Saying that this kind of “misuse of power cannot be tolerated,” U.S. Congressman Mac Thornberry (R-Clarendon) is demanding answers from the Obama Administration following the revelation that the  Internal Revenue Service (IRS) had unfairly targeted conservative leaning organizations for additional scrutiny over a period of a couple of years. In a strongly-worded letter to Treasury Secretary Jack Lew, Thornberry outlined a number of tough questions about the management of the agency now and in the future.

"It is absolutely unacceptable for the IRS to target organizations for additional audits based on their political affiliations or ideology," Thornberry said.  "There should be zero tolerance for such behavior, especially by the IRS, which wields such considerable power and will soon be given more power as it begins to enforce and implement the President's new health care law in January."

On Friday, officials at the IRS admitted some conservative groups that had sought tax exempt status had been targeted for additional scrutiny because their names contained the words "tea party" or "patriot." Some other conservative organizations were also singled out for making statements about reducing the size of government, educating Americans on the Constitution and Bill of Rights, or speaking out against the Affordable Care Act, commonly referred to as "Obamacare." 

"I think there is outrage on both sides of the aisle about these disturbing revelations.  The actions taken by the IRS in these circumstances violate some of the most intrinsic values and rights that are in our Constitution," said Thornberry.  "Maybe instead of targeting groups that seek to educate Americans about our Founding Documents, the bureaucrats at the IRS should spend more time reading the Bill of Rights and Constitution."

In addition to his letter to Secretary Lew, Thornberry has called for Congressional hearings on the matter. You can view the official letter by clicking here. The text of the letter is provided below.

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Dear Secretary Lew

The recent admission by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) that it targeted conservative political groups for additional auditing during the 2012 election cycle is deeply disturbing.  Because of the enormous power that the IRS holds over the lives of all Americans, any misuse of that power cannot be tolerated.  Abuse of this kind and on this scale threatens the very relationship between the federal government and our citizens.

The IRS states on its website that its mission is to “provide taxpayers top quality service by helping them understand and meet their tax responsibilities and enforce the law with integrity and fairness to all.”  I trust you can see how far short the IRS has now fallen of its mission and how the IRS has breached its trust of the American people.

As the scope of the IRS is, unfortunately, growing, the ability of the IRS to handle an increasing workload is further called in to question as management oversight is clearly not sufficient.  As you know, the IRS is set to take up new enforcement responsibilities for the new health care law starting in 2014.  These types of actions raise many questions as to whether or not certain individuals will be unfairly targeted over others for their health insurance coverage simply because of their party affiliation. 

There are a number of questions that my constituents expect to have answered, including:

• Why were these groups targeted?
• Did any official or organization outside of the IRS suggest that they be targeted?
• What corrective actions are being taken?
• What steps are being taken to ensure the American people and Members of Congress that this will not happen again?
• Will you hold senior management officials accountable for the actions of those under their purview?
• What senior manager approved or was responsible for these audits?
• What steps will you take to restore trust in the IRS and recreate the culture of integrity that the IRS states is a cornerstone of its mission?

Given the nature of your work as Secretary of Treasury and the business in which the IRS is involved, I am certain you can understand that mismanagement such as this would not be tolerated in the private sector and that the top management would be out of the job for directly and indirectly failing to manage his or her subordinates.  I trust that you will not be so dismissive of this issue that you settle for letting low to mid-level IRS staffers take the fall for the inadequacies of those who manage them.

My constituents and I look forward to your thorough and timely response.