|
Posted by
Randy
|
May 17, 2013
Last Friday, Lois Lerner, Director of the Exempt Organizations Division at the IRS, apologized for the Agency requiring certain conservative groups to submit excessive paperwork regarding their 501(c)(4) tax exempt status.
Her apology was issued just days before the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) was scheduled to release its oversight report of IRS activities. This report not only confirmed that the IRS was in fact targeting conservative organizations, but that this has been going on since 2010. Groups with the word “patriot” in their names, and those with the mission of “educating on the Constitution and Bill of Rights” have been subjected to enhanced scrutiny in their applications for tax exempt status. The TIGTA report indicated that 160 applications were open from 206 to 1,138 days, some more than three years and crossing two election cycles. The Department of Justice launched an investigation in conjunction with the FBI, and the House Ways and Means Committee is holding a hearing today to further investigate this matter and bring to light why these groups were targeted. While these investigations are pending, and Americans are calling into question the integrity of what should be a non-partisan, non-political government agency, I have introduced the Prevent IRS Overreach Act, H.R.1993, to prohibit the IRS from hiring any personnel for the purpose of implementing the healthcare law. Read more about this bill here. Question of the week: Do you believe the Prevent IRS Overreach Act is a necessary step in ensuring protection for the American people? ( ) Yes. ( ) No. ( ) I don’t know. ( ) Other (leave your comments below). Take the instaPoll here. Find the results of last week’s instaPoll here.
Posted by
Randy
|
May 16, 2013
I wanted to share a recent article from AEIdeas, the American Enterprise Institute blog, further highlighting the destructive nature of the health care law. The article notes that, according to a recent Gallup poll, 48% of small business owners believe that the law will be bad for their business.
Posted by
Randy
|
May 15, 2013
Today, I questioned Attorney General Eric Holder before the House Judiciary Committee in regards to the lack of personal accountability of members of this Administration. A pattern has emerged of senior Administration officials "accepting responsibility," but failing to suffer any personal repercussions for actions which have resulted in the murder of Americans and the degradation of our Constitution.
Watch the exchange here: These senior officials have one thing in common – they all have said there’s nothing they could have done to prevent these things from happening. Now, the IRS is preparing to implement over 30 tax related provisions of the President's healthcare law. I have introduced legislation - "The Prevent IRS Overreach Act"- to get the IRS out of healthcare. Read more about the bill and weigh in with your thoughts below.
Posted by
Randy
|
May 14, 2013
I wanted to bring to your attention a recent article, as well as timeline, both indicating that officials at the IRS knew that conservative groups were being targeted.
Last April, I joined my colleagues in sending a letter to the IRS Commissioner expressing deep concern over these actions impacting free speech, and requesting information for the basis of the excessive requests for information from particular organizations The House Ways and Means Committee is holding a hearing on Friday to further investigate this matter and bring to light why conservative groups were targeted. We must remain vigilant to protect the tax information of individuals and organizations, and ensure that they are not targeted again.
Posted by
Randy
|
May 09, 2013
At the end of April, the Treasury Department announced that it would pay down $35 billion of the nation’s debt for the first time since 2007. In February, the Congressional Budget Office estimated that the federal government would run a deficit of $845 billion this year, 24 times the amount the Treasury is paying down.
Posted by
Randy
|
May 09, 2013
This week, the Senate passed the Marketplace Fairness Act, S.743, to enable states to require online sellers with more than $1 million in annual revenue to collect sales tax on transactions outside their borders. Under current law, sellers must have a physical presence in a state before the state can require retailers to collect sales taxes.
Supporters of this bill believe that small businesses and brick-and-mortar stores are at a competitive disadvantage with online retailers, many of which do not have to collect sales taxes. As such, proponents say that this bill is needed to level the playing field by enabling the collection of a sales tax that is already due. On the other hand, opponents of this bill argue that it would burden small businesses, forcing them to comply with state and local tax laws from around the nation. Additionally, they argue that the measure would violate state sovereignty, force businesses to be tax collectors for other states without benefitting them, and dissuade entrepreneurial and start-up businesses. Question of the week: Do you believe that states should have the authority to require online sellers to collect sales tax from individuals living outside their borders? ( ) Yes. ( ) No. ( ) I don’t know. ( ) Other (leave your comments below). Take the instaPoll here. Find the results of last week’s instaPoll here.
