Corker Cosponsors Bill to Prevent IRS Political Targeting

U.S. Senator Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) this week cosponsored S.283, the Stop Targeting of Political Beliefs by the IRS Act of 2015. The bill, introduced by Senators Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) and Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) in the Senate and Representatives Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and Peter Roskam (R-Ill.) in the House of Representatives, would prohibit the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) from further regulating the activities of social welfare organizations until 2017, following cases where some groups were inappropriately flagged for additional review due to their political beliefs during the 2012 election cycle.

“It is unacceptable that all nonprofit organizations seeking tax-exempt status – including groups in Tennessee – have not been treated fairly by the IRS in the past,” said Corker. “As a result, Americans don’t trust the IRS to act impartially, and this bill helps assure Tennesseans that this kind of activity will not happen again.”

In 2013, Corker joined Senate colleagues in asking the IRS to treat all nonprofit groups seeking tax-exempt status fairly in the designation process and demanded that the administration fully comply with congressional investigation requests on how the IRS targeted conservative groups.Corker also cosponsored similar legislation in the 113th Congress.