IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
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Mr. PAUL submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the
Committee on llllllllll
RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of the Senate condemning the targeting
of Tea Party groups by the Internal Revenue Service
and calling for an investigation.
Whereas it is a well-founded principle that the power to tax
involves the power to destroy;
Whereas employees of the Internal Revenue Service (commonly
known as the ‘‘IRS’’
have publicly admitted that
the IRS targeted Tea Party groups in a manner that infringes
on the free association rights and free speech
rights of those groups;
Whereas the IRS admitted that employees of the IRS engaged
in politically discriminatory actions;
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MIR13198 S.L.C.
Whereas the IRS used the taxing power as a political tool to
intimidate Tea Party groups from engaging in free
speech;
Whereas, according to media reports, as early as in 2010, the
IRS was targeting Tea Party groups;
Whereas President Obama is aware that a Federal agency
under his control has admitted to targeting Tea Party
groups;
Whereas, according to media reports, a report by the Treasury
Inspector General for Tax Administration indicates
that some Tea Party groups withdrew applications for
tax-exempt status as a result of the discriminatory actions
of the IRS;
Whereas, according to the Washington Post, in late June
2011, employees of the IRS discussed giving special attention
to case files in which groups made statements
that ‘‘criticize[d] how the country is being run’’ and educated
the people of the United States ‘‘on the Constitution
and Bill of Rights’’ and targeting groups interested
in limiting government; and
Whereas the discriminatory actions of the IRS impacted the
free speech rights of the groups targeted by the IRS:
Now, therefore, be it
1 Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that—
2 (1) the Internal Revenue Service engaged in
3 discriminatory behavior;
4 (2) Congress should use existing authority—
5 (A) to investigate potential criminal wrong6
doing by individuals who authorized or were in3
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1 volved in targeting people of the United States
2 based on their political views; and
3 (B) to determine if other entities in the ad4
ministration of President Obama were involved
5 in or were aware of the discrimination and did
6 not take action to stop the actions of the Inter7
nal Revenue Service;
8 (3) President Obama should terminate the indi9
viduals responsible for targeting and willfully dis10
criminating against Tea Party groups and other con11
servative groups; and
12 (4) the Senate condemns the actions of all indi13
viduals and entities involved in the infringement of
14 the First Amendment rights of members of the Tea
15 Party and other affected groups.