Posted by
Randy
|
May 08, 2013
I wanted to bring your attention to a recent Washington Post article regarding fees the federal government pays on empty accounts, further highlighting the need to address Washington’s spending problem.
Examples such as this are just one reason I believe strongly in the role of Congress to provide continued oversight of the Executive Branch. In this fiscal environment where each American’s share of the deficit is more than $53,000, many remain unemployed and taxes have been increased (and some are threatening more tax increases for the middle class), all government spending must be looked at with the highest degree of scrutiny and transparency. My goal is always to ensure the taxpayer gets the absolute most for each tax dollar. We must put forward policies that are in the best interest of the American people. I will continue to work to curtail this alarming spending trend and will advocate restraint and fiscal control when addressing our nation’s budgetary needs. We owe it to the people of this country to be wise stewards of their money. I introduced the Congressional Accountability Pay (CAP) Act, H.R.284, to address situations like this. The more Washington spends, the less Members of Congress should receive in their paychecks. Read more here.
Posted by
Randy
|
May 08, 2013
As Congress moves closer to considering immigration reform, an L.A. Times article discusses the different approaches the House and Senate are taking. The House is planning to move individual bills; however, the Senate is poised to take up one large reform package.
Posted by
Randy
|
May 03, 2013
Last week, in a letter to Senators Carl Levin and John McCain, senior members of the Senate Armed Services Committee, the White House addressed the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian government, saying “our intelligence community does assess with varying degrees of confidence that the Syrian regime has used chemical weapons on a small scale in Syria, specifically the chemical agent sarin.”
The United States is calling on the United Nations to conduct a comprehensive investigation, and is working with our allies in the region, as well as the Syrian opposition, in an effort to gain additional intelligence regarding the origins of the weapons and the effect of their use on the nation’s civil war. Miguel Rodriguez, Director of the Office of Legislative Affairs, made it clear in the letter that the use of chemical weapons or transfer of such weapons to a terrorist group “is a red line for the United States of America.” Question of the week: If this is a “red line,” what action should the United States take in response to the evidence that Syria used chemical weapons? ( ) Intervene now to help end the violence and demonstrate a strong stance against the use of these weapons by Syria and Iran. ( ) Intervene, if necessary, to defend Israel. ( ) Continue to monitor the situation in Syria, including supporting humanitarian aid. ( ) None. The United States does not have a national interest in the Syrian conflict. ( ) Other (leave your comments below). Take the instaPoll here. Find the results of last week’s InstaPoll here.
Posted by
Randy
|
April 25, 2013
Last Friday, after the surviving suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings was taken into custody, federal officials exercised what is known as the "public safety exception" to delay reading Dzhokhar Tsarnaev his Miranda warnings. In such cases, officials are permitted to ask questions necessary to secure their own safety or the safety of the public.
Some have argued that this should be taken a step further, and that Tsarnaev should be deemed an enemy combatant (a member of a declared enemy of state or a terror group during a time of war) to determine if he was involved with, or knew of, other terrorist attacks. As the suspect is a naturalized citizen, others argued that it would be unconstitutional to treat him as an enemy combatant. This week, the White House indicated that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev will neither be classified as an enemy combatant nor tried before a military commission. Instead, he was formally charged with using a weapon of mass destruction to cause the “malicious destruction of property resulting in death” and will be tried in criminal court. Under this charge, Tsarnaev could face the death penalty. Question of the week: Do you believe that the United States government should hold an American citizen - arrested on American soil - as an enemy combatant in order to gather intelligence to prevent a possible future attack? ( ) Yes. ( ) No. ( ) I don’t know. ( ) Other (leave your comments below). Take the instaPoll here. Find the results of last week’s InstaPoll here. |
SEARCH BLOGRECENT POSTS05/17/2013 - Question of the week: Do you believe the Prevent IRS Overreach Act is a necessary step in ensuring protection for the American people?05/16/2013 - The Unaffordable Care Act 05/15/2013 - Questioning Eric Holder on Benghazi, IRS, and Fast and Furious 05/14/2013 - IRS Targets American Taxpayers Over Politics 05/09/2013 - Is Paying Down the Debt a Step in the Right Direction? 05/09/2013 - Question of the week: Do you believe that states should have the authority to require online sellers to collect sales tax from individuals living outside their borders? ARCHIVESBy YearBy Issue
|