IRS attack on free speech can't stand
March 1, 2014
By Representative Raul Labrador

As Americans, one of our most cherished values is freedom of speech. Our Founding Fathers enshrined free speech in the First Amendment to the Constitution, and we have worked over the generations – through today – to protect that cherished principle from any and all threats.

Unfortunately, we have learned over the past year that the IRS has been engaged in a systematic campaign to target and punish organizations who want to practice free speech and advance their political beliefs.

While President Obama called it a “phony scandal,” in fact, it was an outrageous abuse of government power.

As Americans, we should never tolerate the use of government agencies to silence people through backdoor regulations. This is the type of authoritarianism that we freed ourselves from during the War of Independence, and if it took place in a foreign country today, we would all be united in condemning it.

This week, I joined a majority of my House colleagues in protecting freedom of speech and stopping government abuse. We passed H.R. 3865, the Stop Targeting of Political Beliefs Act of 2014.

This bill will prohibit for one year a proposal by the IRS to unilaterally change their regulations governing 501(c)(4) organizations. 501(c)(4) organizations are non-profit groups like civic leagues and volunteer fire departments that are primarily engaged in promoting social welfare. However, 501(c)(4)’s can also engage in political activity, so long as the majority of their money is spent on social welfare.

The IRS’ proposed rules would impact 501(c)(4) organizations by redefining non-partisan voter registration and candidate forum activities as political campaign intervention.

We believe it is essential that Congress complete its investigation into the IRS scandals before the IRS push these rules into effect. Our bill will give us the time to do that and ensure that free speech is protected.

I’m pleased that H.R. 3865 passed in a strong bipartisan vote, 243 to 176. We also passed a series of other bills as part of what we called “Stop Government Abuse Week.”

These bills – all of which passed with my support – include legislation requiring the IRS to notify you when your information has been shared with other government agencies, stronger safeguards against government seizure of your property, and even a bill allowing you to unlock your cell phone.

In a similar vein, the Judiciary Committee held a hearing this week on Presidential abuse of power and the President’s failure to execute the law. One witness, constitutional law professor Jonathan Turley, said President Obama has brought us to a “constitutional tipping point” that has to be addressed.

I pledge to keep being a leader in the fight against government abuse and protecting freedom of speech.