Washington, DC – Today, Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R-MI) issued the following reaction to The New York Times editorial, which endorsed IRS and Treasury Department proposed regulations that would push 501(c)(4) groups out of the public square by limiting their involvement in the most basic civic activities, like non-partisan candidate forums, get out the vote efforts and voter registration drives.

“Given that this is mostly conservative groups we are talking about, it isn’t shocking that The New York Times is joining the Obama Administration in attempting to silence these non-profits.  While the Times suggests all exempt organizations should be treated equally, the regulations they endorse conveniently leave liberal labor union leaders free to engage in whatever political activity they want.  Over the past few years, the IRS has systematically targeted conservative groups, threatened conservative donors with higher taxes and leaked confidential taxpayer information.  This has already had a chilling effect in the conservative community.  The last thing any newspaper should endorse is granting the IRS more power to suppress engagement in the democratic process and the exercise of First Amendment rights.”