Washington, DC – Today, Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp (R-MI) and Oversight Subcommittee Chairman Charles Boustany Jr., M.D. (R-LA) released the following statements in response to the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) 30-day review of the practice of discriminating against applicants for tax-exempt status based on their personal beliefs. IRS Principal Deputy Commissioner Werfel will be before the Committee Thursday, June 27, at 10:00 am to discuss the report.
Chairman Camp: “Though the IRS report details some immediate first steps that have been taken to correct management flaws at the agency, the IRS still needs to provide clear answers to the most significant questions – who started this practice, why was it allowed to continue for so long, and how widespread was it? This culture of political discrimination and intimidation goes far beyond basic management failure and personnel changes alone won’t fix a broken IRS. Instead, real reforms must be implemented so that the American people know their government and their tax code are working for them, not targeting them for their beliefs. Congress will continue the investigation into the IRS’s actions and hold the agency accountable so we can ensure no American is targeted again.”
Chairman Boustany: “The IRS’s recent actions, from the targeting of taxpayers, dolling out $70 million in bonuses to employees, and wasting taxpayer dollars on frivolous conferences and parody videos, are outrageous. It is particularly galling that the report concludes that part of the solution to the IRS’s problems is that it receive $1 billion more in taxpayer dollars. These actions cannot be tolerated and I expect the IRS to undertake fundamental reforms to ensure the agency’s inexcusable behavior does not continue.”