rubio has introduced companion legislation in the Senate.

 

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