Washington, DC – Today, Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R-MI) and Oversight Subcommittee Chairman Charles Boustany Jr., M.D. (R-LA) called on Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Acting Commissioner Daniel Werfel to immediately cease the IRS’s apparent continued practice of targeting Tea Party applications based on name alone.

As part of its investigation into the IRS’s targeting of individuals based on their personal beliefs, a Committee interview with an IRS employee revealed that IRS screeners continue to flag certain applications for exempt status for secondary scrutiny on the basis of name alone – regardless of whether there is any evidence of political activity.  The news comes after President Obama installed new IRS leadership and pledged that the IRS would “put in place new safeguards to make sure this kind of behavior cannot happen again.”

In the letter to Werfel, the Members demanded that the IRS immediately issue instructions to all employees making it clear that applications for exempt status shall not be subjected to higher scrutiny based on organization name or substantive beliefs.  The lawmakers called on IRS to provide notice to its employees that any such targeting will be subject to discipline and referral to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration for investigation.  

The letter can be read here.